American Drycleaner - January 2016

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The Envelope, Please...

Each year, for the past 55, American Drycleaner has recognized the top new plants through its Annual Plant Design Awards.

I’m proud to announce that the Grand Prize Winner this year is Peerless Cleaners, Fort Wayne, Ind.

It invested more than $1 million to transform a former tire distribution center into an L-shaped dynamo that keeps work flowing for customers of four different company banners.

delivery trucks had to be loaded outside. Owner Steve Grashoff always pushed for efficiency, but he recognized that things had to change.

His background in grocery store development proved helpful in visualizing the workflow possibilities the distribution center offered and bringing them into reality.

Other plant standouts this year include a Las Vegas cleaner tasked with keeping Cirque Du Soleil performers’ costumes clean and bright, a South Carolina company that gives new meaning to the phrase “Order up,” and a Chicagoland cleaner that added a dazzling new strip location to its family of stores on the North Side.

Bruce Beggs

Previously, Peerless Cleaners— which just celebrated 100 years in business—occupied five floors of a circa 1900s building in downtown Fort Wayne. It required moving product up and down ramps using a forklift or a trailer pulled by a golf cart;

Publisher

Charles Thompson 312-361-1680 cthompson@ATMags.com

Editorial Director

Bruce Beggs 312-361-1683 bbeggs@ATMags.com

Production Manager

Roger Napiwocki

National Sales Director

Donald Feinstein 312-361-1682 dfeinstein@ATMags.com Digital Media Director

Nathan Frerichs 312-361-1681 nfrerichs@ATMags.com

Main: 312-361-1700 Fax: 312-361-1685

Are you ready to invest in renovations, equipment upgrades, or a whole new plant? If so, document your progress and enter your plant in the next Plant Design Awards. E-mail me at bbeggs@atmags.com to find out how.

American Drycleaner (ISSN 0002-8258) is published monthly except Nov/Dec combined. Subscription prices, payment in advance: U.S., 1 year $46.00; 2 years $92.00. Foreign, 1 year $109.00; 2 years $218.00. Single copies $18.00 for U.S., $18.00 for all other countries. Published by American Trade Magazines LLC, 566 West Lake Street, Suite 420, Chicago, IL 60661. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER, Send changes of address and form 3579 to American Drycleaner, Subscription Dept., 440 Quadrangle Drive, Suite E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Volume 82, number 9. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 566 West Lake Street, Suite 420, Chicago, IL 60661. Charles Thompson, President and Publisher. American Drycleaner is distributed selectively to: qualified dry cleaning plants and distributors in the United States. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising for any reason. © Copyright AMERICAN TRADE MAGAZINES LLC, 2016. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher or his representative. American Drycleaner does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any article, product, service or information found within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of American Drycleaner or its staff. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the magazine’s contents at time of publication, neither the editors, publishers nor its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom.

American Drycleaner, January 2016

Sheldon Cleaners Family-Grown and Multifaceted (Part 1)

Michigan company has reinvented itself many times over 66 years

By Haley Jorgensen

“It was something I could do,” says George Cares, of launching Sheldon Cleaners, in 1949. During its 66year history, the Kentwood, Mich., company has reinvented itself multiple times; embraced and eliminated revenue streams; and overcome economic and industry-specific hurdles.

Today, George’s sons, Louie and Paul, lead the enterprise. The brothers relish the business’ “fun-factor.”

While Sheldon Cleaners remains grounded in the mission and culture George created—one of quality and convenience—it’s morphed into a multifaceted business encompassing several revenue streams and customer-focused services.

Today, the business umbrellas the 32,000-square-foot Sheldon Cleaners; 25 satellite locations that are situated in strip malls or on real estate owned by the Cares family;

a 6,500-square-foot card-operated vended laundry (The Laundry Room Café); and a coffee and crêperie inside the laundry (Café Louis). Revenue flows from various income-generators, including dry cleaning, self-service laundry, fluffn-fold, rental, and food and coffee. All together, the enterprise employs 240 people throughout Grand Rapids, Holland and Kalamazoo, Mich.

George Cares, and his

American Drycleaner, January 2016

Sheldon Cleaners, The Laundry Room Café and Café Louie are family-owned businesses in Kentwood, Mich. The Cares family started Sheldon Cleaners in 1949 and opened the vended laundry less than a year ago. (Photos: Continental Girbau)

wife, Hope, have five children: Paul, Louie, Sandy, Linda and Martha. All of them have worked at Sheldon’s front counter over the years.

While Paul and Louie took over leadership in 2010, Sandy served as the company’s writer and marketer for several years. Martha, an opera singer, sang the company jingles. Paul and Louis—who like to figure things out—hold patents on a number of inventions pertinent to the drycleaning industry. The Cares family has born, grown and sold a number of businesses in addition to Sheldon Cleaners, including a tuxedo rental business, travel agency and uniform retail store.

FOUNDING AND GROWTH

George Cares launched the business in 1949 after studying architecture in college and serving in the Navy during World War II. As a child, he had worked in his father’s drycleaning business as a tailor and presser. Being an accomplished tailor, he made tailoring services a critical piece of Sheldon’s services for many years.

Not long after opening, the big thoroughfare where the business was located—Sheldon Boulevard— was transformed into a one-way street, according to a 1984 American Drycleaner story. This choked drop-off business, spurring George to look for another revenue generator. He and Hope hopped a train to Chicago.

“We went to Maxwell Street and bought a whole warehouse of used tuxedos,” says Hope. “On the way home, crates filled with tuxedos lined the train aisles. When we arrived home, I waited at the train station guarding the tuxedo crates until George got the truck and drove over to pick us up. The next day, we were in the tuxedo rental business.”

The tuxedos were a hit, but George continued to work to ensure

Sheldon Cleaners’ success through aggressive and consistent marketing backed by a simple promise. He offered weekly specials on specific garment cleaning and insisted on superior quality and convenience. The business extended its hours, stayed open on Saturdays, and offered same-day service to customers throughout the week.

The “little guy” began to stress the competition. “Dad noticed other cleaners were not responsible for loose buttons, stains or tears,” says Paul. Of course, at Sheldon Cleaners, they fixed all of that. “Dad set the mood for Sheldon’s culture by making quality and convenience priority one.”

“Dad always wanted to do the impossible,” adds Louie. “Early on, I really believe he was the only cleaner in the country to offer sameday shirt service.”

It wasn’t long before George got on a roll buying up small, abandoned gas stations. His first satellite branch, established in 1965, was a renovated Texaco. “A major talent of Dad’s was picking locations,” says Louie. “He bought little gas stations that were perfect for dry cleaning because customers could easily get in and out for drop-offs and pick-ups.” Ultimately, George

American Drycleaner, January 2016

converted 12 gas stations into successful satellite stores.

“I had already decided that with my first few branches, if I did well, I’d shoot for the moon,” the American Drycleaner article quotes George. “If not, I figured I’d settle back into my original plant and try to be happy as a small operator.”

