HTC met up with Tony Holmström from TMH Produktion and Niclas Buskenström from Buskenström Hygienkonsult one grey afternoon at the Birka terminal in Stockholm for a bright and sunny story. Tony and Niclas have long worked in the cleaning industry and have seen the launch of many new products.
The HTC Twister™ system (Twister™ pads and Twister™ Cleaner) with its unique properties stood out from the rest. So, when they learned what Twister™ could do for them and their customers, they quickly scooped it up for their assortment. This was about one year ago.
But, how did Twister™ end up on a cruise ship in the Baltic Sea?
It all started with just a few pleasure cruises. Niclas and Tony had booked a cruise on Birka Paradise. During the trip, they realized that the ship had lots of flooring for which Twister™ was perfect. The interesting part of this story is that it does not end at this good idea. On the next cruise they booked, Tony brought along a Twister™ catalogue that he left at the ship’s reception desk with the note “To the person responsible for your floors”. The story could have easily ended here – in the wastebasket – but since the crew of the Birka Paradise is greatly committed to their ship on all levels, the catalogue actually reached its intended destination. In the words of Niclas and Tony: “We were back on the ship within twenty-four hours, demonstrating the entire system to the chief mate. They wanted to see for themselves whether it really worked as promised in the catalogue. The demonstration was a complete success and they purchased the starter pack from us directly.”
On which surfaces and for what purposes is Twister™ used?
The necessary cleaning of toilets, cabins and other public areas is handled by staff which boards the ship during the time it is docked. But, all other floor care is handled by the crew onboard the Birka ship. This is everything from daily to periodic maintenance of natural stone, oiled wood floors and floors in the ship’s well used cargo areas. Now, only Twister™ scrubbing pads are used on the ship.
What has the switch to Twister™ meant?
Jan-Erik Qvarnström, floor care manager of the ship, comments on the floor, saying “Never before have the floors been this nice. We use Twister™ for maintenance as much as possible, including on our wood floors.” The wood floors, which are mostly teak, are polished with a high-speed machine and green Twister™. If there is large scratch, it is sprayed with maintenance oil and polished with the same pad. Some areas, such as the tax-free shop, are subject to more traffic. So, these areas are scrubbed at regular intervals. All that is needed is a light scrubbing with the green Twister™ and Twister™ Cleaner for cleaning. This is followed by a maintenance oiling and the high-speed polishing that is normally carried out.
Until now, maintenance of the natural stone floors has been with traditional crystallisation techniques with steel wool pad and crystallisation fluid. These methods are costly and not particularly environmentally friendly. With such a well functioning replacement, it was not a huge decision to begin taking care of the natural stone floor with the Twister™ system – something that is fully in line with Birka Cruise’s fine environmental policy that permeates all of their operations. Birka Paradise has quite a bit of natural stone flooring, so the switch to Twister™ has also brought about financial savings as their is no longer a need to maintain the stones through crystallisation. The floors are instead polished with a high-speed machine. If the floors require scrubbing, all that is needed is a little Twister™ Cleaner and some water.