After watching his drycleaning business thrive its first few years, Tim Blankenship never really entertained the notion that he could lose everything. He had seen tremendous growth in his business, Premier Dry Cleaners, since he first launched it in 1991. After opening a second store in 1993, he had to open a third in 1994 just to handle all of the volume.
Unfortunately, that was the same year things quickly changed. Tim suddenly became frustrated, so much so that he just wanted to bury his head in the sand. He was working 16 hours a day, seven days a week, to keep the business going, yet he still faced deep cash flow problems. His business was becoming increasingly in debt.
"We were going downhill fast. I was not running my business. My business was running me -- when I could be found. I was leaving the plant in the middle of the day to get lost," he explained. "My co-workers (Tim insists on referring to his employees as co-workers) couldn't even find me."
Tim certainly didn't expect to one day find himself in dire financial straits when he first decided that he wanted to be in the drycleaning industry at 16 years old. If people ask him how he got started in drycleaning, he jokes, "I lost a bet." However, the real reason he got into the industry was that his best friend in high school had a great job with a drycleaning plant that was located in Willowick, OH, the town he had been born and raised in.
"I went to the only other drycleaner in Willowick and asked if they needed help," he recalled. "They needed a part-time delivery driver."
The name of the plant was Beachland Cleaners, owned by Chuck Dow, a strong influence in Tim's life. "He was a former prisoner of war and this guy was the most mellow, friendly guy you ever met," Tim said. "The whole six years I worked there, he never once raised his voice to me. He never once got angry at me... and I gave him plenty of reasons."
Following his father's example, Tim displayed a strong work ethic at Beachland. He wanted to learn everything that he possibly could. Even his hobbies seemed to be a form of training for his future profession. One of Tim's favorite things to do was to work on cars.
"I used to have some old Pontiacs that I collected and I would work on them -- removing motors, switching them out -- I'd redo the body and paint them and everything. I liked working with tools, and, in drycleaning, you've got to be part mechanic."
After graduating high school, Tim opted not to go to college. He realized that he would only excel at something he was interested in and he was only really interested in drycleaning. Tim's father stipulated to his son that if he didn't go to college, he had to get a second job to keep busy. So, Tim worked for Beachland all day and waited tables at the Brown Derby every night.
At the age of 22, Tim attended the International Fabricare Institute's summer classes. "I spent the whole summer there," he recalled. "I took their preventative maintenance class and their three-week general drycleaning class. I took their advanced spotting class and their management class."
Upon returning to Ohio, both Tim and Chuck agreed that it was time for him to "leave the nest." Tim moved on to manage Jay Dee Cleaners, the largest drycleaners and commercial laundry plant in the area. He spent the next two years working there, along with his job at the Brown Derby.
Tim didn't mind the double duty. He had his heart set on saving money and fulfilling his dream of opening up his own plant and settling down with Jeanette, his high school sweetheart.
In 1987, Tim realized that his two jobs weren't cutting it financially enough for him to save money, so he took advantage of an opening at the company his father had worked for much of his life -- Lincoln Electric.
Utilizing his mechanical skills, Tim worked at the plant for three years trying to save more money. "I worked hard. I volunteered for every Saturday. I worked my vacations," he recalled. "The only vacation I took there was for my honeymoon. I just wanted to get the Hell out of there. I hated it, but I had a goal. If I could work a Saturday there, then, to me, that was one day closer to being out of there."
Fate played a major role in helping Tim pick a location for his first plant. He had one in mind, but it wasn't meant to be. "We were all set to sign the lease when my cousin called me and asked me to help him move one night because I had already bought a van for delivery," Tim said.
While moving, Tim met one of his cousin's friends who just so happened to be constructing a building. After scoping out the location, Tim decided that it was a better choice. In January of 1991, Premier Dry Cleaners was open for business. Literally, he had started the store from scratch; Tim had rebuilt equipment, painted, laid down tile and anything else he could do by himself -- spending all the money he had worked so hard to save.
Though things were hectic, Tim added two more stores by 1994 and had experienced excellent growth. That's when the floor seemed to drop out from under him.