In 1965, George moved Sheldon from its 1,400-square-foot plant (which enjoyed $23,000 in annual revenue in 1949) to a 5,000-squarefoot plant across the street. By 1980, Sheldon had moved again—this time to its current 26,000-square-foot plant on Brenton Road, in Kentwood. At that time, the business garnered $2 million in annual sales.

All the while, George focused on quality. “Dad was known to pin a cotton ball to a garment and drop it off for dry cleaning at a competitor’s,” says Paul. “He’d do the same at Sheldon Cleaners. Then he’d compare the color of the cotton once the garments were processed. Ours were pure white. The others were gray because their solvents weren’t clear.”

By 1985, George’s high-volume drycleaning focus spurred him to back off of tailoring. “It was very difficult to train fitters and there were lots of good (continued)

The Cares family—(from left) George, Sandy, Paul, Louie and Hope—with business consultant Michael “Stucky” Szczotka.

mom-and-pop tailor shops around,” says Paul. Still, a full-time tailor was always on hand at Sheldon Cleaners.

Shortly thereafter, the tuxedo rental business was sold and the Cares family commenced building strip malls. “We did the tuxedos in order to survive early on,” says Louie. “But, by 1991, we realized that the tuxedo rental business took 80% of our effort and generated just 20% of our income.” Meanwhile, the newly developed strip malls began flowing retail rental revenue. Some of the strip malls were anchored by Sheldon satellite stores, making it even easier to rent available space within those malls.

George, now 90, officially retired about five years ago. Nonetheless, he stops into Sheldon several times a week. It looks a lot different today than it did in 1949.

REINVENTED AND RENOVATED

The business eliminated the use of perchloroethylene (perc) in 2006, substituting a solvent created with n-propyl bromide-based detergent— for a few years.

“We were losing interest in drycleaning,” Paul says. “We didn’t want to buy more perc machines because perc is harmful to our employees, us, and the environment.

But our drycleaning machines were becoming corroded ... We were at a crossroads.”

That’s when they turned to Michael “Stucky” Szczotka, who had sold them a few Continental Girbau soft-mount washers through the years that the brothers loved. Louie and Paul called Szczotka about developing a vended laundry.

As the owner of Carrington Cleaners, a dry cleaner in Washington Township, Mich.; CRDN of Southern Nevada; and Eagle Star Equipment, a commercial laundry and drycleaning equipment distributor in Troy, Mich., Szczotka knows dry cleaning and laundry. He also knows the vended laundry business, as owner of New Wave Laundromat, in Sterling Heights, Mich.

While Szczotka was all for helping the Cares brothers develop their first vended laundry, he was also adamant they upgrade their drycleaning plant.

“He came in and pumped new life into Sheldon,” says Paul.

A complete plant overhaul commenced that resulted in huge throughput gains and labor and energy savings, according to the Careses. Simultaneously, Szczotka helped Louie and Paul design and equip their new, high-speed

vended laundry.

Six Union SystemK4 drycleaning machines (each with 90 pounds capacity) replaced five 75-pound and five 100-pound drycleaning machines from another manufacturer.

“We are using less water and energy and delivering better quality,” says Paul. “One of our ads says, ‘We wish all cleaners would go green!’ We have a smaller carbon footprint here than most people have at home.”

The new machines eliminate lint and static, offer easy maintenance, reduce sorting and loads per day, and drop chemical usage to a trickle, according to the Careses. Sheldon Cleaners uses just one 55-gallon drum of solvent per year, compared with having used one 55-gallon drum of solvent each week previously, a savings of more than $100,000.

Once garments are dry-cleaned, they’re hung on a 1,500-foot rope conveyor—which Paul invented— and transferred through the finishing stations. That conveyor carries items through the plant at a rate of 500 feet per minute.

Older single leggers, pant toppers and puff irons were replaced by eight Unipress pant-pressing stations, which have cut

American Drycleaner,

The new Union SYSTEMK4 drycleaning machines are environmentally friendly and save more than $100,000 annually in solvent costs, Sheldon Cleaners’ owners says.

Sheldon Cleaners processes approximately 22,000 shirts each week.

labor hours and boosted throughput and quality. Each station features a double legger, tensioning topper and single puff, according to Szczotka. “Each station is identical so it simplifies employee training,” he says. Once pants are pressed, they are returned to the rope conveyor and travel to inspection. Other items, such as suit coats, jackets, dresses and blouses, are pre-finished at one of two stations consisting of two Unipress Versaform Plus with Collar & Cuff or two Sankosha Rotary Tensioning Form Finishers. They then move on to utility presses.

Meanwhile, shirt processing is streamlined, allowing Sheldon to complete 22,000 shirts weekly. Shirts are bagged according to process (starch, no starch, etc.) and washed in soft-mount 90-pound-capacity Continental E-Series Washers.

The decade-old Continentals continue to offer great productivity and quality, according to Paul. Because they reach 384 G-force extract speeds, they remove more water during extract (when compared to lower-speed washers and hardmount washers), which cuts resulting dry time. They are also highly efficient and programmable, which allows Sheldon Cleaners to control every conditional aspect of the wash process, while cutting operational costs, the company says.

After shirts are washed, they are

finished using six new Unipress Hurricanes and three Quad Tensioning Rotary Collar & Cuff units. The new machines require three teams of three, for nine total operators. The prior machines required 20.

“The new machines, with their nine operators, produce up to 540 shirts per hour, or 180 shirts per station,” says Paul. “That’s greater than a 50% increase in throughput.” Moreover, he says he’s thrilled with the shirt-finishing quality.

Once items pass through finishing stations via the rope conveyor, they are inspected, bagged, labeled and sorted by a new Metalprogetti automated assembly, bagging, labeling and sorting system.

Previously, items were manually sorted and bagged at the satellite stores. Now, they are automatically done at the plant, saving approximately 500 labor hours per week. It will save $250,000 per year in payroll and realize a 15- to 18-month return on investment, says Louie.

Finally, gains in energy efficiency have reduced operational costs and improved profits. A new air compressor costs just $30 a day to operate, compared with the old compressor’s $100 per day: “It monitors the demand of load and if it’s not requiring 100% load, it adjusts itself,”

says Paul.

Sheldon Cleaners is set up for greater profitability. “We are projecting a 10-15% elevation in profit,” says Paul.

Throughout the plant, the brothers added inverters to motors that didn’t have them.

And a 700-gallon water tank was added. It fills with cold water that is used to economically cool the drycleaning machines. Then, that water byproduct, which is heated by the drycleaning machines to 100 F, is stored in a second water tank.

“When it’s needed, it goes to the water heater to raise it from 100 F to 140 F for use in the wash cycle,” says Paul. “So, we are only heating it from 100 F to 140 F, rather than from 65 F to 140 F.”

