Photo by John Graham
The MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners recently announced a series of "Sharpen Your Business Knowledge" workshops that will run throughout the month of March.
National Seminars will present the educational opportunity on "Improving Management and Supervisory Skills." The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and kick off on March 6 in Annapolis, MD.
The same workshop will also be available on the following dates and cities: March 7 in Arlington, VA; March 8 in Gaithersburg, MD; March 9 in Hagerstown, MD; March 10 in Baltimore, MD; March 13 in Roanoke, VA; March 14 in Charlottesville, VA; March 15 in Fredericksburg, VA; March 16 in Richmond, VA; and March 17 in Norfolk, VA.
Cost for the workshop is $99 per person. To enroll, call (800) 258-7246.
Environmental law
Also as part of the "Sharpen Your Business Knowledge" workshops, MAC will offer an environmental law seminar that updates federal and Virginia air regulations and focuses on environmental enforcement and environmental crisis management.
The seminar will provide attendees with tips on managing the media, regulatory agencies and the public when something goes wrong.
The environmental law team of Williams, Mullen, Clark & Dobbins will present the seminar, which costs $25 per person and includes seminar materials and a cocktail reception following the seminar.
Dates and locations for the environmental law seminar include: March 21 at the Omni Hotel in Richmond, VA; March 22 at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside in Norfolk, VA; March 28 (location TBD) in Abingdon, VA; March 29 at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, VA; April 12 at the Sheraton Four Points in Harrisonburg, VA; and April 13 at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Danville, VA.
The seminar will be scheduled from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on all running dates. Please register five days in advance by calling Deborah Miles at (804) 783-6540.
Stain removal course
MAC will also be presenting an IFI Stain Removal Training Class on March 25, running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points in Harrisonburg, VA.
The course will cover: fabrics and fibers; fiber identification; stain removal tools, agents and techniques; bleaches; and the identification and solving of unique and special problems.
Cost for the course is $99 and includes a workbook and lunch. If more than one member from the same plant attends, cost is reduced to $89 for each additional attendee.
To register, call (301) 622-1900, extension 144.
MAC Joins the Net
The MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners recently launched a website (www.macla.net).
Dave Norford, executive vice president of MAC, said "I think our site is looking pretty good." He also added that the website still needs some "tweaking."
The website is set up to provide visitors with information on upcoming events, how to become an association member, Barton Bill updates, a source directory, and a link to a help request form for cleaners who require assistance.
The home page also contains links to a classified ad page, and it offers visitors the opportunity to contact the MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners.
Ki Won Lee (center) became president of the Korean Drycleaners Association of Philadelphia at the organization's banquet and meeting on Feb. 5. Joining him at the inauguration were Sam Choi (left) vice president of Asian Affairs for the International Fabricare Institute, and Carol Memberg (right) executive director of the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners Association.
The Small Business Environmental Assistance Center will be offering a variety of courses aimed to help small businesses achieve environmental and safety compliance.
The SBEAC courses will be held at the Unified Technology Center of Cuyahoga Community College, located at 2415 Woodland Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio.
On March 9, "Small Businesses and Ohio EPA's Hazardous Waste Regulations" will focus on Ohio EPA hazardous waste requirements. The class will discuss waste management and reduction studies.
The class will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
"OSHA Regulations Update" will be offered from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on March 15. The class will cover current and proposed changes by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An OSHA representative will be on hand to discuss how current OSHA regulations may affect your business.
On March 21, "Environmental Regulations Resources on the Internet" will be taught from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. This hands-on workshop will help both novice and experienced web surfers to locate information pertaining to environmental compliance and management on the Internet. Each participant will have their own work station.
SBEAC will also be offering a series of workshops that will help companies write down health and safety procedures in a formal program that will help make your workplace safer, more productive and more profitable. The workshops included templates on floppy disks.
On March 23, from 6 to 8 p.m., "Preparing a Written Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Program" will be offered.
Other written program workshops include: "Preparing a Written Lockout/Tagout Program" from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 29; "Preparing a Written Hearing Conservation (Noise) Program" from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 4; and "Preparing a Written Respiratory Protection Program" from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 6.
Handouts will be provided for all classes.
