Awards & Associations

APPMA 2024 Awards of excellence finalist

Rhima have been awarded an excellence finalist award for their work on a most recent project the Rhima Coles Ocado innovation with washer dryer technology. Thanks to Rhima’s latest technology in designing the washer, spinners and conveyor system, not only a great deal of real estate was saved, but also a considerable saving in energy usage was achieved over the operation of the plant.

 

More details on the other finalists can be found here: https://www.packagingnews.com.au/events/appex/finalists-revealed-for-2024-appma-awards-of-excellence?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PKNFDB+-+APPMA+Machinery+Matters+Newsletter+-+22+November+2023&utm_content=PKNFDB+-+APPMA+Machinery+Matters+Newsletter+-+22+November+2023+CID_94a4fc324ae5c76beb18c1cfacfae166&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_term=Read+more

 

APPMA 2022 Awards of excellence finalist

Rhima have recently finished installing a large washer with automation to wash and dry Reusable Plastic Crates (RPCs). The design features and innovations were built to wash and sanitise reusable plastic crates RPC’s as economically and quickly as possible to save on labour, water, power and chemicals.

Rhima have been offering similar solutions on the Australian market since 2011. Each solution is custom built to suit individual needs. This particular product/solution is new to the Australian market. This solution would be suitable for food supply chain industries, logistics industries, farming industries and similar industries needing to wash reusable items. Rhima can easily reduce the capacity depending on the requirements.

Rhima have installed this particular product/ solution at 5 different sites in Australia for our client. There are 2 systems operational in New South Wales, 1 system operational in Victoria, 1 system operational in Perth and 1 system operational in Queensland.

These systems are installed world-wide across Europe and the USA and which are directly supplied by Colussi in Italy. Rhima have a long partnership with Colussi and are the sole suppliers to the Australian and Asian markets.

Rhima were awarded finalists for these RPC washers and automation in the 2022 APPMA Awards of Excellence for the ‘Imported Machinery Award – Corporate’ category.

WorldStar Packaging Award 2022

World Star Winner 2022

Rhima are proud to announce that we have won A Worldstar Award in the beverages category in conjunction with Schulz Organic Dairy.

Simon Schulz first started providing milk in returnable, refillable glass bottles at farmers markets in 2017 but quickly sold out due to popular demand. He then launched a successful crowd-funding campaign to install a bespoke washing line at the farm to get more bottles into the cycle. Schulz reached out to Rhima Australia in order to produce a bottle washer that could wash the new design bottles. This was a critical component in order to keep supply up with demand. This bottle washer was designed and built in Australia by the Rhima team. This washer improves hygiene and cleanliness as well as improved efficiency. If the glass milk bottles are not cleaned and sanitised properly or at all and milk residue remains, this creates a food safety hazard for Schulz and the dirty bottles have to be thrown out due to their contamination risk. During the design and build process, design team ensured suitable temperature controllers with temperature probes were selected to ensure best wash result at the required temperature outlined in HACCP guidelines. The unique design of the water injection system ensured all the inner and outer area of the bottles receive appropriate impact from water to rid milk residues.

The packaging and reusable bottles have played a role in the new process, however without the efficient HACCP compliant washing system they would barely exist. And the savings wouldn’t be possible – Each glass bottle sold will save approximately 40g of plastic, or 120 kg per week across 3,000 bottles.

The partnership between Schulz and Rhima has led to avoiding packaging waste.

Australian Business Awards 2021

Australian Business Awards Business Excellence Winner 2021 Rhima Australia has been recognised as an ABA100 Winner in The Australian Business Awards 2021 for Business Excellence [BXA]. In their sixteenth year, the awards are an annual all-encompassing awards program that recognises organisations that demonstrate the core values of business innovation, product innovation, technological achievement and employee engagement via a set of established business and product award categories.

Sarah Vandertop, Group Marketing Manager at Rhima says the award affirms their commitment to continuous improvement and innovative business processes.

Ms Vandertop also says the award recognises Rhima Australia’s achievements in the research and development of washing equipment.

“Rhima Australia is a proud market leader in providing washing equipment solutions, we can wash just about anything, and our business was built from scratch over 31 years ago. Being a family run business, we take pride in our achievements and this award just goes to show the success of our business and our staff. We wanted to commemorate the brilliance and hard work that has been put in to build our company over the years.

What sets Rhima apart is that we can truly wash anything for our customers. If a customer comes to us with a unique washing challenge, we will find a customised solution. Our team has the product knowledge, the investment in research and development (R&D) and expertise to customise products as needed. We also provide on the ground support, and product verification and testing.” added Ms Vandertop.

Organisations that demonstrate the core values of business innovation, product innovation, technological achievement and employee engagement are recognised via a set of established business and product award categories.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented one of the most significant business challenges ever faced by organisations across Australia. It created a critical need for leading organisations to adapt to new working environments and adopt new approaches to innovation whilst navigating the technical and operational constraints imposed by the lockdown,” said Ms Tara Johnston, Program Director.

“As the world changes, these organisations have implemented new business tools, practices, and policies to facilitate productivity beyond the physical office, presenting unique opportunities for business transformation by rethinking their business strategies and processes,” Ms Johnston added

Entry into the awards is open to all private and public companies, multinationals and their subsidiaries, non-government organisations, educational institutions, government departments, government agencies, government authorities and statutory bodies that have successfully executed a business, management, community initiative or developed an innovative product or service.

The program provides a significant opportunity for high-performing organisations that implement world-class business initiatives and develop innovative products and services to be acknowledged and honoured for their achievements, both nationally and internationally.

For more information on The Australian Business Awards 2021 and the ABA100® Winners, visit australianbusinessawards.com.au.

