Gastugard is a start-up based in Kornwestheim. The company was founded in 2014 and specialises in products for the gastronomy sector, such as cutlery holders and hygiene solutions.

The founders of Gastguard developed a mobile modular cutlery dispensing system for the gastronomy sector due to the generally poor level of hygiene provided by a traditional cutlery tray. They came up with a safe and hygienic way to provide guests with knives, forks and spoons well before the coronavirus pandemic. By serving up individual items, the system prevents guests from coming into contact with all of the other pieces of cutlery. A transparent fold-up plastic cover protects the contents against coughs and sneezes.

The previous castors were difficult to manoeuvre and challenging to use on uneven surfaces. The developers were happy with every component of the Gastguard except the mobile base frame, which used an Asian competitor’s synthetic castors with ball bearings and a diameter of 80 mm. Their rolling resistance proved to be too high. The system was also difficult to manoeuvre over ramps or small gaps in the floor. An alternative was needed. The two owners had a clear idea of what they were looking for: the castors needed to be made in Germany, capable of handling uneven surfaces with ease and in line with the overall appearance of the system.

The company ultimately decided to use castors from Blickle. Blickle’s impressive product range, the high level of vertical integration at the Rosenfeld headquarters and its quick and reliable customer service made the difference. Engineers from Blickle developed a fixed castor with a diameter of 100 mm to go with a MOVE synthetic twin wheel castor from the company’s standard range. The innovation was based on the steerable version, with the two ball bearings in the swivel head replaced with two specialised synthetic discs to lock the swivel head. The MOVE twin synthetic castors use locks to keep the cabinet safe and stable. In addition to being abrasion-resistant, they also provide extremely good floor preservation and low-noise operation. The surfaces of the castors are smooth and easy to keep clean, making them particularly suitable for use in areas where demanding hygiene standards apply. Thanks to Blickle’s injection moulding facility in Rosenfeld, the wheel and castor specialist was able to provide the system in the RAL 9010 colour required by the customer.