News and knowledge

What buyers of a washing robot want to know

No press releases, but answers. About costs, hygiene, safety and the technology behind the Nexus, written from the hands-on experience of HB Group.

Logistics

Mobile truck wash or a fixed wash unit on your own yard: which fits your volume?

A mobile truck wash fits a low volume and the outside of the vehicle: a provider comes to your yard by appointment and you build nothing. Once you want the cargo space of trailers cleaned inside every day, with a HACCP certificate per wash and nobody on site for it, a fixed wash unit on your own yard fits better. Our ROI calculator puts the tipping point around six vehicles per day.

30 October 20267 min read

Technology

Self-service truck wash for trailer interiors: the driver docks and the robot does the rest

A self service truck wash for trailer interiors is a lane where the driver docks and nobody from the wash site is needed to start, watch or finish the cycle. At the HB Nexus the trailer docks, the telescopic arm drives inside and cleans floor, walls and ceiling, after which the HACCP certificate is registered automatically through Nuvix. The lane runs 24/7, with no operator and no training.

27 October 20267 min read

Hygiene

Halving truck wash water usage: what a fixed wash unit does differently

Truck wash water usage halves once a fixed wash unit takes over from the lance: 50 percent less water per interior wash cycle. The HB Nexus cleans floor, walls and ceiling with a fixed programme: rotating wash nozzles, a telescopic arm over the full length, and a dosing system that keeps chemical dose and contact time the same every cycle. No open hose, no second pass, no difference between washers.

23 October 20267 min read

Hygiene

Reefer washout: why a refrigerated trailer needs it more often and how to do it without manual work

A reefer washout is needed more often than a dry van washout, because a refrigerated trailer carries food, changes load type often and holds moisture. A proper washout covers floor, walls and ceiling over the full length and leaves proof per wash. The HB Nexus does that in at most 15 minutes, with a programme per type of load and a HACCP certificate through Nuvix. Your own HACCP plan sets how often.

20 October 20267 min read

Technology

Truck wash bay requirements for a container-based trailer wash: placement, connections and service

Truck wash bay requirements for a container-based trailer wash are shorter than for a built bay: the HB Nexus is a 40ft ISO container, plug and play and modular, and it replaces the wash hall, plant room and chemical store you would otherwise build. You prepare a docking lane, a power and water connection and a drain for wash water; the values are supplied per location. A service agreement with HB Group covers maintenance and remote monitoring.

16 October 20267 min read

Technology

How to start a truck wash business with trailer washouts: how many washes per day does it take?

How to start a truck wash business with trailer washouts comes down to two numbers. The ceiling is capacity: the HB Nexus manages four wash cycles per hour, because a full HACCP wash cycle takes at most 15 minutes, day and night, up to around 33,000 cycles a year. The floor is break-even: at 60 euros per wash that sits at around six vehicles per day. Your business plan lives between the two.

13 October 20267 min read

Logistics

In-house truck wash or outsourcing: when does your own interior wash unit pay off?

An in-house truck wash for trailer interiors pays off from around six washes a day, at 60 euros per wash and six wash days a week. Below that volume outsourcing stays cheaper. Above it, or once food, pharma and chemical customers require a HACCP certificate per wash, the decision tips towards your own unit: by hand that costs people, an automated unit such as the HB Nexus costs a fixed annual amount and certifies every wash.

9 October 20267 min read

Logistics

What is the truck wash equipment cost for interior cleaning? The cost model without a price list

The truck wash equipment cost for interior cleaning is a fixed annual amount for the machine plus a marginal cost per wash for water, chemicals and energy. There is no price list: the set-up differs per location. At 60 euros per wash and six wash days per week, the break-even point against manual washing or outsourcing sits around six vehicles per day.

6 October 20267 min read

Logistics

Trailer washout equipment: nine questions to ask before you buy

Trailer washout equipment is bought on nine questions: what it cleans, how many cycles per hour it runs, who operates it, what proof each wash produces, how it doses water and chemicals, what it adds next to your existing wash, how service works, how it connects to planning and invoicing, and what a demo must show. The HB Nexus answers them as a fully automated washing robot in a 40ft ISO container, with a HACCP certificate per wash.

2 October 20267 min read

Hygiene

Trailer interior cleaning for food, pharma and chemicals: what changes with a robot

In food, pharma and chemicals, trailer interior cleaning has to remove residues to the level that certifications require and has to be demonstrable per vehicle. A robotic wash such as the HB Nexus does that with a fixed programme per type of load, a result measured at 63 percent less microbial load, and a HACCP certificate for every wash cycle that records vehicle, programme, duration and status.

29 September 20266 min read

Technology

Tank cleaning and interior cleaning: why they are two different processes

Tank cleaning and interior cleaning of a box are two processes with different tools and a different access. A tank container is a closed vessel that is cleaned through a manhole. A trailer or box container is a space with a door across the full width, where floor, walls and ceiling must be covered. The HB Nexus is built for the latter.

25 September 20264 min read

Logistics

Trailer washing software: what Nuvix records for every wash cycle

Trailer washing software plans wash cycles, registers what happened and invoices the work. Nuvix, the software behind the HB Nexus, does all three and creates a HACCP certificate for every wash cycle with the wash cycle number, licence plate, programme, duration and status. The certificates are searchable per vehicle and per date in the customer portal, and machine and software come from the same house.

22 September 20265 min read

Hygiene

What a HACCP certificate of an automated wash cycle looks like

A HACCP certificate of an HB Nexus wash cycle contains five fields: the wash cycle number, the licence plate of the vehicle, the programme that ran, the actual duration of the cycle and the status of the registration. The machine creates the certificate automatically as soon as the wash cycle is completed and stores it in Nuvix, searchable per vehicle and per date.

18 September 20265 min read

Logistics

Adding interior cleaning to a truck wash: what it takes and what it returns

Adding interior cleaning to a truck wash takes space, water, drainage and above all people willing to do the work. A robotic installation removes that last part: the HB Nexus fits in a single 40ft ISO container, runs 24/7 without staff at the wash bay and completes a full HACCP wash in at most 15 minutes.

15 September 20264 min read

Technology

What is a trailer cleaning system, and how does a robotic one work?

A trailer cleaning system is an installation that cleans the inside of trailers and containers: floor, walls and ceiling. In a robotic system such as the HB Nexus the trailer docks, a telescopic arm with a rotating wash head moves inside and a fixed programme controls dosing, contact time and movement. A full HACCP wash cycle takes a maximum of 15 minutes and produces a certificate automatically.

11 September 20266 min read

Technology

Why nobody needs to enter the cargo space any more

With the HB Nexus nobody enters the cargo space any more because a telescopic arm with a rotating wash head does the work. The driver docks, collision protection with sensors monitors the docking, the chemicals sit in a sealed technical room and are dosed automatically, and the controls run the programme without any operation. The result is the same every cycle.

8 September 20265 min read

Hygiene

Container interior cleaning: what a robot does differently

Container interior cleaning means bringing floor, walls and ceiling back to a state the next load can go into. With the HB Nexus that happens on a fixed programme per cargo type in at most 15 minutes, with an independently measured result of 63 per cent lower germ load and a HACCP certificate for every wash.

4 September 20265 min read

Logistics

What does manual trailer cleaning really cost?

Cleaning the inside of a trailer by hand costs more than the washer's hourly wage. The driver's waiting time, water and chemical use, varying quality per shift, registration afterwards and the risk of injury in a wet cargo space all count too. Only when all of those items are on the table can you compare them with a machine that has a fixed cost per wash cycle.

1 September 20266 min read

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