All told, Sheldon Cleaners is more productive, efficient, green and profitable than ever, according to the Careses. Plus, it occupies a 20% smaller footprint, which is how Louie and Paul were able to carve out 6,500 square feet for their new high-speed vended laundry and café. ADC

—Next month: Birth of The Laundry

Room Café

Haley Jorgensen is a public relations writer for commercial laundry equipment maker Continental Girbau.

American Drycleaner,

Eight Unipress pant-pressing stations have cut labor hours and boosted throughput and quality at Sheldon.

Sheldon Cleaners offers pick-up and delivery service, or drop-off and pick-up, via its 25 satellite locations.

Design

When a Plan(t) Comes Together

In nominating his Peerless Cleaners, Fort Wayne, Ind., for a Plant Design Award, co-owner Steve Grashoff wrote, “We offer just about everything you can think of.”

Full-service dry cleaning, laundry, household items, draperies, wedding dresses, leather, suede, commercial linens, restoration work, even car mats—you name it, Peerless cleans it.

With the company occupying five floors of a downtown building built in the early 1900s, constantly moving product up and down ramps using a forklift or a trailer pulled by a golf cart became a daily

challenge to maintaining productivity, according to Grashoff.

So, about two years ago, with the September 2015 expiration of Peerless’ lease on the horizon, he went in search of a new site.

Today, after a total investment that Grashoff pegs at $1.4 million, the result is a 32,800-square-foot, L-shaped, single-story plant that earned the Grand Prize for Best Plant Design in American Drycleaner’s 55th Annual Plant Design

(Above) Exterior of Peerless Cleaners and its signage signaling its presence to majorinterstate traffic.

Awards competition.

FLYING FOUR BANNERS

Not only does Peerless offer a variety of services, it does so under four different banners: three different drycleaning businesses plus the Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN).

Peerless Cleaners has been in business since 1915—it just celebrated its 100th anniversary—and Grashoff and his wife, Laurie, became the owners in 2000. The next year, Peerless acquired a competitor, F&B Cleaners. Proximity of certain F&B stores

Peerless Cleaners • 4121 Hillegas Rd., Fort Wayne, Ind.

(Photos: Peerless Cleaners)

to Peerless stores—“some of them are located across the street from our stores,” Grashoff explains— prompted the parent company to continuing operating those stores under the second brand.

In 2005, Peerless Cleaners acquired a successful family-owned business, Kirt’s Cleaners, with stores in Goshen and Elkhart, Ind., about 60 miles from Fort Wayne. Kirt’s had been around since the 1950s and was well established, Grashoff says, so the name remained.

All together, the plant employs 68 FTEs in serving 14 drop stores. The full Peerless workforce numbers around 100, Grashoff says.

Peerless Cleaners also owns and operates three CRDN franchises that provide smoke, fire and water restoration services to clients throughout northern and western Indiana.

DIVERSIFICATION DESTINATION

Peerless Cleaners’

new drycleaning plant is located in a former Goodyear Tire distribution center, centrally located at the heart of four major thoroughfares.

“We just fell in love with the layout, because it has a great location, we can access all the major highways and throughways through Fort Wayne, (and) we have visibility on a major interstate for signage and recognition,” Grashoff says.

Peerless’ level of diversification made the former distribution center an optimal choice for segmenting its production to achieve the greatest efficiency possible, he adds.

He described it best in his nomination form: “One of the great appeals of the building is that it is divided into four areas. We start with the sorting and washing room. Everything is marked in at the store level. Once it is put onto our truck and shipped to the plant, it is unloaded in the sorting and washing room.

“From there, it moves to the finishing room, where all the pressing is completed. After pressing and moving to our autobagger, it is then moved to our distribution and loading area.”

In the past, workers would have to sort on racks and then load trucks outside. Now, each banner has its own inside loading bay.

(From top) The 100hp boiler; laundry equipment; drycleaning machines; a portion of the finishing room, including equipment painted white for a “clean look,” as described by owner Steve Grashoff.

“The trucks back in and can load for each banner under perfect conditions,” Grashoff wrote. “On the other side of our loading area is our CRDN warehouse. It is a 10,000-square-foot storage warehouse for our finished goods for our CRDN franchise. Our home and office delivery service has two designated bay areas for their routes.”

HOMEGROWN DESIGN

After Peerless purchased the building and took possession in December 2014, Grashoff, armed with a full set of original blueprints, began designing the drycleaning plant he and his staff wanted. Meanwhile, work began to thoroughly clean the building of tire residue that had accumulated throughout over the years.

Before he became involved in drycleaning, Grashoff spent 20plus years in the grocery business. The last five were spent developing supermarkets and remodeling and building new store locations, he says, so he had a good idea of what needed to be done to convert the former warehouse into a production facility.

“We had remodeled our existing facility several times and were achieving very good pieces per labor hour in our core business. I really wanted to take what we were doing in our Main Street plant and insert it in the Hillegas plant to maintain that productivity and not confuse our employees by totally changing the ship.”

Because of their familiarity with Peerless’ unique operations, Grashoff believed he and his management staff were best qualified to determine plant design. After taping off the desired layout and equipment placements, he brought in distributor Eagle Star Equipment to take measurements and fine-tune the design.

Peerless repainted the entire interior, ceiling, walls and production-area floors before moving in brand-new equipment: a boiler, drycleaning machines, washers, dryers and a conveyor system.

Before any existing equipment was moved from the original plant,

it was rebuilt and painted white for a “clean look.” Inspiration for the latter came from seeing photos of Wooven’s Grand Prize-winning plant last year, Grashoff says.

Peerless began transitioning to its new plant in July 2015 and was fully operational there by the third week of the month.

Major production equipment includes a 100-hp Fulton boiler, two 90-pound Union K4 drycleaning machines, 10 Continental Girbau washers, eight Continental dryers, a Metalprogetti assembly system with autobagger, four Sankosha shirt units, a Railex garment conveyor, and a variety of drycleaning presses from Forenta, Unipress and Ajax.

Peerless uses Compassmax POS from Maineline Computer Systems. Chemicals and packaging supplies come from Tri Supply and Cleaner’s Supply.

What’s next for Peerless? “Volume,” Grashoff says.

“We want to be open to look at new opportunities and new markets. … This building can handle quite a bit more volume. We’re only

a five-day-a-week operation, Monday through Friday. We know that we could work longer and more days if we can find more business.”

The layout Grashoff developed to make the most of Peerless Cleaners’ L-shaped production facility; a broader perspective of the finishing room; each banner within the Peerless family of companies has its own inside loading bay.

SPECIAL HONORS

Outstanding Production Facility

Strategically located for easy access to the Las Vegas Strip to service all of the major shows and entertainers, Tiffany Couture Cleaners’ 7,500-squarefoot production facility in a former warehouse building provides a new and unique design to allow for the growing needs of the costume, bridal and couture-style work performed there, as well as an everexpanding pick-up and delivery service. Owners are Dan and Judy Del Rossi.

