Water Works

Billi brings the welcome mat out for Staff and Visitors at Advance Flooring Systems.

Pioneering commercial flooring and entrance matting manufacturers Advance Flooring Systems recently relocated to Wiri, placing it closer to it’s ever expanding global markets. The move into custom built premises not only affords them more efficient manufacturing and distribution, but a greatly improved working environment for all staff and visiting clients.

This modest family business had contemplated the move for some time, and had very clear goals with the new building. It was not going to be an extravagant project, but it would focus heavily on enhancing productivity and staff welfare.

Initially they thought about a Billi Quadra boiling/chilled water dispenser for installation in their staff canteen. But even before they placed the order, when they considered the benefits in terms of productivity and time saved, they expanded the scope to include a second Billi Quadra in a coffee bar for the executive offices upstairs, and also a Schwan (domestic unit) in the warehouse for ‘between-break breaks” or a quick thirst-slaking on a hot day.

As anyone familiar with the market knows, Billi is the leading supplier of Boiling and Chilled water dispensers in Australasia, and is the only one to receive Gold Green Tag accreditation for unrivalled energy efficiency.

Schwan is a Merquip proprietary brand, designed primarily for NZ households, based on our experience of the often fatal flaws of foreign units. It is designed for moderate output, whereas the Billi Quadra is designed for significantly heavier use.

Here’s wishing all our friends, families, staff, clients and suppliers a fantastic festive season. We hope you had a great 2016, and we can't wait to see you in 2017.

With a Billi Quadra Compact boiling/chilled water dispenser in your kitchen, you need never have your back to your guests for more than a couple of seconds.

The quintessential Auckland Villa renovation includes expanding the kitchen into the dining area, and placing a cooker on a central island, so that the hosts can maintain contact with their guests even while cooking. But this kitchen has another robust feature which helps keep the hosts ‘in touch’ with their guests.

They’ve fitted a stylish black Billi Quadra Compact, complete with XT Touch tap, to supply near boiling or chilled filtered water at the touch of a button. This commercial-grade faucet not only provides drinks on demand all night long, it significantly speeds up food preparation and cleanliness. But best of all, it eliminates clutter from the benchtops, keeping the kitchen looking clean.

Fitted with energy-saving features such as time controls, and off peak usage settings, this Billi Quadra will save you time and money, and ensures the perfect pour every time.

Even the taps conform to the mandate of improved safety and efficiency.

The recent and very timely seismic upgrade at Hutt Valley City Council buildings was an initiative to upgrade the facilities to make it a safer and more efficient  work place. When it came to upgrades in the cafeteria, the council agreed that the addition of a Billi Quadra boiling/chilled water dispenser ticked both these boxes.

No more staff mingling around a bubbling kettle sloshing scalding water during break time, or bottles of water stacked up in the fridge collecting bacteria. Staff can pour a cup of tea, or a cool water, instantly on demand, and from the same tap.

Hutt City Council opted for the extra safety of the XT Touch sensor, which eliminates moving parts from the tap assembly, and ensures a safe pour every time.

Auckland Build 2016 is expected to bring key players in the NZ Construction Industry to the ASB Showgrounds on the 16-17th of November. And once again we’ll be showcasing the market-leading Billi Quadra range of boiling, chilled and sparkling water.

If you haven’t already tried our Sparkling Water straight from the tap, now’s your chance!

At the Home Show, Simon Gault couldn’t keep away from our ‘bubbly’ – he said it tasted better than bottled sparkling water, and it certainly helped him get through his back-to-back cooking demonstrations. And at ‘Facilities Integrate’, key corporate facilities managers commented that it wasn’t something they’d thought about, but it made perfect sense for a staff kitchen or canteen, especially when backed up by our after-sales service team for peace of mind.

They’re right too! The Italian mechanism used in Billi’s sparkling water tap is revolutionary, and the taste it creates is fantastic. But don’t take our word for it… or Simon Gault’s…  or a handful of leading specifiers… Come along and taste it for yourself.

