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Tank & Rast / Sanifair

Brand experience instead of barrier. The new Sanifair Dterminals

A quantum leap in the quiet lavatory: A new state-of-the-art access system enables Sanifair to address customers in a completely new way: friendly, hygienic, multi-value, and emotional. The joint product by Wilddesign and Deutsche Mechatronics provides Sanifair customers with a sympathetic brand experience. The IF Award-winning design of the new portal system plays a key role in this.

No one is happy about a barrier on the way to the restroom. Especially not when a plain metal box still demands a fee. At more and more locations of the Tank & Rast brand Sanifair, there is now a friendly welcome. A new access and people guidance system, developed and built by Deutsche Mechatronics (DTMT) and Wilddesign, now welcomes visitors with a completely different attitude: friendly, with a large continuous glass surface, with all common payment methods including QR code readers, of course also with contactless payment options and therefore perfectly hygienic - although developed before Corona. A large screen quickly informs visitors about the essentials and can be equipped with current marketing messages. The Sanifair voucher comes out of the front of the unit in the new systems - it is therefore no longer overlooked. Light signals around all user interfaces make the system user-friendly.

Pleasant entrée for the quiet room

The new gateway to the quiet lavatory is not only a state-of-the-art new development, but it also conveys a clear message to its hundreds of thousands of daily users: "It communicates the performance of a Sanifair facility: "A modern hygienic access system that offers clear added value for users and our customers," says Bernd Bender, project manager at Deutsche Mechatronics. "The new access system enhances every location and makes Sanifair a brand that can be experienced. It succeeds here in creating emotion with a combination of function and design." Tank & Rast is therefore achieving exactly its goals with the award-winning system.

Design drafts in advance convinced

Deutsche Mechatronics involved its partner Wilddesign early on in the planning process and presented the potential customer with an initial design draft during the bidding phase. This convinced Tank & Rast to award the contract manufacturer from Mechernich the order for the new development and construction of the new access systems. In this strategic partnership, Wilddesign's task was to clothe the systems' comprehensive functional performance package in an appealing, user-centred design and to develop three design variants. High-quality, futuristic and at the same time friendly and inviting, this is how Sanifair wanted to welcome its customers at freeways, train stations and shopping centres in the future.

Sanifair - State-of-the-art access system

Challenge: Little space and budget

There were several challenges in the new development. One was the limited space available in the existing Sanifair locations, and the other was a limited budget for the new systems. Engineers from DTMT and designers from Wilddesign developed solutions to these problems "in a very cooperative and technically competent collaboration," according to Bernd Bender: Today's terminals are slim and tall, and solid-coloured plastic replaces the once-common metal in many places. Plastic allows for smooth surfaces and curves; there are fewer transitions and gaps, which benefits hygiene. The new systems also feature many identical components, which has a positive impact on the price/performance ratio. The continuous glass panel at the front, the completely keyboard-free operation and, last but not least, small refinements such as a bevelled upper surface, which thus cannot be used as a storage surface (safety, hygiene) round off the design concept. Although there are different terminal versions (left, right, turnstile, swing door), many parts are interchangeable - another plus on the cost side. DTMT project manager Bernd Bender is therefore very happy with the partner product for Tank & Rast: "Together, we have created something unique that now gives the customer a unique position on the market."

Light signals around all operator interfaces make the system user-friendly

Future-proof system with many possibilities

Since the first installations in 2018, more and more Sanifair locations are being equipped with the new systems. And meanwhile, new functions continue to be added to the system. Because the system is designed to be "open and expandable," Deutsche Mechatronics is currently "continuously developing new functions" for the expansion of existing and for future applications. Bernd Bender: "The access and people guidance system is designed to be open to the future in all directions, so that added value for the customer can be derived from new technologies over its further useful life. And because the collaboration with Wilddesign on this project was so successful, Deutsche Mechatronics intends to use the experience gained together for other projects as well.

Winner of the IF Design Award

The new Sanifair access system won the IF Design Award in the "Product" category in 2020. The jury particularly praised the intuitive user interface, the many payment methods, the integration of the system in the cloud, and the processing of all data in real-time.

"First and foremost, we wanted to offer customers an attractive system that they can grasp quickly so that they can reach their destination quickly and with a good feeling. We are very pleased that the investment in the product design has paid off and that this has been rewarded with the IF Design Award[...]
We now have an access system that offers the customer a wide range of payment options and is easy to understand. With the help of pictograms on the machine, animations on the display and various LED frames, the customer's gaze is controlled so that he immediately sees: Here's my value coupon, here's my change, I can also pay with a bill."