It is the exclusive cleaning facility for all Cirque du Soleil shows, and specializes in unique costume maintenance and restoration for local and global clientele, as well as couture fashions recommended by Vegas’ elite boutiques. But it also provides high-quality drycleaning, shirt laundry and home laundry services, serving two area drop stores. Fur cleaning, glazing, repairs and leather cleaning are done on premises.

Upgrades included a new and larger bridal lounge; a secure, climate-controlled fur vault; administrative offices; team members’ break area and training facility; and parking for team members.

“With the constant thought of team members’ comfort in mind, the new facility allows for climate-controlled break room and kitchen area as well as mark-in and alterations workrooms,” the owners wrote in their nomination. “The production

area provides for employee comfort and great airflow, with a 21foot ceiling, two large swamp coolers, and two SonicAire fans.”

Equipment for the plant was purchased direct from manufacturers, including Union (using K4 solvent), Sankosha, Unipress, Hi-Steam, White Conveyors, Metalprogetti, Continental Girbau, B&C Technologies, Parker Boiler Co., RSD and Atlas Copco, among others. Supplies come from United Cleaners Supply.

K4

Tiffany

America’s Best Cleaners™, an independent certification organization of which Tiffany Couture Cleaners is a member, designed the plant lay-

(From top) Examples of the colorful costumes that can regularly be seen flowing through the plant; the drycleaning area; the finishing storage area; a CAD rendering of the 7,500-square-foot production facility. (Photos: Tiffany Couture

Cleaners and America’s Best Cleaners™)

Tiffany Couture Cleaners • 5981 McLoud, Las Vegas, Nev.

55 th ANNUAL

Cleaners and America’s Best Cleaners

SPECIAL HONORS

55 th ANNUAL Outstanding Reconstruction

Clemson Cleaners • 1001 Tiger Blvd., Clemson, S.C.

In 2015, Clemson Cleaners, owned by Wright Henry, relocated a few miles from a strip center location in the former Clemson Center on Anderson Highway (U.S. 76) to a former restaurant site the drycleaning business acquired on Tiger Boulevard.

Clemson Cleaners rebuilt and restored the interior of the 2,400-square-foot structure located just off a busy four-lane highway and added a drive-thru that’s proven popular.

“Since the renovation of our new building, the addition of the convenient and covered drivethru has been a huge factor in the growth in our customer base,” Henry wrote in nomi-

nating his company’s plant. “Our new and returning customers have the ability to simply drive right up and one of our [CSRs] will come out and wait on the customer without (them) ever having to leave the comfort of their car.”

The many windows offer customers the opportunity to see the plant operating in all stages of production.

Protecting the environment is important to Clemson Cleaners, which became the region’s first dry cleaner to use GreenEarth® Cleaning back in 2008. High-efficiency washers and a wide range of machines operate on just a single gas-powered boiler.

What was supposed to have been a 90-day renovation was completed in less than 50 days, according to Henry.

“During the transition to our new location, we were only closed to our customers for

location, customers

(At top) Clemson Cleaners as it looks today, and a “before” photo taken as the former restaurant was being converted to house a dry cleaner.

(At left) The drycleaning and laundry area, and the bright, clean lobby.

one day that would have been a normal business day,” he wrote. “When the obstacle of obtaining our certificate of occupancy (came about), our employees worked and waited on our customers in the parking lot.”

Equipment for the Clemson Cleaners plant comes from Union (using GreenEarth solvent), Sankosha, Unipress, QuickSort, UniMac, Fulton, Quincy and Ingersoll Rand, among others. Clemson Cleaners utilizes a CompassMax POS.

Rahmany Group Inc. designed the plant layout. McKibben was the architect. Central Contracting, with David Gully, was listed as the project’s distributor.

SPECIAL HONORS

Outstanding Strip Location

Just last fall, Zengeler Cleaners began serving customers at its new state-of-the art, environmentally friendly facility at 792 Skokie Blvd. in Northbrook, a suburb of Chicago. The new facility is just around the corner from the company’s previous Dundee Road store.

“We moved from a 30,000square-foot central plant to a 2,610-square-foot package plant producing about 10,000 pieces a week,” owner and company President Tom Zengeler wrote in his plant nomination. “We also moved part of our central plant operation to three other processing plants.”

The store features many “leading-edge amenities

that have proven extremely popular with customers,” the company says, but perhaps the most impressive is the Metalprogetti conveyor system. It fully automates the cleaning workflow from receiving the order, processing the garments, then sorting, bagging and tagging for pick-up.

The benefit for customers: the ability to pick up orders at their convenience using the store’s 24-hour self-serve kiosk. Equally important, the business adds, is this process provides an extremely efficient cleaning process, assuring that the environment is protected.

“Zengeler Cleaners is extremely proud of both the appearance and functionality of the new store,” Zengeler said in a press release distributed at the time of its opening. “Our architect collaborated with the Village of Northbrook to assure this beautiful new facility was

our neighbors and with the community as a whole. To achieve that while providing a modern, energyefficient operation is a tribute to everyone on the team.”

Washburn Machinery served as distributor and created the plant layout. Lynde Anderson was architect, and Courtenay Bailey provided interior design.

Other equipment in the store comes from Union (with ExxonMobil DF-2000™ hydrocarbon), Sankosha, Forenta, UniMac and Fulton, among others.

Besides the Northbrook store, the company has seven other stores and eight home pickup and delivery routes in Chicagoland.

left)

exterior of Zengeler Cleaners’ new store; the lobby; the conveyor system that fully automates the cleaning workflow; a drycleaning machine

(From

The

color-matched to Zengeler’s logo.

Zengeler Cleaners • 792 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, Ill.

Drycleaner,

Parker Boiler Co.

Each month, American Drycleaner is profiling a manufacturer, distributor or other business that serves the drycleaning industry. The magazine shines its spotlight this issue on Parker Boiler Co., Los Angeles, a longtime maker of boilers, water heaters and other equipment. It is owned by the Danenhauer family, and Michael Leeming is the company’s national sales manager.

Q: How long has your business been serving the drycleaning industry?

Parker Boiler started in 1919 and formed its current company and incorporated in California in 1946. Our company made some of the first packaged boilers to give people a safe boiler in the 1- to 3-hp range to press hats, which were popular in the ’20s.

Q: Tell our readers, generally, about your company’s current product and/or service offerings.

AT A GLANCE

We make steam boilers, hot water boilers of all types (process to con densing), thermal fluid heaters, water heaters, water softeners, tanks, and the accessories that go with all of them.

Q: Where are your company’s products made, and how are they sold/distributed to end-users?

Everything is made in our 83,000-square-foot, 3.5-acre facility in Los Angeles, Calif. Primarily, our products are sold through representa tives, distributors and OEMs, but we still maintain a direct sales force in LA that sells to contractors and end-users.

Q: What is the biggest news at your business right now?

Continued product development has been our key to success. We are de veloping a new vertical boiler due out mid-2016 to compete with the very popular vertical-type boilers in this industry. People also want to be “con nected” to their equipment, and we are developing more and better ways to do this.

