Winterhalter's new UC Series of undercounter warewashers has been applauded for its sustainability and energy efficiency at the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FSCI) conference, held annually in London.

The company was presented with the Highly Commended Sustainable Catering Equipment Award for 2009 - an award that's presented to products that are sustainable in their practical application and use, innovative, forward thinking and provide solutions to everyday catering issues.

Launched in November 2009, the new Winterhalter series was developed with the hope of giving chefs and foodservice operators more control over wash cycles.

"It's a totally new way of washing," said Brett Duffy, national product manager at Winterhalter. "There are four main areas that make a dishwasher work efficiently and they are time, temperature, chemicals and water pressure, and we've taken those four factors to the next level.

They can all be totally adjustable to suit whatever you're washing. So, if you've got delicate glassware, you can have low water pressure and the right detergent. If you're washing pots and pans you have higher wash pressure with a longer wash cycle. It's all totally adjustable to suit the customer's needs," he said.

Judges at the FSCI conference were also impressed with the series' sustainability features. Using 2.4L per cycle, Winterhalter's UC warewashers use less water than any other model, which also means that less chemicals and detergents need to be used.

"We've also developed an 'energy version' which is connected to cold water," Duffy said. "Any steam or heat that is developed within the dishwasher is then drawn out of the cavity where everything is washed through a heat exchanger and that heats up the incoming cold water."

The FSCI judges revealed that their decisions were based on the overall time and effort spent on the research and development of the new series, looking at "the full operation of the machine from start to finish".