Looking back at that stressful time, Tim is convinced that his business was saved when Steve Poulos convinced him to join the Ohio Management Group. He had always been a good drycleaner, but now he needed to be a good businessman. Following the consulting group's advice, Tim turned the business around.
Little changes made a big difference. "I discovered how easy it was to take care of those problems if you just took care of them properly," he said.
After OMG disbanded years later, Tim found another consulting group to participate in -- Al Robson's Biz Builders. By working together with other cleaners, Tim believes that everyone benefits.
"I've flown around the country and seen a lot of plants and learned a lot from those friends I've made," he said.
W ith nine competitors within a two-mile radius of his plant, it isn't easy to stand out, but Tim and his "co-workers" aim for consistency. He is quite proud of the fact that customers give him compliments about the talented and courteous workers at Premier.
"We're not the best, but we're consistent. When people come here, they get a good product for what they're paying," he explained. "They don't get any problems at the counter if something does not come out right or to their satisfaction."
In fact, Tim sees paying a claim as a form of marketing. "If someone's not happy, I'm not going to argue with them over a $30-40 shirt or an $80 dress. I am going to do what I need to do to satisfy them quickly. I'm always going to end the conversation by saying, 'I just want you to know that if you have a problem here, I'm going to handle it. I'm going to be fair with you. I ask that you just be fair with me.'"
Another interesting approach that can be found in the walls of Premier Dry Cleaners is that only the customers are allowed to say "You're welcome."
"A lot of people, out of habit, will say 'Thank you.' The last thing I want to see is my customer service representative going 'You're welcome.' You just charged them $25 to give them back their clothes for God's sake. No, it's 'No, thank you. We appreciate your business.'"
I f you were to write down all of Tim's activities on paper, it would be a lengthy list. For example, he has served on the board of directors and trustees for the Ohio Cleaners Association and is currently the association's secretary. He also keeps busy as a member of Rotary International raising money to combat childhood leukemia and other worthwhile causes.
However, Tim doesn't stay active in organizations to be recognized or to improve his business. He just enjoys helping others and working hard. In fact, he is hoping to instill such values in his two sons, Timmy and Bradley.
Tim will never forget those values because he learned them from two men who he describes simply as "honorable" -- his father and his former mentor, Chuck Dow. When both men passed away a mere ten days apart, Tim was devastated, but he didn't really have time to be. Instead, he spent many weeks helping Ruth, Chuck's widow, keep Beachland Cleaners running. It was a lot of work, but Tim refused to take any financial compensation.
"I knew that Chuck would have done that for my wife if that happened to me," he said.
When Ruth sold the business six months later, she wanted to repay Tim. Again, he refused. Later on, Jeanette called him on the phone, crying as the result of a letter sent from Ruth. She had thanked them again and made arrangements for Tim and his family to fly to Disney World and covered air fare, car rentals and other vacation costs.
Thinking back to the letter, Tim is still emotional. He didn't want to accept the gift, but he also understood why Ruth needed so much to give it to him. After all, he needed help from others to keep his business from going under years ago.
Because of that, Tim understands the necessity of working together -- even with competitors -- in order to make the industry better.
"We're all in the same industry. There's more than enough work for everybody," he pointed out. "I don't see why everyone is so secretive. We all have soap. We all have equipment. It's our production people and our counter people and the management that makes the difference."
Alan Spielvogel has joined the Neighborhood Cleaners Association's garment analysis lab and its New York School of Drycleaning.
Spielvogel entered the industry in 1969 at age 15 in Yonkers, NY, as a part-timer doing maintenance on the machinery, handling the counter and sweeping the floor.
He continued to work there part-time while a student, learning about the equipment and operations, then learning to spot and press.
Two years after high school he started managing the plant while taking courses at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. Two years later he took a job managing a plant in Mt. Kisco, NY. Since then he managed several different plants over the years until March, 2000, when he joined NCA as a member services representative.
With NCA, Spielvogel has served members in the West-chester, Connecticut and western New York areas.
This summer, Spielvogel was asked to accept an instructional position with the New York School of Drycleaning, teaching the Principles and Practices of Drycleaning course. He also has been performing garment analysis services and writes garment alerts for the NCA web site and the bulletin.