Q: Why is your company successful?

We build a higher-end, long-lasting product, and back it up regardless of what the situation is. It’s getting hard er to find good support after the sale, and that is not what we are about.

Q: What makes your business dif ferent from other businesses like it?

We are a big company with that

American Drycleaner, January 2016

Some key Parker Boiler personnel: (clockwise from top left) Sid D. Danenhauer, president; Michael Leeming, national sales mgr.; Greg Danenhauer, VP of engineering; Sid C. Danenhau er, administrative assistant.

small-company personal treatment and appeal.

Q: Which is most important to your organization—mission, core values or vision—and why?

Core values, for sure. That’s some what old school, passed on from generation to generation. Someone still answers the phone when you call in, and we are not going to put you on hold to take the call coming in after yours.

Q: How does your company keep up with the industry to ensure it is offering the products and/or services that potential customers want or need?

By talking directly with them, or listening. We conduct no surveys by mail or phone—too impersonal.

Parker works closely with regulatory agencies on code changes locally, in the State of California, and nationally. We participate and support the laun dry and drycleaning industry by being active in organizations such as the Southern California Cleaners Associa tion (SCCA), California Cleaners As sociation (CCA) and the Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA). This summer, I was TCATA confer ence chairman.

Q: What is the one thing that Amer ican Drycleaner readers would be surprised to learn about your company?

How old we are. And they may get excited about the new, vertical, smallfootprint boiler you can shove in the corner of the room (see the front page of our Boiler Plate newsletter, issue No. 35, winter 2015/2016).

Q: How would you characterize the current state of the drycleaning industry?

It is consolidating, which is OK. We hope that with fewer competitors, the good dry cleaners and launderers can continue to do quality work and

make a fair profit. For Parker, we are the only one with a flexible water tube you can fix forever, so it’s something different than your typical, vertical tubeless boiler, which is also a good product but can be costly and difficult or impossible to repair. People talk, and our market coverage is continu ing to grow significantly. There’s still room for everyone, also, which is good.

Q: What do you think will change about the drycleaning industry in the next five years?

We will see more drop stores and central plants. We all know it is get ting harder to have a plant in certain tenant retail spaces, rents are increas ing, and so a smaller footprint will help. The central plants can be spa cious warehouses laid out for a much more efficient operation. ADC

Henry Castenada double welds a Parker removable steam bundle in one of the welding bays, circa 2001.

A Dry Cleaner’s Guide

Creative tax and financing strategies to promote growth, keep more profits

By Mark E. Battersby

Interest rates remain close to historical lows but financing for many drycleaning businesses continues to be elusive. One problem: lower interest rates have translated into lenders and investors being more selective. However, if a bank won’t lend the drycleaning business money, there are now lots of other options.

Any quest for funding must begin with an understanding of the various types of financing, where that funding may be found, and at what cost. What type of funding can best help your drycleaning operation’s growth plans become a reality?

DO-IT-YOURSELF

A surprising number of businesses today have funds available after paying all of their bills—including taxes. One use for those unused profits is to distribute earnings in the form of cash dividends. Seldom, however, are all earnings paid out as dividends. Usually, a portion is kept to finance future growth.

Unfortunately, growing any drycleaning operation with internally generated funds can be a difficult process to plan for and implement. The main consideration, obviously, is whether the business has sufficient internal cash flow to pay for growth or expansion outlays.

For many dry cleaners, borrowing can mean a loan from the operation’s owner. U.S. tax laws create a number of obstacles that must be overcome in order to avoid the penalties and corresponding higher tax bills that result when IRS auditors restructure loans that don’t meet

their criteria.

Whenever a loan is made between related entities, or when a shareholder makes a loan to his or her incorporated business, our tax laws require a fair-market interest be included. If not, the IRS can step in and make adjustments to the below-market interest rate transaction in order to properly reflect “imputed” interest. How large the tax impact depends on the effect of added interest income to the lender and the bite of an offsetting interest-expense deduction felt by the borrower.

FUNDING LOCALLY

One of the best sources of assistance—and, in many cases, funding for growing drycleaning operations—are the many state, regional and local economic development agencies. There are nearly 12,000 U.S. economic development groups whose purpose is to provide economic growth and development in the areas they serve. They generally encourage new or expanding businesses to locate in their area—or to remain in the area.

Even those who are aware of public funding often have misconceptions about who will and will not qualify. Many of these programs are looking for businesses with proven track records. The state, regional and local agencies are willing to help them expand their sales, which in turn will help expand the tax base as well as increase employment.

While not always the source for direct growth financing, a state’s office or agency of economic development can be a guide to sources for regional and local funding programs.

(Photo: ©iStockphoto/Martin McCarthy)

ALTERNATIVE FUNDING

An important form of alternative financing is so-called “asset-based” lending. In general, commercial finance companies are often willing to lend funds to businesses that cannot, for various reasons, secure credit from a bank. The credit is secured by the assets of the drycleaning business, such as receivables, equipment and sometimes real estate.

Admittedly, while asset-based lenders usually advance capital more quickly and more readily than banks, they charge more for the higher risk. The loans are generally offered on a revolving-line-of-credit basis, allowing the drycleaning business to draw on a line of credit as needed over a fixed time period.

CROWDFUNDING AND STOCK SALES

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved new rules that will allow drycleaning businesses—even start-ups—to more easily raise money from investors using newer technologies such as online “crowdfunding” sites. Crowdfunding allows those seeking money to post details of their project online. Today, by advertising on websites, called “funding portals,” those needing funds can reach out directly to investors. Although large-scale crowdfunding was not previ-

ously permitted under federal securities regulations, today investors can receive equity (i.e. a “share” of ownership in the business) or bonds (i.e. providing a small loan to the business), depending on what the dry cleaner chooses to offer.

Still on the subject of stock sales as a source of growth funds, an extra incentive is now available to individuals who invest in small businesses. Investors in qualified Small Business Stock can exclude 50% of the gain that results when the stock is eventually sold.

THE BUY-OR-LEASE STRATEGIES

Leasing is an important growth strategy for many drycleaning businesses. It is a means of gaining access to needed equipment, obtaining financing, and reducing a business’ exposure to the risks of ownership. There is no rule of thumb for whether buying or leasing is the best strategy.

Generally, drycleaning businesses with a strong cash flow and many financing options can buy needed equipment outright, or they can borrow to acquire needed equipment with a long operating life. If cash flow is an issue and the equipment must remain operable for longer periods, a long-term capital lease, with a final residual payment, will usually result in lower monthly payments.

American Drycleaner,

However, short-term savings may result in higher costs over the entire leasing period. This is especially true with a finance lease where the user can purchase the equipment at the end of the lease.

Furthermore, although taxes play a role in whether to lease or to purchase, they should not be the deciding factor either. Things may also be changing in the way leases are accounted for on the drycleaning operation’s books.

