Restaurant ’t Cuyperke, Belgium

Restaurant ’t Cuyperke is a cosy eatery in the centre of Zaventem, Belgium, which serves tasty seasonal dishes prepared with the freshest local produce. The restaurant offers Belgian cuisine, prepared using traditional ‘slow cooking’ methods, with some intriguing new twists on Belgian classics like vol-au-vents and Leffe ale casserole.

Project data

Restaurant

Installation: Schell Belgium

SCHELL products: MODUS E electronic wash basin tap, SCHELLTRONIC infrared exposed urinal flush valve

The restaurant recently renovated the sanitary facilities for its customers, using SCHELL products with infrared sensors to replace all of its wash basin taps. The restaurant picked sensor-controlled taps from the MODUS series for its washrooms. All of the urinals are now also equipped with Schelltronic infrared urinal flush valves.

Optimum water hygiene

“I find it amazing that such a small change can make such a big difference,” says restaurant manager Peter Cuypers. “The Covid crisis reminded us just how important it is to ensure good hand hygiene for employees and guests. Many of my guests use the sanitary facilities when they visit our restaurant. To help with their hygiene, it’s important that we can minimise the risk of bacterial or viral transmission.” Standard taps are normally operated manually and therefore have to be touched both before and after washing the hands. Thanks to Schell’s infrared sensor fittings, this is now no longer necessary. Water starts to flow when the hands come into the sensor range and stops automatically when the hands go out of range of the sensor. This makes it impossible for anyone to contaminate their hands with bacteria and viruses that might be present on the wash basin tap.

Simple maintenance

“Since we installed the infrared taps, we’ve found that the sanitary facilities stay cleaner for longer,” Cuyper continues. “Less water is consumed and the urinals flush themselves after each use automatically. The new taps are not only popular with our guests but also with the inspectors from the food and health authorities. The pandemic has changed our industry forever and hygiene requirements are likely to be tightened even further. But thanks to equipping our sanitary facilities with contactless taps from Schell, we are now already well-placed to face the future.”

Simple installation

Installing the new taps was, as they say, child’s play. No conversion or renovation work was necessary at all. The taps were simply fitted to the existing wash basins. The infrared sensors on the taps are battery-operated, so they do not need to be connected to mains power. The only work actually involved was removing the existing taps and then installing the new models. Which was all completed in the space of a few hours.

Positive feedback

“My customers are also really happy,” says Cuypers. “While handwashing is recommended after using sanitary facilities, this wasn’t always done. And in the male toilets, guests often forgot to flush the urinal after using it. All of this is now history thanks to Schelltronic, which flushes the urinal automatically after use. This keeps the washing facilities cleaner overall, leading to a more positive experience for my guests. But the thing my restaurant customers most appreciate is the pleasant, pre-configured water temperature. It’s certainly the best investment that I’ve made this year.”