Thanks to all the people who visited us at Facilities Integrate. The response from commercial specifiers to our heavy-duty range of Billi Boiling/Chilled/Sparkling water taps was even more exciting than the response to our residential range a month ago at the Home Show.

Not surprisingly, it was our sparkling water variants that stole the show. While it’s not something historically considered for a staff cafeteria, the number of people who tried it, and liked it, confirms the trend we’re experiencing of seeing more of these units going into office fitouts and homes.

As you probably know by now, the Billi Quadra range is the market leader in Boiling Chilled water taps. And it not only performs well, but looks elegant as well. In a small kitchen, it’s an enormous space saver, and in a large kitchen, it helps keep kitchen traffic flowing smoothly and safely. Or it can be placed on a sideboard in the office bringing coffee and water facilities closer to the work areas.

As you can see by the unit front and centre in our display, the compact boiling and chilled units fit in the cupboard space under the sink, making installation simple and clean. You can hook it into your existing water supply in place of your existing tap, or you can add a second tap. Under the counter, the compact Billi boiling and chilled unit is self contained and requires no external ventilation. So no need to modify your cupboards, or worry about heat build-up under the sink. It’s also environmentally friendly, with class leading efficiency and exclusive Greentag Certification.

If you tried us you’ll know this is a great innovation and team motivator, and the sparkling option is an excellent addition for summer. If you haven’t tried us, then give us a call, and we’ll make an appointment for you to view our display unit next time you’re passing. We get the feeling this just might be the next office “must-have” accessory.

After a fantastic response to our display at the Auckland Home Show in September, we’re back – even bigger and better - at the ASB Showgrounds for “Facilities Integrate” - The trade-only event for people who make buildings smarter, safer, and more efficient.

Come along on November 3-4 and take a look at the wide array of products for kitchens of almost any size. We’re marking the occasion with the launch of our bold new Merquip display station, to showcase our market-leading Billi, Schwan and Cosmetal boiling/chilled and sparkling water units.

If you haven’t already experienced the Italian technology in our Schwan sparkling water kitchen faucets, which create bubbles so fine even experts swear it tastes better than bottled sparkling water, then you won’t want to miss this event.

Want a sleek uncluttered dispenser? Check out the Billi Quadra with the amazing XT Touch Tap. But if you’re in the market for something a little more industrial then check out the high capacity units we have on display, which take commercial kitchens to a new level. Or, for versatility, try the multi-function systems. 

No matter what your needs are in the kitchen or cafeteria, let us whet your appetite with some stunning new ideas for your kitchen. See you at Facilities Integrate – stand #F44 – on November 3-4!

For more details on the tap, check us out at www.merquip.co.nz

Even Simon Gault couldn’t stop talking about it.

 Wow! What a whirlwind couple of days we all had at the Auckland Home Show. We were delighted to be paired up with the team at Smeg Appliances, as part of their working state-of-the-art home kitchen theatre. And it wasn’t just the Lamborghinis there that drew the crowds.

The kitchen was in use pretty much non-stop throughout the show, with celebrity chef Simon Gault (among others) sharing his tricks and techniques in the kitchen. And pretty much whenever Simon took to the stage, he had a glass of Sparkling Water in his hand courtesy of the Schwan SC80 benchtop filtered water dispenser on the end of his bench.

The Italian’s have a knack for turning kitchen objects into works of art. And that’s just what they’ve done with our NZ-designed tap range. They’ve taken our boiling/chilled filtered water tap, and packaged an enormous amount of technology into a tiny parcel under the bench, giving you an option for ultra-fine bubbles on demand, more reminiscent of bottled Perrier than a soda fountain.

Every time Simon tipped a glass of sparkling water to his lips, he stopped for a moment to relish the experience, and exclaimed that “everyone should have one of these taps at home!” Not surprisingly, we were inundated with visitors wanting to try it for themselves.

While it’s refreshing to see so many satisfied smiles, it was the cynics who we won over that really made our day – the people who said “I had no idea sparkling water tasted so good!” or “I’ve never considered one of these before, but now I don’t know how I lived so long without it!”. Almost all were surprised we were delivering this directly from their home plumbing.