All courses will cost $19 each for small business members who have fewer than 500 total employees on staff and meet certain other requirements. Otherwise class fees are $49 each.
For more information on classes, small business eligibility requirements, or to register for a class, call (216) 987-3075.
The Ohio Cleaners Association and the Ohio Association of Textile Services will present Hiring 2000 on Tuesday, April 4 at the Concourse Hotel & Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio.
The seminar, which will run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., is geared to help supervisors in many areas, including: understand their role in proper hiring; estimate the annual cost of turnover in their organization; hire within legal requirements; determine critical job requirements; effectively evaluate candidates' resumes; conduct a structured interview; recruit more effectively in a challenging labor market; utilize behavioral interview skills; and complete effect reference checks.
The speaker of the program will be Bill Coe, manager of Training & Development for UniFirst in Massachusetts.
Cost for Hiring 2000 is $75 for members and $95 for non-members. Additional employees may attend at a cost of $60 for members and $80 for non-members.
For more information, call (614) 221-1900, ext. 224.
The North East Fabricare Association will present Fabricare Image 2000 on April 1-2, 2000 at the Worcester Centrum Centre in Worcester, MA.
Fabricare Image 2000 coincides with the 25th anniversary of the year when several state organizations unified to form the North East Fabricare Association.
The event will be heralded in with a "Get Re-acquainted Friday Night Cocktail Reception" from 7 to 9 p.m. on March 31.
On the night of Saturday, April 1, NEFA will host its "25th Anniversary Night Gala Dinner" from 7 p.m. to midnight. The dinner will include a combination dinner of filet mignon and one-half lobster tail. The featured entertainment is the "R-rated" Boston hypnotist, Frank Santos.
The educational sessions will start on Saturday, April 1, when David Winford will present "Solving the E-myth" from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. A panel discussion about the latest in drycleaning technologies will follow, taking place from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
On Sunday, April 2, "Membership Doesn't Cost, It Pays" will run from 8:30 to 10 a.m., followed by a presentation of "Fabrics and Fashions" that begins at 10:30 a.m. and runs until noon.
NEFA plans to bring excitement to this year's show by adding a punch card prize raffle. Attendees will receive punch cards that may be punched at select booths throughout the exhibit hall. When attendees leave the show, they can simply drop off their punch cards, entering them into a drawing that features many valuable items, including a big screen TV and a mountain bike.
Hotel accommodations will be provided by The Host Hotel, which is offering convention attendees a room rate of $99 per night. For hotel reservations, call (800) 628-4240.
A deluxe convention package, which includes all four educational sessions, exhibit admission, a breakfast buffet, the Friday night Cocktail Reception and NEFA's 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner, is available for $95 if purchased prior to March 10. If not purchased in advance, the deluxe convention package is $125 per person.
To register in advance for Fabricare Image 2000, call Michelle Stephan, director of education for NEFA, at (800) 442-6948.
Perc-using drycleaners in New York are running out of time to complete the 16-hour training course and the two-hour long Department of Environmental Conservation-prepared examination in order to receive the proper certification by the March 25, 2000 deadline.
Certification is required by New York Negotiated Rule Making Part 232, which was put into inception in order to regulate air contaminants from perc-using drycleaning facilities.
While the deadline approaches fast, the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International is offering many classes throughout March.
A course in English is available for the Queens, NY, area from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Metropolitan Machinery on consecutive Sundays, March 5 and 12.
Another English course will be held at NCA-I in New York City, NY, on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 18 and 19.
Hi-Fashion in New York, NY, will be the site of an English course that will be offered over a two-week period on consecutive Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 11 p.m. The dates are March 14, 16, 21 and 23.
There will also be an English course in the Suffolk, NY, area that takes place on consecutive Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 11 p.m. The courses will be at Ilsa Machinery and the dates are March 14, 16, 21 and 23.
A Korean class will be offered on consecutive Sundays, March 12 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at NCA-I in New York, NY.
Class size is limited to 30 people and space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For more information on NCA-I classes for New York DEC certification, call (212) 967-3002.
