PC Tank in Luxembourg. On the road to success with the iHexagon.

The challenge;

• Fresh food, partly 24/7
• Short warm-up/prep times
• Reduce customer waiting times
• Ensure food quality
• Preparation according to the food concept

The solution:

• iHexagon

Customer benefits:

• Fast production and additional production
• Excellent food quality
• Standardisation
• Short waiting times
• High customer satisfaction

When things settle down in the late morning, the three of them use the time to prepare for the lunchtime rush: They garnish pizzas, assemble hamburgers - with fish or meat to suit every taste - and top ciabattas in different variations. When one of the prepared snacks is ordered, it is placed in the iHexagon for approximately one and a half minutes. The iHexagon knows what is being prepared and how, and does it with consistent quality and reliability.

What helps Antonio and his team at lunchtime: the iHexagon has six racks, all of which can be used simultaneously. Whether for a burger, grilled baguette or a wrap, it all comes together here. The main thing is that the cooking cabinet climate matches the food.

"We produce high quality products and to do that we need high quality equipment," says Natalie Höft, Assistant Retail Manager at PC Tank. RATIONAL expert Alexander Stöckl, National Key Account Manager iHexagon, tests how the iHexagon contributes to this. He shows Cédric Levannier, responsible for food concepts at PC Tank, and Natalie Höft the intelligent cooking applications of the iHexagon for the existing food concept. The precise use of steam, hot air and microwave is a guarantee of success. The cooking program is then saved on MyDisplay, so all Antonio and his team have to do is tap on the image and the iHexagon starts working.

Test cooking is also an opportunity to see where there can be a reduction in the number of steps and where processes can be streamlined. Old kitchen technology can't keep up.

Cédric Levannier and Natalie Höft are responsible for a total of 24° petrol stations. Most offer hot meals, and the largest ones even offer them 24/7, always based on the same food concept. Eight stations have their own kitchens where lunch and take-away meals are prepared under the Gourmet Rapide brand. These can be eaten on site or taken away and reheated at the office or at home.

Tradesmen, construction workers and lorry drivers meet here at lunchtime, as do employees from the surrounding offices and parents with their children. Also although it's busy, you won't have to wait long for your freshly prepared meal. The mixed loading feature of the iHexagon allows you to produce additional items on demand, so the display is always fresh and food waste is significantly reduced.

The quantity that can be prepared is just as important to the professionals at PC Tank. "Speed ovens only have one cabinet," says Natalie Höft, "so a maximum of two burgers go in and the next customer has to wait. With the iHexagon, we can prepare many products at the same time and also put them into the cooking cabinet at different times. This means that customers don't have to wait too long, even when the restaurant is very busy."

And she sees the second big advantage in the space that is not needed in the first place: “None of the kitchens are large because we prefer to offer tables and chairs for our guests." When you have an iHexagon, you can go without other equipment such as speed ovens.

15 other stations sell food to go and snacks. Every day, around ten different ready meals are available from the refrigerated section. To take away or heat up on site.

The iHexagon is already doing this at two locations, and more are being planned. “The iHexagon quickly convinced us,” says Natalie Höft. "We make sure that we buy high quality raw materials, then we have to make sure that it is prepared carefully. For this we can rely on the iHexagon." Juicy chicken escalopes, crispy burgers and golden brown baguettes are just some of the mouth-watering delights on offer.

To further streamline processes, give service engineers remote access to cooking systems and speed up repairs, PC Tank will benefit even more from ConnectedCooking in the future. The power consumption of the RATIONAL cooking systems in the various branches can then also be viewed from the desk and recommendations for action can be called up: close doors, reduce idle times or simply keep track.

In Differdange, it's now afternoon. Sweet treats prepared in advance and waiting behind glass on the self-service shelves, also baked in the iHexagon, are selling like hot cakes. It will get busy again later, but the transition will be seamless. The iHexagon demonstrates its full flexibility: it is as suitable for production as it is for rush hour.

To make life as easy as possible for the local team, the iHexagon's iCareSystem AutoDose takes care of intelligent cleaning. This system uses cartridges instead of tabs: The integrated cartridge cleaner is stored in the cooking system, so there is no need to worry about dosage or coming into contact with chemicals.