Suffice to say, we’ve made a lot of people happy over the last few days, including our warehouse staff who have full order pads to pack up and deliver.

It wasn’t just the Schwan Sparkling Water that caught people’s eyes either. Billi is perhaps the “Lamborghini of Taps, and their latest range turned more than a few heads, thanks to the vibrant new colour schemes. And over on the Palazzo Kitchens stand, the stately matte black Billi Quadra was also in high demand.

Many people attending the Home Show are looking for new and exciting products for their homes. And all things considered, I think it’s fair to say we ‘quenched their thirsts’ for innovation with a product that will look and work great in any kitchen in the country. Now it’s time for you to experience the Schwan SC80 Sparkling Water for yourself!

Come and see the latest Billi’s on display at the Auckland Home Show - from today until Sunday.

You’ll find us amongst all the best kitchen appliances on the Kitchen Things display area. And that’s not all you’ll see!

Check out this delightful Fiat Bambino which hasa built in fridge

Or get your photo taken next to “The Billi Quadra of Cars”.

Or if they all seem a little superfluous, then have a really good look at the latest range of Billi Boiling/Chilled/Sparkling Filtered Water Dispensers.

Merquip’s International Greentag-certified Billi drinking water systems are a perfect solution for NZGBC’s 5-star rated office.

It’s not really any surprise to learn that the NZGBC won a 5-star Green Rating for its own fit-out at 205 Queen St in April last year. As NZGBC Chief Executive Alex Cutler said, “We’ve long advocated the benefits of sustainable offices, in terms of cost savings and positive impact on staff. Now we’ve taken our own medicine, and we’re loving it.”

But what makes this particularly notable is that this non governmental organization achieve this excellent sustainability rating on a very tight budget. And while many of the energy saving features in the office are passive, and have little impact on the daily routines of the staff, there’s one feature which most certainly impacts most staff on a daily basis – the Billi Quadra Plus XT Touch-operated boiling and chilled tap installed by Merquip.

Considerable thought went into the best solution for boiling water in the office, and many products and techniques were evaluated. But in the end, the selection of a Billi Quadra Plus XT Boiling/Chilled Water Dispenser made the best sense. It is a fast efficient way of catering to the needs of the staff as and when required, and additionally it supplies the hot/cold water to the sink mixer which eliminates the need for an additional hot water cylinder, saves energy, and saves heaps of kitchen cupboard space. And above all else, it’s Green Rated with an International Greentag Certification.

The Touch operated XT dispenser is the latest innovation in boiling water systems from market leaders Billi. Instead of levers, the XT has a touchpad, which displays the 3 programmable power-saving modes (including active, standby and sleep modes), a built in safety switch, and even a warning light for when it’s time for maintenance or to change the filter.

Operating the XT is easy. Touch the red or blue button for boiling or chilled water on demand. And double tap if you want a continuous stream (eg to fill a jug). This saves time and minimizes the chance for spills or mess.

And the NZGBC love it! When we voiced our support of the 5-star Kathmandu office fitout in Christchurch which also used Billi products throughout, NZGBC were quick to remind everyone of their own experience with Billi, saying “one of our managers said it was like ‘getting a Rolls Royce instead of the Corolla they thought they were getting’”.

Why Hot Water on Demand is a Productivity Panacea

If you think the price of a coffee in Starbucks is outrageous, wait until you find out how you’re paying for your staff to have a cuppa in the office!

 Imagine this…

 It’s mid morning, mid week, and your office is buzzing. The customer development team are chattering away on the phones, and the support staff are tapping away on their keyboards. Suddenly someone exhales loudly, kicks back their chair, and heads to the breakroom for a coffee.

We all hit the wall at some point in the day and there’s nothing like a quick caffeine-fix to clear the cobwebs and give us a fresh look at our daily dilemmas. But all too often these productivity pauses turn into prolonged periods of inertia, through distractions entirely outside the conscious control of the perpetrators.

I’m going to throw an idea out there, and it’s one you’ve probably never considered before. But I think one of the biggest enemies of office productivity is the 35 dollar lunchroom electric jug.

