Southwest News

After several months of negotiating and dealing with legal obstacles, it’s official.

A “Certificate of Merger” was issued from the Texas Secretary of State to the Southwest Drycleaners Association, who recently expanded its territorial reach by merging with two other IFI affiliates, the Mid-America Fabricare Association and the Louisiana-Mississippi Drycleaners & Launderers Association.

SDA, headquartered in San Antonio, TX, previously served members in Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. The merger broadened the scope of the association’s representation to include the states of Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

Andrew Stanley, who will continue to serve as SDA’s executive director, believes the move will be beneficial to all of its members.

“The benefits derived from the consolidation of resources and elimination of duplicate overhead expenses will allow the association to better serve its constituency,” he said. “SDA is now the largest regional affiliate of the International Fabricare Institute, and as such, we will have a far more influential voice on a national and international level.”

The first member meeting for the expanded association took place at SDA’s “Big 2002 Show,” which was hosted from April 11-14 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center located in San Antonio.

For more information, contact the association office by calling (888) 732-2567

The Southwest Drycleaners Association “Big 2002 Show” certainly lived up to its name by offering a big educational program at its trade show on April 12-14 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX.

The International Fabricare Institute sent Chris Allsbrooks to deliver a seminar on “Managing Difficult Customers” on the morning of Sunday, April 14. Afterward, IFI CEO Bill Fisher was on hand to offer his views on the “State of the Industry.”

Jan Hargrave, a popular guest speaker from SDA’s Big 2000 Show made an encore appearance by giving a seminar on “Understanding Personality Differences in Your Cleaning Business” at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.

The weekend offered many social events, as well, including a golf tournament on Thursday, a welcome reception Friday night, and an SDA social Saturday evening, followed by a night of dining and dancing to the sounds of the Drugstore Cowboys at the St. Anthony Hotel, which served as the convention’s headquarters for the event.

A general fabric care course taught by Chief Instructor Jane Zellers will be offered from June 3-7 at the International Textile Center, located on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.

The course will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 4: 30 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, and from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

The one-week general fabricare course (course #02-1) will cover a variety of topics, including: basic customer service; recognizing problem garments; fibers and fabrics; basic stain removal; drycleaning technology; reducing claims; proper garment classification; wetcleaning procedures, bleaching, dye stripping and digesting stains; finishing/pressing techniques; understanding work-flow; and proper equipment layout and it’s role in production.

Zellers will also discuss tips for producing the “perfect shirt” and methods for productivity, as well as quality.

Instruction will be divided between classroom presentations and practical applications with plenty of hands-on training.

Tuition is $395 for SDA members, $460 for other IFI members; and $525 for non-members. Class size must have a minimum of ten students and is not to exceed a maximum of 24 students.

Room rates have been secured at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Lubbock, TX, at $52 per night plus tax, with an additional $5 per person added to each night’s bill.

In the second half of the year, Zellers will also teach Stain Removal (course #02-2) from Nov. 11-13, and Advanced Stain Removal (course #02-3) from Nov. 13-15 at the International Textile Center.

For more information, contact SDA by calling (888) 732-2567 or visiting the International Textile Center’s web site at www.itc.ttu.edu.

ITC's 110,000-sq.-ft. facility has a complete materials evaluation lab to test and evaluate fibers, yarns and fabrics; a short staple (cotton system) processing lab for ring and open end spinning; weaving; knitting; and dyeing and finishing.