"My experiences as a member services representative give me an understanding of what the industry wants and needs," Spielvogel said. "In addition, my years of managing drycleaning businesses help me understand what the members are going through when they have a problem."
Spielvogel can be reached at NCA, (212) 967-3002, ext. 315.
Boewe Garment Care Systems of Germany and SailStar Shanghai of China have formed a new joint venture in Germany. The agreement makes the two companies equal partners in a new joint venture to be called Böwe Textile Cleaning GmbH (BTC), Augsburg, Germany.
The new company has acquired the factory and employees of Boewe Garment Care Systems and will continue to manufacture, produce and sell Boewe drycleaning machines in Augsburg. Leading the new BTC company are Eckhard Gerschewske and Dr. Reinhard Siede. Gerschewske will mainly be responsible for Boewe sales worldwide as well as for sales of SailStar products in Europe. SailStar Europe will remain a separate company although operating from the same Augsburg offices.
John Bogert, president of Boewe Permac Inc., a subsidiary of Boewe Garment Care Systems located in Dallas, TX, said they will continue to warehouse, sell and support the German-made Boewe products. The phone number of the Dallas office is (972) 503-1998.
Boewe also has announced a cooperative sales agreement with Machinefabriek Wientjens of Milsbeek, Netherlands, a maker of drycleaning machines. Boewe will take over sales and service of Wientjens machines except in the United Kingdom and the Benelux countries, which will enable it to offer machines ranging from the 12 kg small shop model to the 100 kg industrial drycleaning machine. Since its formation in 1945,Boewe has produced and sold more than 50,000 drycleaning machines throughout the world.
Dennis J. Gonzalez has been appointed president and chief operating officer of IPSO of NY/LaunderCenter. Prior to joining IPSO of NY, he was with Greenwald Industries for 11 years, most recently as national sales manager.
In his new position, he will head the company that distributes IPSO washer/extractors, ADC dryers and relate equipment for coin/card operated and on-premise laundries as well as drycleaning equipment.
IPSO of NY/LaunderCenter has been the top distributor if IPSO washer-extractors for none of the last ten years. The company distributes parts for all commercial and drycleaning equipment nationally through its Arrow Parts division.
IPSO USA has added two new members to its sales staff. Frederick Sunman will work with the distributor organization in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. He previously worked with on-premise and coin laundries and wetcleaning systems.
Daniel B. Halpin has joined the sales staff and will work with the distributor organization in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. He was most recently affiliated with Jensen USA and, before that, was associated with a distributor of LSG Group products in the southeast.
B&G Lieberman has appointed Jim George of West Haven, CT, as its sales representative for New England. He takes over from Ed Babbit, who the company said is no longer able to travel.
George brings many years of experience to the industry from his former association with the formal-wear trade.
B&G Lieberman has its headqaurters in Charlotte, NC. To contact the company, call (877) 438-0346 or visit its web site: www.bglieberman.com.
Washburn Machinery is now serving cleaners in Iowa and Nebraska with the opening of Washburn Machinery of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. The company has served Midwest cleaners since 1948 out of its Chicago, IL, headquarters and it is retaining its Chicago operations.
The Cedar Rapids division offers equipment, parts, service, installation, financing, layout and design. The primary owners of the company are Todd Hingtgen, Mike Fox and Dan Furman, who have a combined total of more than 40 years of industry experience.
Prior to selling equipment, Hingtgen owned and operated a drycleaning plant for several years. Fox has served Iowa and Nebraska cleaners as an equipment sale representative since 1989 and served a term as the allied trades representative for the Iowa Fabricare Association. Furman has been repairing laundry and drycleaning equipment in the area for 23 years.
The company's contact information is 5005 Blairs Forest Lane, NE, Suite F, PO Box 11784, Cedar Rapids, IA 52410-1784; phone (319) 294-0044. The Washburn Machinery web site is www.washburnmachinery.com.
Fluormatic has joined AMA Universal and will operate under the name AMA/Fluormatic. The drycleaning machines will be sold as AMA Universal. AMA Universal has manufactured about 25,000 drycleaning machines and 2,000 metal degreasing machines that have been sold throughout the world.
U.S. headquarters are at 875 Ellsworth Ave, Villa Park, IL 60181; phone (800) 258-3844.
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