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Anton's Cleaners gathered more than 27,000 coats and jackets this winter in the most successful Coats for Kids drive in the program's five-year history. In the photo, Marie Carter (right) is joined by Abby Askin (left) and Kim Gordon (center) in loading arm-loads of coats from Anton's in Wakefield, MA, store. All 39 Anton's locations in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire participated. Photo by John Graham |
More than 27,000 coats and jackets were donated this year by residents of eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, making this the most successful Coats for Kids drive in the program's 5-year history.
All 39 regional Anton's Cleaners stores chipped in and cleaned the 27,415 coats, free of charge, donating a final figure of $214,522 in cleaning costs.
Also lending a helping hand to the program, the Salvation Army distributed the cleaned winter garments to needy families. WFXT-25 (Fox 25) and the Boston Bruins also served as co-sponsors for the event.
"With the support of our sponsors and the generosity of so many in the community in donating their unused coats, we are making a difference this winter for the lives of thousands," said Charles A. Anton, president and CEO of Anton's Cleaners. "I continue to be amazed at the number of coats that we are able to collect at our stores in only two months."
As in the past, local schools provided a big lift for the program; more than 100 participating elementary and secondary schools collected 18,558 coats.
Coats for Kids has come a long way since it gathered 2,700 coats during its initial drive five years ago. This year's total is ten times more than that of the first year and over 9,000 more than last year's highly successful effort.
Anton's Cleaners operates the largest clothing care company in New England and has been a family-owned business since its first store was opened in 1913.
The National Coalition of Petroleum Dry Cleaners will host its 2000 NCPDC annual meeting on Friday, March 17 in Worthington, Texas.
The meeting, which will take place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., will be held in conjunction with the Southwest Drycleaner's Big 2000 Show, which takes place from March 17-19, in Fort Worth, TX.
NCPDC plans to review 1999's highlights and announce its future plans, which will include legislative planning for the year 2000.
From 4:45 to 5 p.m., NCPDC will hold an election of the steering committee and officers, followed by a question and answer session from 5 to 5:30 p.m.
The event will take place at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel, located at 200 Main St., approximately eight blocks away from the convention center that will host SDA's Big 2000 Show.
SDA will also be staying at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel, which will offer a shuttle to run between the hotel and the convention center during show hours and scheduled activities.
SDA's Big 2000 Show, which will display over 250 exhibit booths, will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 19.
Andrew Stanley, Jr., executive director of SDA, is looking forward to this year's event. "The excitement level has been building up a great deal. We've done record advertising as an association," he said. "The bottom line is... come to Texas and have a great time!"
Part of the excitement is a result of adding motivational speaker Jan Hargrave to the show's list of speakers. She will present the first of SDA's scheduled educational seminars, discussing "The Importance of Non-Verbal Communication in Customer Service." The lecture is designed to help attendees learn ways to motivate their employees to excel in performance and increase customer service.
Hargrave has been featured on The Maury Povich Show, The Montel Williams Show, E-Entertainment Television, The Lifetime Channel and The Ricki Lake Show.
SDA will continue its educational sessions on Sunday, March 19, when leading industry consultants offer drycleaners an informational seminar from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m.
In addition to these sessions, industry consultant Jane Zellers and IFI's Vice President of Asian Affairs, Sam Choi, will be visiting attendees at the SDA booth during trade show hours.
Rep. Joe Barton, champion of the Barton Bill legislation for cleaners, has also been invited to attend the show.
The SDA board of directors breakfast and meeting will be Friday, March 17, from 7:30 a.m. to noon. The meeting is for SDA board members and invited guests only.
Other events on the venue include a general membership and awards meeting that runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m., also on Friday, March 17, which is followed by a management seminar that runs from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
There will also be a Convention Social and Western Ho-Down at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 18, featuring the western-flavored music of the Duce and a Half Band.
The Louisiana-Mississippi Drycleaners and Laundry Association will host a reception at 6 p.m. on Friday evening and will have its board of directors breakfast and meeting at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 19 for the LMDLA Board and invited guests only.
Registration that is postmarked after February 15, 2000, will cost $125 for a complete package which includes the Welcome Cocktail Reception, Spouse Hospitality, Western H-Down/Dinner, Dancing and Entertainment, General Membership and Awards Meeting, Management Seminar, Customer Service Seminar, Drycleaners Educational Seminar and two days of unlimited attendance to the Exhibit Hall.
