Essex Quays Fish & Chips are Using Robots to Fry Chips. Queues Have Gone.
Wait times down 53%. Shop footfall up 21%. Revenue up 27%
Company: Centex Robotics Interviewing: Mike Lumpkin, General Manager Essex Quays Fish and ChipsBackground
Essex Quays Fish & Chips is a small chain of traditional fish and chip shops in Essex, in the South East England. They have a long history of exceptional quality and customer service since 1972.
Challenge
Demand for chips is high. Until recently, deep frying was a manual job. Someone had to physically keep an eye on the fryers in the middle of the other jobs they had to do. This slowed down service and made people queue outside. It got worse every time someone phoned in sick.
Solution
Essex Quays Fish and Chips now relies on a mixture of AI and Robotics to do its deep frying. This has reduced queuing, coped with staff shortages and improved the bottom line.
“We Wanted a Cheaper and Simpler Solution”.
When Essex Quays researched for the best kitchen automation on the market, they came across a number of systems. But they were all too complicated and too` expensive. And some were unproven.
Here’s Mike Lumpkin…
“We didn’t want a machine for doing many things. All we wanted was to fry our chips quicker. We thought about adding another set of fryers. But there was a problem with space. And we still needed someone to keep an eye on them.
But when we came across Centex Robotics, we knew that, that was the system for us”.
The machine uses a robotic arm to load itself, fry and add salt. And that’s all it does for them. All staff have to do these days is to collect and serve.
And because the machine is constantly frying and emptying baskets, chips are always in good supply.
Machine Fitted in the Same Space as the Old Fryers
“We were concerned about how the machine would fit in our modest kitchen without a massive reconfiguration”, says Lumpkin.
“But to our surprise it’s using exactly the same space as our old fryers. And the robotic arm only moves sideways over the fryers. So that’s a big plus for us” he added.
On the software side, the machine uses AI to monitor oil levels and temperature. It can even scan for chip colour and texture. And can be programmed to take mini breaks between: baskets when needed. It can even fry up to 3 baskets at the same time.
“We Can Still Use the Machine Even When It Breaks Down”.
“If the machine breaks, we can still use it manually. The old way. That took away the initial anxiety we had with an emergency breakdown”
Purchased On a Contract Hire Agreement
Essex Quays Fish and Chips purchased the machine on a contract hire agreement.
This kept their initial costs low. And where able to do the sums to see if the machine will be pay for itself.
Under the agreement, all servicing and maintenance is free – including software updates.
Results
The fryers have reduced customer wait times by 53%, maintained quality and freed staff to focus on other jobs.
Revenue is up by 27%. The number of customers entering the shop has also increased by 21%.
Automation is Driving Future Expansion.
“We have always wanted to massively grow our home delivery service - to reach customers that can’t come to us”
“But managing our output from the kitchen is something we had to deal with first. With automation, we are now pressing ahead with those plans.”
Get all the details about this case study.