It’s not so much what it does, but what it forces us to do that is so sinister. Because once we’ve plugged it in, we’re hard-wired to find something to occupy us for those valuable seconds as the pot comes up to steam. It doesn’t matter who you are – we’re all equally guilty of teapot-induced time-wasting.

 Here’s just a few of the pursuits we’re likely to engage in while waiting for the water to heat…

1.    Check our facebook – surely the office rules about social media don’t apply in the breakroom? There’s soooo many new messages and posts for me to respond to, it’ll only take a minute. (Yeah, right!)

2.    Catch that pesky Pokemon which is dancing around tantalizingly close to the office, and now you’ve got just enough time to slip out and nab him.

3.    Nip out the back for a smoke, or just to hit on the girl already out there for a smoke.

4.    Go and disturb a colleague, who’s been agonizing all morning over a proposal, and needs someone to tear them away from it

5.    Take a toilet break (and then reboil the kettle, cost it’s cold again by the time you get back), or

6.    Do a crossword (refer to #5 for the likely outcome).

The one thing you definitely won’t do while your kettle is boiling, is WORK!

Chances are, by the time you get back to your desk, you’ll have blown at least 15 minutes and another five as you refocus on the task at hand. And even if you only get minimum wage, that’s almost five bucks a cup.

So five bucks multiplied by the number of staff you have, and the number of coffees a day they take, pretty quickly adds up to an amount most accountants would find obscene. And if you hire professionals who command a little more than minimum wage the opportunity cost of their caffeine addictions is closer to the GDP of a small country than it is to the price of a coffee in Starbucks.

So how can you possibly make grabbing a coffee less of a productivity pitfall? The simple answer is to take away the opportunity for people to get sidetracked. And the easiest way to keep them focused on the task at hand is to eliminate that pregnant pause while the kettle boils… In other words, have hot water ready and waiting for them when they’re ready to pour.

Not just hot water either. As any tea connoisseur will tell you, if the water is anything less than boiling, the bag just isn’t going to releasing the full flavor. So it better be boiling, or pretty close to it.

The solution to your problem is amazingly simple. All you need is to install a boiling filtered water tap in your breakroom. The right unit will dispense a steady stream of fresh water heated to just below boiling point all day long. No matter if you’re pouring tea for two, or coffee for the entire factory floor, you can make it just as fast as you can pour it.

Back to our original proposition. If you take away the distraction, when the body-clock says “sustain me”, your staff don’t have time to contemplate their cellphones to find out what their sister’s boyfriend had for dinner, because by the time they’ve put coffee in their cup the water’s ready to pour. They’ll be back at their desk in the time it used to take to fill up and plug in the jug. There’s almost no chance for them to distract or be distracted.

Oh yes! There’s other benefits too! You will never have to clean up the kitchen after an overfilled kettle spurted scalding water like the Lady Knox Geyser all over the lunchroom (and everyone in it). And nor will you be coughing up for a new kettle every six weeks when the old one burns out.

It’s entirely possible that you find this whole story frivolous, but our message is deadly serious. A filtered hot water tap will save you not just in reduced energy costs, but also in productivity gains. If you’d like to see this played out in video, check us out here:

Video: Billi v The Pot

Merquip empathises as a frustrated father froths up over fizzy drinks.

A couple of weeks back Auckland council announced they were removing sugary fizzy drinks from vending machines in council buildings. In so doing they took a leadership role in raising awareness for type-2 diabetes and posed a timely reminder for Auckland families that having a bottle of fizzy drink in the fridge is probably not the best way to teach your kids nutrition.

But try telling your testy teenagers to have a glass of water with their dinner, and they’ll probably choke on their pizzas in hysterics. As any self-respecting parent knows, the only way to get your kids eating (and drinking) healthily is to make it seem like fun.

Plain water isn’t going to cut it, no matter what exotic delicacy you’ve spiced it up with. But if you put some bubbles in the mix, it has “treats” written all over it.  Believe me when I say the secret to creating better habits for your kids is make sure you have copious quantities of chilled sparkling water ready for them to quaff any time of day.