To make reservations at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel, call (800) 228-9290. A discounted rate of $137 single/double occupancy will be offered to attendees of the SDA convention.
For more information on SDA's Big 2000 Show, call the "Big Show 2000" hotline at (210) 822-1239, or visit their website at sda-dryclean.com.
The South Eastern Fabricare Association will be presenting its 2000 Southern Dry Cleaners Show from April 29-30 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA.
This year, SEFA will be presenting all of its seminars and on-floor presentations free of charge. There is also no charge for show registration.
The show will introduce SEFA's first-ever Korean Pavilion. A special arch to denote the Korean Pavilion will be constructed at the entrance of the Pavilion on the central aisle.
Kim Kil, president of the Korean Association of America will address Koreans assembled for the show with innovations and strategies designed to help cleaners advance the prosperity of their business in a limited time period.
Events will kick off on Saturday, April 29 at 8 a.m. when Bill Fisher, CEO of the International Fabricare Institute, and Everett Childers, executive director of SEFA, greet attendees with an opening session that focuses on the "State of the Industry."
Another educational session will also begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday when IFI's Sam Choi speaks about "Running A Profitable Business."
Pam Yellen, CEO of Prospecting & Marketing Institute, Inc. of Lamy, NM, will present "How to Flood Your Drycleaning Business with More Quality Customers Than You Can Handle" at 9 a.m., also on Saturday, April 29.
On Sunday, April 30, SEFA's Everett Childers will kick off the morning's educational sessions with a discussion of "Pricing for Prosperity."
Also at 8 a.m., Korean Benjamin Souh from the Custom Machine Company will speak about "Hydrocarbons and Carbon Dioxide."
"Cleaning and the Environment" by Dr. Jim Schreiner, Ph.D, from the ADCO Chemical Company in Sedalia, MO, will begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 30.
Also at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Korean Kim Kil of Heritage Cleaners will be presenting a seminar on "Management and Advertisement."
On both days, exhibiting hours will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Donna Freese, of ADCO, Inc., will deliver her one-hour "Spotting and Cleaning" presentation three times each day as part of the scheduled on-floor programs. Freese will discuss the proper use of a spotting board; the tools used on a spotting board; the chemistry of spotting agents or why they work; the removal of hair spray stains; the removal of ink stains; and the handling of acid/alkaline sensitive dyes.
The Small Business Assistance Programs Environmental Protection Divisions from the SEFA states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi will be on hand making on-floor presentations that are designed to inform fabricare specialists about state programs, hazardous waste inspections and fund administration.
Each presentation will last between 15 and 20 minutes and will be repeated over the course of the two-day show so that convention-goers may adjust their schedule accordingly.
The Renaissance Waverly Hotel, which is connected directly to the Cobb Galleria Centre, will be offering exhibitors and attendees a room rate of $119 per night for single/double occupancy. Call (770) 953-4500 to make reservations.
For more information about the 2000 Southern Dry Cleaners Show, call the SEFA office at (770) 998-9900.
A review of how hazardous substance site cleanups are managed and financed in the state of Oregon has been announced by the state's Department of Environmental Quality.
Over the past 13 years, the Oregon DEQ said it has completed oversight on cleanups of 535 sites. Cleanups of 300 sites are currently underway. But in announcing that a three-member citizen group will examine the state's cleanup programs, DEQ director Lang Marsh said "it is now time to take a fresh look at whether the present system is the best way to achieve safe and timely cleanup of hazardous substance sites."
Among the state's cleanup programs is one targeted specifically to drycleaners. By last December, 20 sites had applied to the program, which began in 1996, the DEQ reported.
Cleanups of four sites had been completed; seven others were being cleaned up; four were being assessed to determine the nature and extent of contamination; and four sites had not yet been assessed.
The drycleaning site cleanups are funded by a surcharge on solvent purchases and by annual fees of $1,000 for a facility operating drycleaning equipment and $500 for a dry store selling over $50,000 worth of services
The program also includes equipment and operational requirements designed to prevent future contamination.
