Service
+44 1371 878 802
14a Oak Industrial Park
Chelmsford Road
Great Dunmow
Essex CM6 1XN
Phone: +44 1371 878 800
"Greenline - alternative energien gmbH" presents itself as a resource-saving and environmentally friendly energy supplier in Saxony-Anhalt. The economic and ecological philosophy practised by the company is an expression of sustainable thinking and acting and a conscientious approach to nature. The company's product portfolio includes electricity and gas trading for private households and companies, where Greenline offers special and economical tariffs for petrol station and car wash owners. The wholesale of diesel and petrol at a total of seven tank farm locations in Germany, the supply of fuels from various petrol station companies and individual petrol station operators, the sale of fuel cards for companies in five states and the operation of a total of 50 of its own petrol stations throughout Germany are the main areas of Greenline - alternative energien gmbH.
Greenline operates an unmanned petrol station at the Hohenwarsleben site, directly on the A2 Irxleben exit and a three lane truck wash for exterior washing and tank cleaning. Thorsten Schlotte is division manager in Hohenwarsleben and controls all processes at the site. The modern car wash technology washes vehicles at all Greenline stations. The commercial vehicle wash in Hohenwarsleben has been here since 2007. In the year 2016 the unmanned petrol station was added.
Thorsten Schlotte's professional career in Hohenwarsleben began with his appointment as plant manager in 2007. Not without reason, because Thorsten Schlotte has many years of experience in petrol station and vehicle washing operations. "From that time I remember the California Rohé and Kleindienst systems and later the technology, sales consultants and service technicians from WashTec."
He now says about his responsibilities: "Here we carry out the exterior washing of various types of commercial vehicles. However, we specialise in the interior cleaning of tank and silo vehicles that are used in the food and feed sector and transport both liquid and powdery substances." Two lanes are available for external cleaning. "Each lane has a spacious pre-wash area in the front section of the wash bay and a brush wash a few metres before the end of the bay, so that we can handle four vehicles at the same time." This constellation enables the team to guarantee customers very short waiting and washing times. The average vehicle wash takes barely more than a quarter of an hour at the pre-wash station. The automatic vehicle wash is completed in about seven minutes."
When the commercial vehicles drive up and position themselves under both WashTec gantries, an operator at the operator terminal presses the start buttons. What follows is the rotating start of two roof and four side brushes that begin cleaning. In Hohenwarsleben, two identical WashTec commercial vehicle gantries of different generations stand side by side. The often cited first glance makes them easily distinguishable. The new MaxiWash Vario, which only went into operation on 19 September 2018, can be seen on the high-turnover outer lane in a green-orange look that matches the colours of Greenline's corporate identity. "I enquired in advance very precisely about gantry systems, the capabilities of the machines, their purchase price and what to expect in terms of operating costs. I wanted a gantry system that would clean precisely and efficiently, with components so robust that they could meet our high demands and specific needs." Wilhelm Lohmann wanted a gantry that was able to wash quickly and thoroughly, a machine that was easy and comfortable to operate, whose technical components require little or no maintenance as far as possible. A system that meets his requirements and satisfies the wishes of customers over the long term. WashTec's green MaxiWash Vario fits the bill in every respect and has been washing without any problems since "the official commissioning in autumn last year."
The basis of good commercial vehicle washing is and remains thorough pre-washing. This is why "we foam-clean the vehicles and manually pre-clean the areas that are not cleaned by the brush washing system – rims, tanks, underride guards, entrances under the doors. The vehicles are then intensively sprayed with the high-pressure cleaner. After the pre-cleaning process, the vehicles then roll forward and stop under the respective WashTec gantry. The duration of pre-cleaning depends on how dirty the vehicles are," says the plant manager describing the extensive pre-cleaning tasks. The 14-strong Greenline team manages about eight to ten vehicles per hour. But I haven't been able to count it exactly." Work is carried out during the week in a two-shift system from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Greenline team also benefits from the exemplary WashTec customer service. "When it comes to logistics at WashTec, we really have to say that things work smoothly. We particularly praise the customer service department in Augsburg whenever we order a spare part. If I call before 3:00 p.m., what I ordered will arrive before seven the following morning." The Greenline team also praises the reliable work of the service technicians. "If we ever find – albeit very rarely – technical problems with the gantry technology that we can not solve ourselves, we request the WashTec customer service. The service works really well every time. When we compare this with other manufacturers, we certainly notice significant differences," the team says. This is also the reason why we can well imagine "a modernisation measure for the older commercial vehicle gantry involving WashTec." In response to the question of whether, out of tradition, we will remain true to the motto "Once WashTec, always WashTec" also in the future, we finally answer: "We are very satisfied with WashTec. That is unlikely to change much."
Text/ Pictures: Bernd Fiehöfer