Under current rules, dry cleaners can generally classify leases as “operating leases” and keep them off their balance sheets. This so-called “off-balance-sheet financing” can make a business look less indebted than it really is. On the horizon, however, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Leases (Topic 842), which creates a new approach to lease accounting that would require assets and liabilities arising from leases to be recognized on the balance sheet.

THE ESOP OPTION

An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) can be a tax-effective way to transfer ownership of a small, incorporated drycleaning business to its employees while raising the funds needed for the operation’s growth. The business issues new shares of stock and sells them to the

ESOP, which then borrows funds to buy the stock. The business can use the proceeds from the stock sale to its own benefit—growth or expansion.

The business repays the loan by making tax-deductible contributions to the ESOP. The interest and principal on ESOP loans are tax-deductible, which can reduce the number of pre-tax dollars needed to repay the principal by as much as 34%, depending on the operation’s tax bracket. But the tax shield does not help with S corporations since they don’t pay corporate income taxes. Capital gains deferral, however, can make ESOPs attractive to these pass-through business entities.

Financing the growth of the drycleaning business is a complex affair. Funding to help grow and expand the op eration is widely available, however, to those dry cleaners willing to do their homework. Comparison shopping for lenders, rates and terms is strongly recommended. ADC

Information in this article is provided for educational and ref erence purposes only. It is not intended to provide specific advice or individual recommendations. Consult an attorney or tax adviser for advice regarding your particular situation.

Mark E. Battersby is a freelance writer specializing in finance and tax topics. He is based in Ardmore, Pa.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Ways to M ake 2016 M ore Profitable

Beginning a new year provides an opportunity for fresh initiatives that will impact your company’s health and profitability for years to come. It is a good time to review what has happened in the past, both good and bad, and to envision how to build on that knowledge for a continually improving future.

A common objection to doing this work—and it is definitely an exertion of extra effort—is some variation of “I am happy with the current performance” or “I am planning to sell, so there is no need to change.” If either one of these sounds familiar, just remember that if you are not selling your business, you are “buying” your company back every day and it needs to provide you an ongoing re turn on your substantial and ongoing investment.

Simplistically, profit can grow by increasing the revenues, decreasing the expenses as a percent of revenues, or a combination of both. If you are interested in making more profit, the following list incorporates some of the steps you can take to achieve that goal.

Y EAR - END STATEMENTS OF V A LU E

Give each member of your team a 2015 year-end statement of the value of their total package of wages, incentives, taxes and benefits. Although this is not the most important thing you can do to increase profit, it is easy to do now during year-end accounting closeout, and is information you already have from payroll.

It doesn’t increase their take-home pay, but it does give them a better appreciation for their value to the company, and their bragging rights surge. They also better understand what the benefits you provide would cost them if they had to pay themselves or replace them with another employer who may not offer as much.

This information-sharing process has consistently resulted in better employee retention, which is difficult to value exactly but can be a huge cost savings.

C AREFULLY RE V IE W 2015 P&L N OW

Finalize and carefully review your 2015 profit and loss

now. Identify those areas that provide the greatest opportunity for profit improvement. Rank them in order from largest improvement to smallest and select the top three to five items for your focus.

B ENCHMAR K ING

Thoroughly compare your operating metrics to the industry averages and benchmarks. This process will direct your attention to the areas that can improve your labor and expense efficiency. For example, if your PPOH (pieces per operator hour) is 20% below the average and 40% below the benchmark, you can investigate why and how to improve it.

One change that has drastically improved PPOH is concentration on the pant-finishing process since pants are usually 25-40% of total pieces in the plant. This improvement might come from better training of the operator for speed and touch-up minimization, but it is often provided by an equipment upgrade as well. If relevant in your plant, a combination could take you to benchmark status that saves significant hours of labor and probably eliminates a bottleneck in the process.

Another example might be route productivity improvement through GPS and logistics analysis to improve the sales per mile or the sales per driver hour. Sales per CSR hour can be improved by more efficient scheduling and by cross-selling.

C REATE D ETAI LE D AC TI ON PL AN

Create a detailed action plan for each of the targets identified in your profit and loss review. Be focused on the opportunity’s value. The plan should include:

• The measurable goal (numbers are easily measured)

• The action plan, with each interim step listed and all of its elements clearly delineated

• Identification of who is accountable and responsible for the overall plan and for each incremental step

• Identification of when each step is to be completed

• Review points for refinement based on what is learned during implementation

• Formal review of results vs. the goal so the process can be refined for future efforts

Diana Vollmer

VIDEO YOUR PRODUCTION PLANT ACTIVITY

Since labor is certain to be a major expense and one of your target items listed, start with any bottlenecks that have been identified.

A bottleneck can be a person who is underperforming, a flaw in layout that requires wasted movement, defective/inefficient equipment, or any factor that slows the process. Review the video in high-speed mode. It will quickly show you the outliers that need attention. Some of the innumerable things you should witness are:

• Who stands out as unproductive

• Who is doing too much walking

• Who is constantly socializing—in person or by phone—instead of working

• Who is idle and needs to be cross-trained

• Where the touch-up activity is caused

• Whether the manager is managing the hours worked or if the staff is “managing” their own hours to maximize pay

• If the supervisor is supervising or just doing the production work

• If the inspector is thorough

• If the spotter is using too many “Sorry” tags and disappointing the customers, thereby interfering with customer retention

RAISE PRICES TO REFLECT QUALITY, COSTS

The drycleaning industry is reluctant to raise prices despite the ever-escalating costs associated with producing the product and delivering it to the customer. Don’t let your fear, the hesitancy of your staff, or the comments from a very few of your thousands of customers deter you from having a profitable company.

DELEGATE

Delegate all efforts that do not require your personal involvement. This allows you to operate at your highest and best value level. It is also an excellent way to build leadership and management skills in yourself and your staff. Tracking performance on unique projects will help you identify who is capable and interested in taking a larger role in the company as it grows and prospers.

RANK TEAM BY VALUE

Rank your entire team by value contributed to the organization. Take into account productivity and attitude as well as the fit for the current role and within the team.

COUNSEL, RE-TRAIN OR ELIMINATE

Counsel, re-train or eliminate the lowest-rated associates. Skills can usually be upgraded but attitude change can be much more challenging. (continued)

LEARN MORE

Objectively assess the reaction when the shortcomings are brought to their attention. If the resistance is too great or the protest too loud, it may be an indication that they are not a good fit for your vision and company.

RECRUIT FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE

Recruit constantly for high-performance players. There is always room for excellence in your company, and your team-ranking exercise will show you where they can be effective.

CREATE AGGRESSIVE SALES-MARKETING PLAN

Create a plan that is brand-enhancing and meaningful to your customers and prospects by focusing on their needs, wants and lifestyles. Then, budget for the plan and implement it. Constantly evaluate it for effectiveness and refine as needed.