The solvent surcharge has risen steadily since the program's inception, reaching $21.11 a gallon for perc and $10.62 a gallon for other solvents last October. Rates can increase three percent per year, with an additional increase of up to $4 per gallon if the fees fail to generate $1 million in the preceding year.
The projected cost to complete cleanups at sites already in the program is estimated at $2 million. The cleanup fund held slightly less than $1 million in December, reported Dick De Zeeuw of the DEQ staff at the December meeting of the Dry Cleaning Advisory committee.
The amount of money available in the fund was identified as the most pressing need at that meeting. Other key issues include environmental compliance as a condition of eligibility and providing DEQ with the discretion to use the fund to reimburse owners for cleanup costs that were not pre-approved.
Compliance with equipment requirements is high, reported Elaine Glendenning of the DEQ staff. In summarizing the technical assistance effort conducted by DEQ staff last year, she said that 472 drycleaning sites were visited by staff -- 331 plants, 108 dry stores and 33 closed locations.
In those visits, staff found that 100 percent had purchased only dry-to-dry equipment and ceased using transfer machines; 99 percent had refrigerated condensers, 94 percent were using a closed, direct-coupled delivery system for perc; 96 percent had containment pans under and around each machine; 98 percent managed all wastes containing drycleaning solvents as hazardous waste; and 99 percent did not discharge wastewater to the sanitary sewer septic systems.
Management and treatment of wastewater remain issues, Glendenning reported.
In particular, many cleaners do not have containment under the wastewater bucket and waste water treatment equipment often does not have all the recommended features to prevent the release of perc to the environment.
Compliance with reporting requirements was lacking, too, she noted. While three-fourths of the cleaners had completed their 1998 annual report when DEQ staff visited, fewer than one in five were keeping logs of outlet temperatures on their refrigerated condensers and of their perc purchases. Three out of five had no outlet temperature gauge on their refrigerated condensers.
The Oregon DEQ web site has a section devoted to the state's drycleaner program at: www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/cleanup/dry0.htm.
The citizen group charged with reviewing the state's cleanup programs will be asked to "either recommend that we continue as we are or make changes that would improve our ability to get the job done," Marsh said. Weakening the state's environmental cleanup standards will not be an option, he added.
The study group will continue its work through this fall. Any changes it proposes will need to be considered by the government and by the legislature in 2001.
Members of the citizen group include Gail Achterman, an attorney with the Stoel Rives law firm in Portland, and Emery Castle, a professor emeritus of economics at Oregon State University and former member of the Environmental Quality Commission.
A representative of the financial community will be appointed as the third member. A consultant with knowledge in financial and legal structure alternatives will assist the group.
Marsh also announced that the cleanup program components of the Department of Environmental Quality's Waste Management and Cleanup Division will be separated into a new division that will focus only on cleanups. Paul Slyman will be the administrator of the new division. He has been with DEQ since 1993 and managed the agency's solid waste program and was marine spills coordinator for the water quality division before heading up the cleanup section.
Tax credits available
Another state program offers tax credits to cleaners who have purchased equipment that reduces annual perc purchases to less than 140 gallons per year or eliminates their use of perc. Up to half of the certified cost of the equipment or technology can be eligible for Pollution Prevention (P2) Tax Credits. The maximum eligible cost is $75,000 per location per year. Tax credits are applied against income or corporate excise taxes at a rate of 10 percent per year for five years.
The pilot program is only available for equipment installed before December 31, 1999. Applications must be submitted by December 31, 2000. An application must be filed within one year of the installation of the new equipment or technology.
A drycleaning machine that uses a petroleum-based cleaning solvent or a wet cleaning process may be eligible to receive a tax credit. In addition, DEQ has a Pollution Control Tax Credit program that may also be of assistance to drycleaners.
Held every other year, Fabricare 2000 is the state's largest machinery equipment supplies and services exhibit and ranks among the larger industry trade shows in the nation.
More information on Fabricare 2000 is available by contacting CCA, 530 Bercut Dr. Suite G, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone (916) 443-0896; (800) 390-8409; fax (916) 325-9990 or e-mail cca@camgmnt.com . Show information is also available on the association's web site: www.calcleaners.com.
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