The most painless way to sparkle things up is to buy some Schweppes at the supermarket. But be warned – you’ll need heaps of fridge space, and you’re going to need military-style stockpiling to keep up with demand. I discovered this meant rushing out for a case of soda at all hours of the night. I might not have realized how absurd this was if it wasn’t for bottle shop bloke asking me why I never bought my whiskey from him too. Clearly he thought I was a closet drinker.

After that we invested in a sodastream. They’re great… at least until you have to change the gas bottle (which invariably is mid-way through the first day). Without the foresight to buy a spare you have to run down to the dairy for some L&P before the kids start breaking things. There’s other pitfalls too…

Beware of the all-powerful sodastream black-hole which sucks up all those special bottles of water you diligently stacked in the fridge. No matter how many you have, a week later they’re gone – either your partner took them on their afternoon run, or the kids lost them after footie practice.

And wait for the day you come home to find the kids put the syrup in before the bubbles. You’ll know that day because there’s a hole in the ceiling, and the kitchen is filled with sticky goo.

So I’ve come to realize there’s only one really workable solution which the kids will love, and doesn’t put a daunting burden on us mums and dads…

The ultimate solution is to have sparkling water coming right out of the kitchen tap – filtered, fresh, icy- cool, lip-tinglingly bubbly, and dying to be drunk sparkling water, straight from the tap to the glass. It is guaranteed to keep thirsty kids slaked and doesn’t leave a mess for mum to clean up.

A pipe-dream you think (if you’ll excuse my rather bad pun)?

But you might be surprised how easy it is to install your own chilled, filtered, sparkling water faucet. The friendly folks at Merquip have got a wide range of options for small or big families and they can be installed in moments right under your sink. They even supply industry-strength systems (so you never run short– even in the wildest of parties).

You’ll be surprised at how this novelty can change your family’s drinking patterns overnight. Kids’ll happily grab a glass of fizz as they come in after school, and again when they sit to dinner. And if you’re looking for ways to change things up, the world wide watery web is rampant with rapacious recipes for spritzing up your spritzer.

There’s really no excuse for not having this convenience ‘on tap’ in your home. So book yours now, ready for the spring thaw.

Merquip Ltd is a privately owned company based in Auckland, NZ, providing boiling, chilled, sparkling and filtered drinking water systems. Contact us at http://www.merquip.co.nz or phone 0800 636 0636

Do you know what’s coming out of your kitchen tap?

Having experienced life in other major cities around the world, I cherish the ability to walk up to the kitchen sink in NZ and pour myself a cool refreshing glass of water. But I’m increasingly questioning how wise it is to do this.

Back in 2014 the Herald came out with a fairly damning article on the standard of NZ drinking water. They referred to Health Ministry figures that 78,000 NZers drink water which is not adequately monitored for E. coli.

Many communities are serviced by artesian wells, or ground run-off, which can load water with minerals not designed for human consumption. And in cities the size of Auckland, archaic pipe systems play host to rust and other pollutants?

Purists advocate distilling water, and I’ve tried that. But the problems there revolve around storage – distilled water seeks out ions from it’s surroundings, and it especially loves stripping plastic bottles of toxic molecules.

The safest bet is to install a filtration unit on your water supply. You can do this relatively cheaply by attaching a bypass tube to your tap, but this usually means dealing with unsightly tubes which decay relatively quickly. These systems are relatively cumbersome to operate, and only provide you with ambient-temperature water.

By far the best solution is to install a hot/chilled water dispenser, and solve all your problems with one device. Not only will you have filtered water on demand, it’ll come at the temperature you need.

If you’re a tea-drinker, you’ll want a system which dispenses water in excess of 95 degrees, and this is quite an engineering feat. Most international units are designed for much lower temperatures, but we’ve engineered our own systems especially for NZ householders.

Chilled water from the tap is a surprisingly useful addition to your kitchen. The mere fact it’s on tap will lessen the impulse for kids to reach for a fizzy drink, and you can use it to blanch the vegetables.