REVIEW LEASE AGREEMENTS

Review your lease agreements and the associated costs of your facilities. Be sure to do the following:

• Question CAMS

• Appeal taxes

• Enforce landlord responsibilities

• Review occupancy rates for reasons that should result in rent reductions

• Actively review ways to fully utilize the cubic space

REVIEW EQUIPMENT EFFICIENCY

Is there a positive and short-term ROI available with an upgrade?

Does your old perc machine get such low mileage that your chemical cost reduction would pay a substantial portion of a new drycleaning machine?

Would a double legger increase your PPOH and reduce your labor cost enough to pay for itself in less than two years?

Are your old shirt machines requiring so much touchup that new equipment would save enough labor cost to make the lease payments?

IN SUMMARY

These are just a few of the things you can do now to increase your profit immediately. There are more, but con centrating on them in the order of contribution will help organize your focus and make them manageable. ADC

Methods for Management (MfM) has served the drycleaning and laundry industry with affordable management exper tise and improved profitability since 1953. For assistance with profit improvement planning, contact Diana Vollmer at dvollmer@mfmi.com or call her at 415-577-6544.

Martinizing expands biz model, rebrands 1-800-DryClean, others

There is a new and diversified business model for Mar tinizing International LLC, doing business as Martinizing Dry Cleaning, its franchisor, The Huntington Company LLC, reports. It includes the rebranding of 1-800-Dry Clean, Pressed4Time and Dry Cleaning Station.

First, the new model includes residential and commer cial pickup and delivery, locker-based service and ondemand service. Huntington says the new concept is being introduced to a large network of consultants and that two new franchisees are already set to join the organization.

Next, the affiliated route brands will be rebranded under the “Martinizing Delivers” name. Current 1-800-DryClean and Pressed4Time franchisees will incorporate their name into the Martinizing Deliv ers designation, using a logo. The concept is designed to capitalize on the widely known Martinizing brand while taking advantage of the core competencies that 1-800-DryClean and Pressed4Time have developed in their route service.

“The Martinizing brand is uniquely positioned to build on its industry-leading awareness, national presence and storied history that spans more than 60 years,” says Wayne Wudyka, CEO of The Huntington Company.

He adds that the expanded brand presence “now touch es more than 600 locations worldwide” and that Mar tinizing expects to “add many more locations.”

In memoriam: Irving Victor, 90, Vic Manufacturing Co.

Irving Victor, past vice president of Vic Manufacturing Co., died Oct. in Minneapolis at the age of 90.

Victor began his career in the drycleaning industry making deliveries for the family-owned drycleaning operation in Minneapolis. In the late 1930s, with brother Oscar and father Charles, he founded and operated Vic

Manufacturing Co. in the garage be hind their home.

The early Vic machines were con verted Maytag laundry machines designed to operate with carbon tetrachloride. As the industry pro gressed through the decades, Victor directed the engineering department of Vic, producing a wide range of equipment for use with perc and Stoddard solvents. At the height of production, Vic em ployed more than 200 workers in a 250,000-square-foot factory.

Victor earned many patents during his career, one of which was for the equipment to process with Valclene solvent.

Vic Manufacturing Co. was sold to investors in 1987, and Victor retired after more than 50 years in the dry cleaning industry. In retirement, he escaped many Min nesota winters to Scottsdale, Ariz., where he and his wife of 65-plus years, Teresa, enjoyed the warm weather and visits from family and friends.

Surviving are his wife, Teresa; children, Randy, Nan cy, Barry and Jeff; and six grandchildren.

Memorials are preferred to Beth El Synagogue Con gregational Nurse Fund, or to a children’s charity of the donor’s choice.

Lapels taps Grippi as director of operations

Lapels Dry Cleaning recently named David Grippi as its new director of operations.

In this role, Grippi will provide support to current La pels franchise owners, train new Lapels store owners and create a standardized Lapels Production and Operations standards based on industry best practices.

“We have been very patient in recruiting this position to add to our corporate team. This is a very important position for us in bringing the Lapels business model to the next level,” says Kevin Dubois, CEO of Lapels Dry Cleaning.

Grippi is a third-generation dry cleaner with more than 20 years in the drycleaning industry in a variety of

Victor

operational, management and sales roles, Lapels says. During his career, he’s held several of those positions with Dependable Cleaners. He’s also worked for Seitz Chemical and The Cleanist dry cleaners in Plym outh, Mass.

“If you had to consolidate all my experiences and create a position that best utilizes those experiences, this position with Lapels would be it,” says Grippi. “The way they go about their business, their operations and procedures and the company’s legitimate commitment to greener processes are all things I’ve been looking for in an opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.”

Colmac Industries welcomes new hires, ‘Master Distributor’

Colmac Industries recently welcomed two new employ ees and announced that it has named a Connecticut com pany as a “Master Distributor.”

Joining the Engineering Department is Reg Davenport. He holds a bach elor’s degree in mechanical engineer ing from Washington State University and has a Professional Engineering Li cense from Washington state.

He brings work experience in design, quality engineering, com bustion research and development, control integration and structural en gineering, Colmac says.

Phyllis Eveland is Colmac’s new office coordinator. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Eastern Washington University, and has worked professionally as an of fice administrator her entire career.

D&S Exports, Norwalk, Conn., is now a Colmac “Master Distributor.”

“D&S Exports has an extensive network of contacts throughout the Middle East, Asia, and Australia,” Colmac says. “D&S is committed to markets abroad with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Beirut, Jakarta, and Beijing. Their staff is well versed with local markets, customs, and languages. D&S Exports’ extensive network will further maintain and expand Colmac’s global reach.” ADC

EDUC AT I ON & T RA INI NG

NY State DEC Certification. Two-day NCA course, to be held Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 in Nanuet, N.Y. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol. com.

Introduction to Drycleaning. Five-day DLI course, to be held Feb. 22-26 in Laurel, Md. Call 800-638-2627 or visit www.dlionline.org.

Advanced Drycleaning. Ten-day DLI course, to be held Feb. 29-March 11 in Laurel, Md. Call 800-638-2627 or visit www.dlionline.org.

NY State DEC Certification. Two-day NCA course, to be held May 1 and May 8 in Bronx, N.Y. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol. com.

NY State DEC Certification (in Spanish). Two-day NCA course, to be held May 1 and May 8 in Bronx, N.Y. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com.

Introduction to Drycleaning. Five-day DLI course, to be held July 11-15 in Laurel, Md. Call 800-638-2627 or visit www.dlionline.org.

Advanced Drycleaning. Ten-day DLI course, to be held July 18-29 in Laurel, Md. Call 800638-2627 or visit www.dlionline.org.

NY State DEC Certification. Two-day NCA course, to be held Aug. 14 and Aug. 21 in Nanuet, N.Y. Call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@ aol.com.

Cleaning & Stain Removal. Five-day DLI course, to be held Aug. 22-26 in Laurel, Md. Call 800-638-2627 or visit www.dlionline.org. ADC

Check out www.americandrycleaner.com/ drycleaning-events for updates between issues!

