As a Junior Marketing Executive, it was great to spend a day out on the road with Rozone’s Parts Washer Expert Andy Ratcliffe.

As someone who normally spends their day in the office, it was exciting to get up close and personal with the ROwasher, and see it in situ in its natural workshop environment. We spent the day visiting some of Rozone’s customers in the Midlands. 

We visited a variety of workshops during the day - a bike recycling and maintenance workshop, some automotive repair garages, an ambulance fleet workshop, a plant hire customer, and a distribution workshop. It was fantastic to see the next generation parts washer, the ROwasher, being used in a variety of applications.

As we walked through the gritty automotive workshops that smelt strongly of motor oil, the ROwasher’s bright green double-skinned tank could be spotted a mile away, standing out against the shades of brown and black. A “green” machine which proudly demonstrates the investment these customer`s are making into eco-friendly cleaning solutions - not only reducing their carbon footprint but safeguarding the health and safety of their staff.  

Arriving on site

While we were in the van on our way to the first workshop of the day, I asked Andy how he usually plans his days out on the road. He said before each visit, he gets in touch with the customer, to get feedback on how their Rozone parts washer is performing, and to organise the visit.

During the visits, he asks about any issues the customer might be experiencing, including any substances or parts that the machine may have struggled to clean.

When stepping into the automotive workshop, it was surprising to see how dirty the ROwasher was – it was covered in grime. When Andy turned it on, the fluid was honey coloured, something I wasn’t expecting at all. Andy reassured the customer that this is completely normal, as the solution takes on the dyes in oils and greases washed off dirty parts.

I had in my mind prior to the workshop visits that the fluid would be crystal clear, but Andy explained that there “should be light honey coloured staining present in the parts washer`s fluid, this means that the microbes are doing their job properly breaking down the oils and greases off dirty parts. However, if the fluid becomes a dark brown colour, this means the fluid is saturated with oil, and may require a Microbial Booster to get it back to optimal cleaning performance”.

You learn something new every day!

Performing the inspection

On each visit, Andy performed an initial visual inspection of the ROwasher, to make sure there wasn’t any obvious damage. He also checked the machine was plugged in and at the correct temperature (37°C to 42°C), so the machine remained at optimal performance.

You could tell Andy was in his element during the day, bantering with customers, and explaining everything there is to know about Rozone parts washers. It is clear he has a genuine interest in the science behind the machines, as he explained how bioremediation works to technicians in a clear and engaging way.

He explained to me to that it’s important for him to note whether the Microbial Filter Mat has been recently changed, as that’s a good indicator for how good the cleaning performance will be; as well as checking to see whether there’s enough ROwash Degreasing Fluid in the machine.

The final step as Andy explained is to “double-check the customer has enough consumables in stock - ROwash degreasing solution for when the low fluid indicator light comes on, it`s important to add 20L straight away, Microbial Filters – for the monthly change of the mat and Booster to keep their microbial colony happy and healthy – all this ensures the customer can maintain the optimum cleaning performance of their machine easily in-house.”

Visiting an ambulance workshop

We arrived at the ambulance workshop, and there were around a dozen spotless ambulances parked outside, which was a good sign. Andy couldn’t believe how clean the workshop was.

When we entered, they had two ambulances on the workshop floor, also in perfect condition. They had one of our older Rozone parts washers, but it looked cleaner than some of the newer ROwashers we saw that day. They’d had the parts washer for a few years by the looks of it, but it was still hard at work cleaning dirty engine components to look brand new.

When we asked them if they needed additional consumables, they proudly opened up a nearby storage cupboard to reveal their supply of Microbial Filter Mats, and ROwash Degreasing Solution.

Visiting a plant hire workshop

Our next visit was like night and day, as the plant hire workshop was thick with the smell of oil and grease, and it was clear to see why. Their Rozone parts washer had clearly been neglected, shunned to a dark corner of the workshop, and switched off, almost as though the technicians were afraid to make eye contact with it! It smelt awful, it was thick with sludge, and there were no consumables in sight.

Andy, explained to me “we often see parts washers in this condition - cold, with Microbial Filter Mats that are rarely changed, and ROwash Degreasing Fluid that has not been topped up for a long time.

“When we see a ROwasher or one of our previous model parts washers in this state on a visit, we offer maintenance training to technicians on site, and we also offer reassurance that our Microbial Boosters can save a machine with a forgotten Microbial Filter Mat change”. 

If a mechanical issue is detected with one of our Rozone parts washers, Andy will report the issue straight away to our Service Engineer who will resolve the problem as soon as possible, to limit a machine’s downtime.

At the end of the day

When we got back to the office, Andy forwarded any customer ‘cleaning struggles’ to our Scientific Director, who is always working behind the scenes to innovate and provide the best in bioremediating cleaning. Ibrahim continually tests the microbes’ effectiveness degrading specific industry oils and greases. He is constantly reviewing the speed at which ROwash fluid removes caked-on dirt and grime.

Ibrahim and Andy’s collaboration is crucial – this teamwork ensures real customer experiences, requirements, and concerns can be transformed into effective cleaning solutions backed up by science.

Overall, I really enjoyed the day. I learnt a lot about how ROwasher’s should look, and how they shouldn’t look. Andy was a great guide, and it was inspiring to see someone with a genuine passion for keeping our customer’s parts washers in optimum condition.

We want all of our customers to get the most out of their ROwashers with excellent cleaning performance, so if you would like a visit from Andy or you’d like to speak to a member of our team, you can call us on 0121 514 0604.

Thanks for showing me round Andy!