WASHROOM HYGIENE
paper from contamination before use and make it more difficult for washroom visitors to remove the paper inside.
Industrial-sized rolls were now being manufactured and were housed in jumbo toilet paper dispensers. However, even these had their issues.
Washroom visitors were able to withdraw long lengths of paper from the dispenser at a time – which they frequently did. Sometimes the roll would gather momentum and continue to unravel, giving out too much unwanted paper which would then make a mess on the toilet floor and go to waste.
The paper would sometimes become stuck inside the dispenser and this would force the washroom user to put their hands inside to access it. This unhygienic practice could easily lead to cross-contamination between washroom users. And of course, pilferage and vandalism would still sometimes occur.
Manufacturers have been working for years to address these issues. Many dispensers are now lockable to prevent the risk of pilferage. Dispenser ‘brakes’ have also been developed to prevent the paper from running out unchecked.
One of the biggest toilet roll breakthroughs of the past 10 years has been the SmartOne. This was developed under the Lotus Professional brand in 2006 and has been evolving constantly ever since to meet emerging needs.
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“The original premise was to come up with a system that prevented over- consumption while ensuring that each sheet of paper was touched only by the user,” said Stephen Wright, who worked on the original SmartOne project as Trade Marketing Manager for the Lotus Professional brand.
“The design of the SmartOne system prevented too much of the paper from being pulled out at a time, which means it was successful in reducing costs. It also reduced the risk of cross- contamination because each user only touched his or her sheet.
“A few years after the launch we learned that dispensers in some environments were being used to store drugs and needles, and this would potentially put unwitting users at risk. So then we had another issue to address.”
The SmartOne was adapted to become ‘needlestick-proof’ which means that all crevices and fissures were engineered out of the design.
“Since then the SmartOne has continued to evolve,” added Stephen. “Some customers had a problem with vandalism so we adapted the shape of the dispenser and gave it a polycarbonate construction, using materials similar to those typically found in riot shields.
“Other companies reported that jumbo systems in vulnerable washrooms were being used to set the premises alight. So we made the SmartOne fire-resistant.”
Several customers expressed the desire for a system that could be topped up at any time to prevent the paper supply from running out. “We listened to their requests and launched the SmartOne Twin Mini system in 2011 which incorporates two rolls in one,” said Stephen.
The SmartOne system became the Tork SmartOne in 2013 after Tork manufacturer SCA acquired the Lotus Professional brand in Europe. Stephen Wright is now Senior Product Manager at SCA. Since then the dispensers have slimmed down in size to fit even more compact washrooms and are now available in black and white to blend in with the rest of the Tork washroom range.
Making a toilet roll is hardly rocket science. But loo rolls still need to incorporate certain qualities to ensure they are fit for purpose. They need to be strong and absorbent and ideally, housed in a dispenser that is robust, hygienic and safe to use while also helping to reduce waste and control costs.
The Tork SmartOne is among the few genuinely new products to hit the toilet tissue market and address these problems in recent years. As a result it has been hugely popular – in fact tens of thousands of dispensers were supplied last year in the UK and Ireland alone.
No doubt other products will emerge over time to take the toilet roll further along its evolutionary path. And if so, we intend to be at the forefront of the next big thing.
www.sca.com Tomorrow’s Cleaning May 2016 | 97
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