Newsmakers

AMA Universal has moved its North American headquarters to new, larger facilities in Owings Mills, MD. The company was located in Villa Park, IL, for the past 20 years.

The new headquarters is located at 11438 Cronridge Drive, Suite W, Owings Mills, MD 21117. The toll-free telephone number is (800) 258-3844 and the fax number is (443) 394-0537.

AMA Universal manufactures drycleaning machines sold under the brand names of Flourmatic/Blue Tiger and Suprema.

The new location has more office and warehouse space and an operational showroom for the companies products. New staff has been added for customer service and new computer and telephone systems have been installed.

The facility allows in-house stocking of more machines. The proximity to the eastern sea ports, Baltimore and Washington International Airports, trucking and rail hubs will help speed customer shipments.

Also, AMA Group has formed a new management organization to provide support for its Flourmatic and Suprema brand drycleaning machines.

The new organization will provide technical service and replacement parts for Flourmatic and Suprema drycleaning machines. In addition, AMA Group has developed a new range of multi-solvent drycleaning machines for the USA market which will be sold under the AMA brand name.

Laidlaw Corp. has hired two new sales representatives.

Bruce Osheroff is representing the company in south Florida. He has been in the industry for 34 years as both a drycleaner and chemical salesperson.

Jeff Goldstein is representing the company in the Washington, DC and Richmond, VA, market. He joined Laidlaw after many years as both a drycleaner and a sales representative.

Ken Holder has joined the technical sales staff of Kreussler Inc. in Tampa, FL. He will cover the state of Florida and southern Georgia. Holder has been involved in drycleaning chemical and solvent sales for 20 years and served as a technical representative in Alabama, Florida and southern Georgia. He is an IFI Certified Professional Drycleaner and an IFI Certified Professional Environmental Drycleaner. He is a past associate director of the South Eastern Fabricare Association and has been a contributing writer for the SEFA’s Reclaimer Magazine. In addition to his industry education, he holds a master of science degree in management from Troy State University. He and his wife, Paulette, live in Tampa, FL.

B&G Lieberman announced last month that two long-time sales representatives are back on the job.

Ed Babbitt has recuperated from a back injury and has returned to work again serving customers in New England and New York state. Jeremiah Wolpert has rejoined the company and is covering and extended territory from his home in Pulaski, TN. He is renewing friendships with former customer in Western Tennessee, most of Kentucky, eastern Indiana, the Illinois farm belt and the Missouri and Kansas areas.

The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists (AWGS) has teamed up with Canada-based TheDrycleaner.com. AWGS, comprised of quality drycleaners who specialize in wedding gown preservation, is seeking to expand its MuseumCare preservations in Canada from Ontario to Newfoundland, the territory represented by the network of drycleaners associated with TheDrycleaner.Com.

“Brides call us every day for referrals, and the more widely we are represented, the more brides can benefit from the personal, interactive service offered by members located near them,” said AWGS President Peter Delgatto, owner of Knight Cleaners in Arcadia, CA. “It also strengthens our guarantee, which is truly an international warranty because each one of us honors the guarantee of every other member of the Association.”

Jack Creed, managing director of TheDrycleaner.com, feels the alliance with AWGS is a natural extension of his company’s relationship marketing network. “Women represent a very high percentage of our customer base, and offering this specialty meets their particular needs,” he said.

AWGS is a not-for-profit trade group that serves as a marketing cooperative for its members represented in more than 500 cities around the world. Many of TheDrycleaner.com customers are connected to the website, www.thedrycleaner.com, and receive monthly specials on-line.

For more information, contact AWGS at (800) 501-5005.

Planning is underway for the next World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning – Clean ’03 – scheduled for August 11-14, 2003, in Las Vegas, NV.

Assessment surveys for Clean ’01 have been sent by Riddle & Associates, the show’s management firm, to a sampling of people who attended Clean ’01 in New Orleans. A separate survey was sent to a sampling of people who did not attend. Surveys also went to all Clean ’01 exhibitors.

Survey results will be analyzed and cross-tabbed for comparisons among the three groups. This will assist the Clean Executive Committee and show management in determining how the show might address changing needs.

The biennial Clean Show attracts all segments of the industry, from single-owner, coin-operated laundry and drycleaning establishments to giant industrial and institutional laundries. Clean ’01, held in New Orleans, drew 16, 546 visitors with 562 participating exhibitors.

The Clean Executive Committee, which represents the show’s six sponsoring associations, has formed an Exhibitor Advisory Council that will provide input on exhibitor needs and attendance promotion.

Two exhibitor members from each of the Clean Show’s sponsoring trade associations comprise the council. They are:

International Fabricare Institute: Bob Aldrich, Aldrich Clean-Tech Equipment Co., and Brent McWilliams, Laidlaw Corporation.

Coin Laundry Association: Jeff Deal, Hamilton Engineering, Inc., and Bob Eisenberg, IPSO, USA.

National Association of Institutional Linen Management: Greg Gurtler, Gurtler Industries, and J. B. Werner, G. A. Braun, Inc.

Textile Care Allied Trades Association: Stephen Langiulli, ILSA Machines Corp., and Tony Regan, American Dryer Corporation.

Textile Rental Services Association of America: Michael Dineen, Pellerin Milnor Corp., and David Tingue, Tingue, Brown & Co.

Uniform & Textile Service Association: Mike McBride, Cleaners Hanger Company, and Andy Morrow, Washing Systems Inc.

The council held its first conference-call meeting on Feb. 12. The next Clean Show will be held in Las Vegas, NV, August 11-14, 2003.

For more information, contact show management, Riddle & Associates, Suite 360-C, 1874 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30324; phone (404) 876-1988; fax (404) 876-5121; or e-mail info@cleanshow.com.

NIE Insurance announced that up to 5 percent of premiums will be returned to individual subscribers under guidelines set by the NIE Advisory committee.

The full 5 percent return goes to subscribers of more than two years. Those who have been with NIE for one to two years will received 3.33 percent; those who have been with NIE for less than a year will receive 1.67 percent.

NIE headquarters are in St. Louis, MO. The company can be reached at (800) 325-9522.

Hamilton Engineering recently held it’s first Sales Certification School at corporate headquarters in Westland, MI. Distributors from all over the United States attended. The certification program covered water usage and heating, water treatment, fuel bill analysis and efficiency improvement calculations. Now entering their third decade of service, Hamilton Engineering provides the laundry industry with water heating packages, water treatment systems and technical services worldwide.