A hot water hand wash unit designed and manufactured by Birmingham company Teal Patents has been named product of the year by the British Sandwich Association.
Mike Stanley, managing director of the Chelmsley Wood firm, received the award at a presentation ceremony held at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel.
The portable unit was judged the best piece of new equipment and of particular benefit to those working in the sandwich industry.
The unit, called the Hygienius, needs no mains water or plumbing to operate and is ready to use as soon as it is plugged in.
It provides a quick hand wash to people preparing sandwiches and helps firms comply with stringent health and safety and hygiene regulations.
It is lightweight and portable and can be positioned anywhere it is required.
People using it just place their hands in the bowl and this triggers a sensor that delivers a ten-second hot water handwash.
It stores ten litres of clean water - enough for 50 washes - and has a separate facility to store the dirty water.
The machine is thought to save around 75 per cent of the water used in traditional hand basins and also saves 80 per cent of the energy needed to heat regular plumbing systems.
The machine has been developed solely by the company to meet the needs of the food industry.
