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Bob Knippling has announced his
retirement from Fabritec after
50 years with the company. After serving in the Army during
World War II, he graduated from Wilmington College with a
degree in chemistry and joined the Fabritec division of Emery
Industries in Cincinnati, OH, where he worked in research and
quality control and was responsible for introducing new
products to the industry. For the past 20 years he was vice
president and responsible for all Fabritec distributor sales.
His retirement plans include traveling
with his wife, Alice.
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CRDN forms strategic alliance
The Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN) has formed a strategic alliance
with a managed contractor network that provides Web-based
technology to insurance companies. This should increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of claims assignments, CRDN said.
“We are pleased to announce this new
relationship with PTC-Net, a third-party administrator for some
of the nation’s largest insurance companies,” said
Wayne Wudyka, CRDN’s president and CEO.
“The PTC-Net processed more than
150,000 claims last year and, starting in 2002, CRDN will be
the exclusive provider for the drycleaning portion of their
claims,” he noted.
CRDN seeks to bridge the gap between
drycleaners and the insurance industry. Since the average cost
of restoration is 16 percent that of replacement, the insurance
industry stands to save hundreds of millions of dollars a year
through restoration drycleaning services.
Wudyka said CRDN was designed for
progressive drycleaners who want to build their business
through insurance restoration services. The organization helps
members increase their restoration revenue locally and provides
a connection to insurance companies on a national level.
CRDN provides a business system based on a
model developed at Huntington Cleaners in Huntington Woods, MI.
Members are trained in operation procedures, from incorporating
the new business inventory to invoicing.
CRDN’s sales and marketing strategy
is tapping into the insurance industry which offers a large
source of restoration business. Clothing and linens and other
fabric items account for almost one-fourth of the household
goods listed in insurance clams, more than double the volume
for any other category of contents, Wudyka said.
Wudyka began developing his concept in
1993 and formalized it last year when he joined Service Brands
International of Ann Arbor, MI, to establish CRDN and launch it
nationwide. SBI encompasses a group of companies that offer
time-saving services for homeowners and it has expertise on
expanding business on a national level.
CRDN membership is open to qualified
drycleaners who can meet standards for quality and services.
Information is available by contacting
CRDN at (888) 379-2532 or by e-mail at
info@restorationdrycleaning.com .
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Varisty holds first reunion
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The first-ever Varsity Reunion brought together 19 former and prospective Varsity conference chairmen, the largest gathering of Varsity leadership in the history of the 57-year-old conference. The reunion was held in October during the last two days of the 2001 Varsity Conference International Conference of Cleaners at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WV.
David Perry, president of Owen Cleaners in
Paducah, KY and the Varsity 2001 conference chairman, said,
“The idea of a reunion of former Varsity members being
held as part of the regular conference had been discussed for
several years. We were pleased that so many of our former and
future leaders were able to be together.”
Bill Pulley and Frank Kean served as
co-chairmen for the reunion.
The photo above was taken during the final
night banquet. Seated from left are Bob Craig, chairman 1989;
Chris Edwards, chairman-elect 2003; Don Frye, 1985; David
Perry, chairman 2001; Len Battiston, chairman-elect 2004; and
Mel Shapiro, chairman 1984.
Standing from left are: Andy Clayton,
chairman 1999; Ray Edwards, chairman 1993; Jack Brown, chairman
1978; Amiss Kean, chairman 1974; Ed Glover, chairman 1992;
Frank Kean, chairman 1981; Brooksher Banks, chairman 1991; Paul
Brown, chairman 2002; Harry Craig, chairman 2000; Gene
Katterjohn, chairman 1976; Nick Moufarrige, chairman 1996; Bill
Pulley, chairman 1970 and 1988; and Don Fawcett, chairman 1998.
Varsity is an annual weeklong conference
of drycleaners who meet to discuss innovative management,
marketing and operational strategies for their companies.
Participation is by invitation only and each company comes
prepared to share its best ideas for improvement. All
information is confidential. The executive committee invites
only companies from non-competing markets. Each year all
companies are graded by their peers and invited back the
following year only if they are judged to have contributed
substantially to the overall success of the conference.
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Hanson joins NEFA
Brian Hanson has joined the North East
Fabricare Association staff
as director of membership support services.
Among his first projects will be acting as
exhibit coordinator for NEFA’s Fabricare Image show in
Providence, RI, in March. He will also serve as the designer of
NEFA web site, www.nefabricare.com. In addition, Hanson will
serve membership needs in the areas of education, personal
instruction and other NEFA-sponsored programs.
His background is in web design and he has
attended Massachusetts Communications College where he studied
computer multimedia.
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Greenearth promotes Maxwell
Maxwell is a second-generation drycleaning
whose family has operated a wholesale leather and specialty
item cleaning company in Toronto, Canada of more than 25 years.
He has been a GreenEarth Cleaning field representative for
Canada and the Midwestern United States for almost two years.
Maxwell is a stakeholder representative in
Environment Canada’s Strategic Options Process for the
Reduction of Perchloroethylene in the Drycleaning sector. He is
also a member oft he board of directors of the Ontario
Fabricare Association.
In his new role with GreenEarth, he will
manage the sales of the GreenEarth cleaning process throughout
Canada and the United States. He will also present information
to any interested group about the use of silicone solvent in
the drycleaning process.
Maxwell has a degree in economics from the
University of Windsor. He and his wife, Karen, reside in
Thornhill, Ontario with their two children.
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Unipress settles patent dispute
Unipress Corp. of
Tampa, FL, announced that it has settled its lawsuit with
Hoffman regarding Unipress Patent No. 5675918 concerning a
shirt cuff pressing assembling. Unipress said Hoffman
acknowledged the validity of the product and agreed to withdraw
its collar/cuff pleater (ALC8-P) from the market.
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