Grippi

Davenport

Eveland

2016 RATES: One- to five-time rate: $2.05 per word, boldface $2.15 per word. Minimum charge: $25.00 per ad. Call or write for our three- and 12-time rates. If box number is used,

add cost of 5 words. Display classified rates are available on request. All major credit cards are accepted.

DEADLINE: Ads must be received by the 1st of the preceding month.

For example, for a June ad, the closing date is May 1st.

PAYMENT FOR CLASSIFIED ADS: Must accompany order.

Breathing New Life into Suede

Suede is a skin, a pelt; it was once alive. Suede once had blood circulating through it to nourish and maintain the pelt. Once the circulation stops, the pelt begins to dry out. There are procedures, commonly referred to as tanning, that will retard the drying process. Everything done during the cleaning and refinishing process is done to minimize the impact on the pelt and to restore it to the best condition possible: soft, lush and of even color.

One can wet-clean a suede garment, and here is an overview of the steps necessary.

First, determine if the suede is “pasture” or “pig.” Look closely at the surface of the suede. If there is any similarity to the surface of a football (obvious dots equals hair follicles), you have a pigskin.

Pigskin is thin and fragile, and is often coated with a superficial finish to hide the follicles and make the surface appear smooth. Also, pigskin is most often offered in a bright color that is sprayed on, much like painting a car. When you are presented with a pigskin, you must use cold (tap) water and the least mechanical action possible.

conditioner. When cleaning suede, you can even use an empty top loader for single items.

When pre-spotting suede, stay away from drycleaning chemicals. The dye and the softener in suede are virtually inseparable. Anything that will aggressively remove paint, oil or grease also may lift the suede’s base color. If using a wet-side POG, be on guard, because even that tool may pull some color. Use cold water in a spotting bottle when flushing pre-spot agents from suede.

Air from the spotting gun is all the mechanical action you should use. If using a soft brush for localized mechanical action, always finish with air to “fluff up” the nap before cleaning.

When drying suede, include about a half-dozen fuzzy tennis balls with the load. Their coverings will go a long way toward restoring the nap on the pelt. Use a lower temperature of 130-140 F to dry to around 10% relative humidity, then finish drying at room temperature.

Placing a coat or jacket on a suzie using manual air and sleeve forms will go a long way toward reducing the time and effort necessary to reshape the garment.

Many cleaners are willing to stop at this point, having survived the ordeal of wet-cleaning a suede garment. But to make the garment “pop,” you need to complete the job with a finish coat. This will increase the luster of the color and reduce any harsh hand left by wet cleaning.

Martin Young

Be aware that your customer will assume the skin is the much sturdier cowhide, since the label will read “suede.” Take the time to counsel the customer and then get a “hold harmless” release signed before proceeding with work dealing with pelts.

More durable pelts from pasture animals present less risk, but you should consider all skins fragile. The deeper the color and the thinner the pelt, the greater the risk to the cleaner. Respect the pelt, then collect accordingly.

Cleaning a garment made of animal skin is far different than getting cake icing out of navy polyester. You must use chemical tools that are formulated for cleaning and restoring pelts to achieve the consistent results that the customer is expecting. The detergent, degreaser/prespotter and conditioner I prefer are all suede-specific.

It took cleaning a black suede jacket with white cotton sleeves to convince me that wet-cleaning suede would work. You just have to follow instructions and be patient.

Always finish the cleaning process with suede-specific

The most common finishing products are based in lanolin oil or neatsfoot oil. I usually use lanolin oil on the lighter colors. It is mixed: 1 part lanolin oil to 6 parts water. I apply this mixture with a spray bottle in a wellventilated area or, on occasion, outside. The garment can then be left to air-dry or tumbled a second time.

I use neatsfoot oil at full strength on darker colors. I apply it with a spray bottle, always outside, and then tumble on a “fluff” cycle with the fluffy tennis balls. Neatsfoot oil can be acquired locally, in small amounts, from a tack shop catering to saddles and bridles. ADC

Martin L. Young Jr. has been an industry consultant and trainer for 20 years, and a member of various stakeholder groups on environmental issues. He grew up in his parents’ plant in Concord, N.C., Young Cleaners, which he operates to this day. Contact him by phone at 704-786-3011, e-mail mayoung@vnet.net.

A PARKER BOILER SHOULD BE THE LAST BOILER YOU EVER HAVE TO

A PARKER BOILER SHOULD BE THE LAST BOILER YOU EVER HAVE TO BUY

Steam Boilers

Steam Boilers

101-105 Series

101-105 Series

We expect 15 to 25 years from our interchangeable tube bundles, and 30 to 40 years of life our more out the boiler.

We expect 15 to 25 years from our interchangeable tube bundles, and 30 to 40 years of life our more out the boiler.

Indirect Fired Water Heaters

Indirect Fired Water Heaters

209-211

Series

209-211 Series

We normally expect 10-25 years out of the copper heat exchanger, 30 to 40 years out of the boiler.

We normally expect 10-25 years out of the copper heat exchanger, 30 to 40 years out of the boiler.

Thermal Liquid Heaters

Thermal Liquid Heaters

207 Series

207 Series

We expect 30 to 50 years out of our thermal fluid heater models

We expect 30 to 50 years out of our thermal fluid heater models

A S M E S or H

A S M E S or H

SCAQMD

SCAQMD

Certified Rule 1146.2

209-211 Series

209-211 Series

Model WH600 Indirect Water Heater

On all of the above units we have continued to build, and will continue to have available any part of the pressure vessel, burners, cabinet, and controls meaning that for as long as a customer wants, they will be able to infinitely repair their equipment rather than replace the equipment.

On all of the above units we have continued to build, and will continue to have available any part of the pressure vessel, burners, cabinet, and controls meaning that for as long as a customer wants, they will be able to infinitely repair their equipment rather than replace the equipment.

We are asked by many new and existing customers on what is our projected life expectancy of our products. We are not always the lowest initial price but know we have one of the lowest cost of ownership of any boiler manufactured in North America. These facts are based on our 90 plus years of boiler manufacturing, feedback and experiences from our end users, service departments, and all of our representatives and dealers worldwide. These life spans are based on our boilers being installed properly, and do receive our minimal recommended care, are applied to the correct application, and include the proper maintenance and water treatment programs.

We are asked by many new and existing customers on what is our projected life expectancy of our products. We are not always the lowest initial price but know we have one of the lowest cost of ownership of any boiler manufactured in North America. These facts are based on our 90 plus years of boiler manufacturing, feedback and experiences from our end users, service departments, and all of our representatives and dealers worldwide. These life spans are based on our boilers being installed properly, and do receive our minimal recommended care, are applied to the correct application, and include the proper maintenance and water treatment programs.

Tel: (323) 727-9800

Fax: (323) 722-2848 5930 Bandini Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90040

Model WH600 Indirect Water Heater Shown Never a Compromise for Quality or Safety sales@parkerboiler.com www.parkerboiler.com

5930 Bandini Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90040

Tel: (323) 727-9800 Fax: (323) 722-2848