Case Study: New World Taumarunui

Helping New World Taumarunui improve cleaning consistency with autonomous robotics

Client

New World Taumarunui

Solution

Gausium Scrubber 50 Cleaning Robot

Key Benefits

• Increased productivity

• Cost savings

• Improved health and safety

• Consistent cleaning outcomes

About New World Taumarunui

New World Taumarunui is a locally owned supermarket operated by Aiyad Khan. The store has been part of the Taumarunui community for 65 years and recently moved into a new $14 million purpose-built facility.

The new store is 40% larger than the previous site and has been designed to create an easier, more enjoyable, and more efficient shopping experience for customers.

Technology is a key part of the store’s operations, with systems such as fingerprint access, automated sensor lighting, app-based time tracking, paperless food safety processes, and autonomous cleaning robots all helping to support a modern retail environment.

The Challenge

Like many businesses in regional New Zealand, New World Taumarunui was facing challenges finding reliable cleaning resources outside of core trading hours.

The new store is approximately 2,000 square metres, making manual mopping physically demanding and time-consuming. Cleaning consistency was also difficult to maintain, and fluctuating labour hours made it harder to manage and forecast cleaning costs.

The team needed a solution that could deliver reliable results, support staff, and provide a more predictable cleaning model.

The Solution

Mode Technology worked with New World Taumarunui to introduce the Gausium Scrubber 50 cleaning robot.

The robot was trialled in-store through a proof of concept, allowing the team to test its performance in the real environment before making a long-term commitment.

The new store had also been designed with robotics in mind, with consideration given to floor finishes, shelving, and store layout to support effective autonomous cleaning.

The Results

The cleaning robot has helped New World Taumarunui achieve a more consistent and efficient cleaning process.

The robot can clean approximately 2,000 square metres in around one hour, with only about 10 minutes required from staff to empty, clean, and reset the machine for the next run.

For comparison, the same cleaning task completed manually could take between 8 and 16 hours.

The robot has also helped reduce cleaning-related health and safety risks, improve cost control through a fixed monthly model, and reduce the impact of labour shortages.

Key Outcomes

New World Taumarunui has experienced:

• A reduction in overall cleaning spend

• More consistent cleaning results

• Improved productivity

• Less reliance on manual floor cleaning

• Better budget forecasting

• Reduced physical strain on staff

• Simple day-to-day operation for trained users

The store now has six trained team members who can operate the robot confidently.

Why Mode Technology

New World Taumarunui chose Mode Technology because of our robotics expertise, practical proof-of-concept process, and ability to provide a fixed-cost sales and service solution.

Mode Technology supported the store from early discussions through to trial, implementation, and ongoing service.

Client Feedback

“Mode Technology showed a real willingness to trial the cleaning robot in our space before we made any commitment. The proof of concept gave us confidence that we had chosen the right solution.

The process has been easy and seamless, and the communication from Mode Technology has been excellent throughout.”

Aiyad Khan
Owner Operator, New World Taumarunui