You’ll also be surprised at the cost and time savings on-demand filtered water will provide. No standing around waiting for kettles to boil, and no filling the fridge with leaky water bottles. Just step up and turn on the tap. Energy consumption is surprisingly no more than a light bulb, and the better units have timers which switch off during low-demand times.

At Merquip we stock several market-leading brands, including the Billi range, and our own Schwan brand, designed for NZ Households. So whether you’re looking for ways to improve your health, or just manage your household expenses better, give us a call and we’ll advise you on the best options for your kitchen.

We all know fluid intake is important in our private lives. Our bodies are 60% water, and a proper balance is key to most of our bodily functions, from regulating our heartbeat to improving our complexion.

But how many of us consider the impact of water (or the lack of it) on our businesses?

If you’re an employer, and you’re looking for a healthy bottom line, then arguably the first order of business is to make sure your workforce is happy and healthy.  So did you know that arguably the easiest way to optimize our workforce is to improve their fluid intake while they work? There’s three ways proper hydration will make your business stronger:

1.    Proper hydration boosts productivity

Drinking water helps keep the brain hydrated. This helps us work at peak efficiency for longer periods through an improved attention span, better memory and improved motor skills. In the US studies of school children show significant improvement in attention and learning when kids have a water bottle on their desk. This is (if you’ll excuse the pun) a ‘no-brainer’.

2.    Proper hydration improves office morale

Water also refreshes the body. It improves the operation of all our organs, and helps flush toxins from the blood stream making us feel perkier and happier. It aids in digestion too, making us less drowsy after lunch, and helps mitigate the effects coffee and other diuretics (which are stripping our body of fluid). The net result is happier people, and that’s an infusive trend.

3.    Proper hydration reduces sick days

Because water keeps us healthier, our bodies stay in better condition, and are less susceptible to injury and illness. Research shows water reduces, among other things, heart attacks and kidney stones. But a far bigger impact in most offices is the (often unspoken) drain on productivity from hangovers or medication – the effects of which can be mitigated by increased water intake.

Encouraging your staff to drink more water.

1. Keep it clean:

The most important rule is to make sure your dispensary area is clean and hygienic. If people aren’t comfortable using the facilities they’ll resist the urge to drink (or reduce the number of trips to the cooler). In this context, the fewer things to deal with – the better. Remember, different people have different cleanliness thresholds, so you need to cater to the tidiest among your staff.

2. Make it quick:

Second, make sure your staff can get to the dispenser fast, dispense their drink without fuss, and get back to their space without breaking their train of thought.

3. Make it easy:

Boiling a kettle, breaking up ice cubes or cleaning bench tops all create opportunity for distractions, from chatting with colleagues to engaging in a little “personal screen-time”. This can vastly inflate the downtime for that person and their colleagues.

Efficient boiling and chilled water dispensers not only improve productivity but also cut costs. Top of the line units like the Billi range employ patented heat exchange technology to reduce energy consumption (and heat of the unit), and an inbuilt timer allows you to customize the days and times it’s switched on. Check out this video showing you how quick and easy it is for your employees to use.

A boiling water faucet is elegant whether mounted in your kitchen or your boardroom, and chilled filtered water from the tap eliminates the need for storing water bottles or handling ice, which usually is a little messy. And if you’re really serious about steering staff away from productivity inhibitors, a sparkling faucet enables staff to make health spritzers which are a welcome alternative to energy-sapping fizzy drinks.

If you’d like to know more about installing Boil, Chilled and/or Sparkling Water dispensers in your office, give us a call.

The view over Rangitoto is outstanding, but it’s the Schwan boiling/chilled water dispenser in the kitchen that is the star of this show.

Having sold drinking water systems in NZ for several decades, we’re pretty much in tune with what the market wants and needs. And Schwan hot water systems were designed specifically with NZ households in mind.

Unlike many foreign systems which boil water to 85 degrees (hot enough for coffee, but not for tea), Schwan can be set to dispense water at 98 degrees. And it also dispenses chilled filtered water which is perfect for everything from blanching vegetables to topping up your juice blend.

Schwan gives you the elegance and performance of the top-end international systems at a decidedly Kiwi price.

Ask us for more information.