Christchurch residents desperate for a long, hot shower will be in for a treat from Monday (7 March).
 
Kohler New Zealand Ltd, manufacturers of Englefield bathroomware, are sending New Zealand’s largest purpose-built mobile shower to the Canterbury region.
 
Housed within a massive 14 metre truck and trailer, the unit contains 14 showers, holds 6,000 litres of water and runs off a gas-powered generator. Up to 170 showers per hour can be taken.
 
Working with Civil Defence and the Christchurch City Council, Englefield has agreed to strategically position the shower unit for at least six weeks in areas that do not have running water, providing free showers to residents and communities. The unit will be moved to a different location each day, to maximise coverage.  Daily locations will be advised by Civil Defence, radio stations and local media.
 
John Bourke, managing director for Kohler NZ, said: “We discussed the best way we could help and decided people living without power or water would really appreciate having a hot shower. The Englefield mobile shower will be able to go to the worst affected part of town.”
 
Bourke said Kohler New Zealand’s trading partners all jumped at the chance to help Canterbury in a way that would not burden the already stressed emergency services and volunteers in the region.
 
Flyways Transport donated the truck required to pull the massive Englefield mobile shower unit from Auckland to Christchurch, Interisland ferries donated free passage across Cook Strait and back, and Strait Freight donated a driver to move the unit from location to location. Kohler Power Systems and Transdiesel donated the power generation system.