Brulines Ltd, the UK's leading provider of draught beer dispense monitoring equipment, has further enhanced its service to clients and has secured major new orders to strengthen its market leading position.
The company has created an in-house quality assurance service and installation, department which will be staffed by experienced engineers. Initially the move has created five jobs, with a further five engineers currently being recruited to bring the strength of the team to ten. This figure is expected to rise to 15 by early 2003, taking Brulines' total personnel levels to 60.
The installation team will provide a service for fitting and maintaining the Brulines Electronic Draught Information Systems (EDIS) in pubs and clubs throughout the UK. EDIS is a sophisticated computer system that is placed into cellars and linked to beer lines to monitor the liquid dispensed. Operators can then access detailed information volumes dispensed against volumes delivered, line cleaning status, cumulative sales by hour, day, week, month or year and promotional activity as it happens.
By bringing the quality assurance and maintenance function in-house, Brulines will provide a more efficient service with rapid responses to customers' requirements. The company aims to give customers a high standard of ongoing maintenance as well as offering a dedicated in-house installation service.
The combination of integrated products and services such as installation and engineering support and the delivery of advanced internet-based management information, is proving extremely attractive to major players in the industry. Punch Pub Company, Inn Partnership, Greene King and Charles Wells have all committed to capital investment in Brulines' equipment in recent months and have placed ongoing contracts for the provision of data.
Punch Pub Company has recently placed an order for 300 units, a move that sees the EDIS system now present in over 65% of the company's leased estate. Punch Pub Co now has 2600 EDIS in place and the long term development strategy for the company means that this trend will continue. Punch has a 'zero tolerance' policy to 'buying out' and EDIS is a vital element in maintaining the high standards of control expected.
Inn Partnership has placed four orders for the EDIS system. The most recent order for 120 units takes coverage across its 1100 strong estate to nearly 40%. Brulines is also contracted to handle all of Inn Partnership's data management requirements which allows Brulines to generate an additional revenue.
In addition to Punch Pub Company and Inn Partnership's orders, two major 'brewing pub companies' have committed to substantial further orders within their own estates. The decision to implement a long term programme of EDIS installation was taken by both Greene King and Charles Wells after extensive evaluation of the Electronic Draught Information System.
Greene King spent six months monitoring EDIS in 50 outlets. The trial was so successful that the company has now placed an order for an additional 150 systems to be installed over the next 15 months. This will also generate additional data support income for Brulines through the data advisory service provided by the company
Charles Wells had been evaluating 30 units over the last six months. The company has now committed to an additional 60 units. By the end of 2002 the estate coverage will be almost 30%. Charles Wells has also contracted Brulines to provide data management services, adding to the overall contract value.
Stephen Mather, Sales and Marketing Director of Brulines commented: "The creation of the quality assurance department is part of Brulines' overall trend of growth and expansion. The installation team will allow us to provide a total service to our customers that now includes installation, maintenance, quality assurance, report generation and data analysis.
"The popularity of the complete package that we offer is illustrated by the fact that we are gaining repeat orders from major players in the pub and brewing industry, showing how the industry values EDIS and the information it can generate. These orders represent not only significant capital deals, but also ongoing, year on year revenue through our provision of data management services for key clients. For a tenanted pub operator, the data produced by EDIS and the Brulines Data Advisory Team is proving essential in understanding and developing their businesses."