 

2021 People’s Choice Stevie® Awards

People's choice awards 2021 winner Because Rhima won a Stevie Award in one of the Company of the Year Categories, we were automatically included in voting for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favourite Companies. Nominees with a minimum of 100 votes were eligible to win, and of all the companies to have 100+ the one with the most are named winners of each category!

Rhima Australia are the proud winners for the retail category for 2021 People’s Choice Stevie® Awards.

More than 86,000 votes were cast in this year’s People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies, an annual part of The International Business Awards®.

Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We couldn’t have won it without your support.

 

2021 International Business Awards® Stevie Award Winner

Bronze Stevie Award winner International Business Awards Rhima were awarded a Bronze Stevie Winner for Company of the Year – Retail – Small.

The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – are eligible to submit nominations. The 2021 IBAs received entries from organizations in 63 nations and territories.

As the ongoing COVID-19 crisis will prevent winners from receiving their awards on stage during a traditional gala IBA banquet, winners will be celebrated instead during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, 8 December.

More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Company of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Startup of the Year, Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year, and Executive of the Year, among others.  This year’s competition also featured a number of categories to recognize organizations’ and individuals’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The judges commended Rhima on showcasing our organisations success throughout our submission . We were praised on the way we have shown agility and passion throughout a world pandemic ensuring that our business was able to be flexible with the current world circumstances.
Our website has also been highly complimented for its attention to details, customisation and environment focused thinking.
As a company we aren’t letting the current circumstances get in the way of providing Australia with the best washing solutions possible. We look forward to helping many more customers over the next 30 + years.

 

2021 Australian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards

Rhima and Schulz organic were awarded Bronze Winner of Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year- Reuse

Click below to view the PDF – Bronze Winner Award

Schulz Organic Dairy works hard to make real dairy products that are simple, pure and delicious, processing in small batches with great care and detail at their farmhouse factory in Timboon. They add nothing but natural ingredients to their products. The range includes milk, yogurt, cream and quark made from their very own dairy milk, renowned for its rich, creamy texture. Schulz (& Contain Design Studio) designed a glass bottle to provide milk in returnable glass to retailers. These glass milk bottles reduce plastic waste.
The change is coming, Australian’s have moved to reusable bags for shopping.
The next major shift will be washing and reusing, which is what Schulz has accomplished. Quite a few companies supply glass bottles, but how many of them actually collect them to wash and reuse? Not many.
Schulz reached out to Rhima Australia in order to produce a bottle washer that could wash the new design bottles. This was a critical component in order to keep supply up with demand. This bottle washer was designed and built in Australia by the Rhima team. This washer improves hygiene and cleanliness as well as improved efficiency. If the glass milk bottles are not cleaned and sanitised properly or at all and milk residue remains, this creates a food safety hazard for Schulz and the dirty bottles have to be thrown out due to their contamination risk.
Industrial bottle washers exist but most are geared up for very large production runs in fully automated environments. Smaller bottle washer/sanitisers are available also, but they are mainly aimed at the laboratory market with low capacities and long cycle times.

2021 Australian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards

Rhima and Schulz Organic were awarded High Commendation Beverage Packaging Design of the Year

Click below to view the PDF – High Commendation Award

The brief was to design and build a washer/sanitiser that would wash and sanitise to a HACCP program acceptable level, ease of use, a suitable and viable capacity while at the same time minimising energy and water consumption. The machine had to be commercially viable for use in different similar re-useable environments. The bottle washer has been designed with an injector wash arm that allows each bottle to have its own spray nozzle. The Rhima design team started with one of their standard industrial washers and modified both the wash and rinse system as well as the programming and racking to achieve a design that met the required criteria. In particular the special racking design, injection system, control system, and component selection required a lot of R&D. This is to ensure that the bottles are 100% clean while using minimal water and energy. The washer allows the reusable glass bottles to be available on the market. Without the ability to wash and reuse them hygienically this sustainable venture wouldn’t be possible. The packaging and reusable bottles have played a role in the new process, however without the efficient HACCP compliant washing system they would barely exist. And the savings wouldn’t be possible – Each glass bottle sold will save approximately 40g of plastic, or 120 kg per week across 3,000 bottles. The partnership between Schulz and Rhima has lead to avoiding packaging waste.

2021 Australian Small Business Champion Finalist

Rhima Australia were awarded 2021 Australian Small Business Champion Finalist

Click below to view the PDF – 2021 Finalist

The Australian Small Business Champion Awards offers a unique opportunity to highlight Australia’s most outstanding small businesses, the awards seek to recognise the hard work that business owners contribute to the local community in generating employment for millions of Australians, as well as their contribution to the Australian economy. Michael Vandertop, owner of Rhima Group, deserves to be recognised for the achievement of such a successful business. Since the beginning in 1990 Rhima have been importing and customising equipment washing systems. What sets Rhima apart is that we can truly wash anything for our customers. If a customer comes to us with a unique washing challenge, we will find a customised solution. The team has the product knowledge, the investment in research and development (R&D) and expertise to customise products as needed. Over the years, Rhima has expanded to operate out of New Zealand and Singapore. Washing and reusing items has an enormous role to play in reducing waste and delivering more sustainable outcomes. This is the single biggest opportunity in the sustainability space currently. Other initiatives such as recycling have been hampered by problems, with many recyclable items ending up in landfill. By enabling items to be cleaned according to standards and reused, this reduces the burden on recycling systems and reduces the amount in landfill. Rhima is at the forefront of this agenda. Our mantra is Rethink, Reuse, Rhima.

2018 Design Innovation of the Year Award

video showing the rhima twin star dishwasher and benefits

Rhima’s Twin Star Washing System was awarded finalist in the 2018 Design Innovation of the Year Award for food category – Machinery/Equipment

Click below to view the PDF

Rhima Twin Star Finalist Award