London Zoo's Keepers can't live without Robot Coupe

YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT ROBOT COUPE -- SO SAY LONDON ZOO KEEPERS
Case study

Robot Coupe’s heavy duty professional food processors, vegetable preparation machines and blenders have come to the rescue at London Zoo. Whilst other commercial food processors were lasting a maximum of twelve weeks, proving to be no challenge to the Zoo’s daily food preparation and individual diet requirements, Robot Coupe’s equipment has risen to the challenge.

The new arrival of the only giant anteaters in the UK, Bonito and Sauna caused an exciting feeding challenge for their keeper Amanda Ferguson. While preparing their daily diet of soaked dog biscuits, frozen shrimp, boiled eggs, apples, pears, porridge and raw meat, Amanda explained why: "giant anteaters have no teeth, relying on their long narrow snouts and 18-inch sticky tongue to lick and suck up their food. That is why Robot Coupes Blixer 3 is absolutely invaluable in blending their food to a fine gruel. Standard machines don’t match up, they have to be much tougher and rugged to match up to this environment."

Amanda continues, "Anteaters are high profile animals and we do our best for them, managing their tricky diets in the Blixer’s 3.5 litre bowl that can hold the large amount of food required. In over a year the machine has not let us down once, it is great for us and we couldn’t manage without it."

At the Zoo Robot Coupe’s vegetable preparation CL30 and Blixer 3 blender mixer machines are in place at The Small Mammal House. They are used daily to prepare fruit and vegetables for the 500 animals in the house and blending meals for hand rearing and toothless species.
Humorous Head Zoo Keeper, Frank Wheeler has extensive experience in keeping his animals happy and healthy. Caring for 80 different species he finds using Robot Coupe equipment invaluable. "Since using these machines I have saved a day a week in preparing food, they are fantastic! The blade attachments on the CL30 enable me to get the food size right for the various animals. In over a year nothing has gone wrong and they are still going strong."

The World’s first striped possum bred in captivity at London Zoo, has her meals prepared by the Blixer 3 and CL30. A strict vegetarian (unless nibbling Frank) she has a diet of chopped hard fruit and nectar mix which consists of honey water, boiled egg (including the shell for calcium) and baby cereal.

Robot Coupe’s professional food processor R101 is also utilised at the Zoo for a very special need, baby penguin chicks. Previous machines could not be consistent in producing liquidised food that mirrored the mothers' feeding process of regurgitated food.

Dave Robinson, second in charge of Diving Birds, uses the machine to liquidise the birds' diet of herrings, fish eater tablets, vitamin supplements and water. "It is vital in the first three days, when hand-rearing a chick, that we have the food right. They need to be fed every four hours and if the food isn’t right they die, it is as simple as that."

He continues "There are three things in my job that I can’t live without, they are water, a broom and a Robot Coupe machine! Other machines just don’t do the job, they need to be robust and meet the demand’s that we place on them."

In the Tropical Bird House Keeper Jo Pratt uses Robot Coupe’s CL30 for dicing and chopping fruit and the R301 Food Processor, in preparing the protein mixers of tuna, cheese or egg. "Robot Coupe machines are vital in dicing the fruit to the correct size for the birds and then blending a protein mix. Birds cannot chew their food but swallow it in one and can end up choking if the pieces of food are too large. We have a lot of different diets to cover and we have found that the machines save us hours every day".

The beautiful hyacinth macaw is one of the many birds benefiting from Robot Coupe for their mix of blended pulses, egg and shell, tuna and peanut butter and then mixed with fruit.
As Jo explains, "We can’t manage without it. For the number of birds we’ve got we spend all morning preparing food, everything else gets left and that is why Robot Coupe machines are invaluable in allowing us to stay on top".

Recognised in the food service industry for providing reliable, excellent quality products, Robot Coupe pride themselves on the fact that their machines are designed and tested by experienced chefs. But at London Zoo they face a demanding challenge every day in providing meals for hundreds of animals. Robot Coupe save keepers hours every day, giving them time to "keep on top of things" and are proud to be corporate partners for London Zoo.

Press information:
Sally Ward
PRPoint
No 4 Woolgate Court
St Benedicts Street
Norwich
Norfolk NR2 4AP

Tel: 01603 633777
Fax: 01603 675502
email: sally@prpoint.co.uk

Further information:
Martin Bates
Robot Coupe (UK) Ltd
2 Fleming Way
Isleworth
Middlesex TW7 6EU

Tel: 020 8232 1800
Fax: 020 8568 4966
email: sales@robotcoupe.demon.co.uk

Notes for editors

• Log onto www.robotcoupe.co.uk to gain further company and product information. This intriguing and inspiring website illustrates and explains the full product range, relying information fast back to meet your request.

• Robot Coupe appoints new public relations agency PRPoint, from June 1st 2000. Please address all correspondence to Sally Ward on the above contact details.

• Please visit www.londonzoo.co.uk