National Clothesline

GreenEarth Cleaning is cutting in half certain affiliation fees for drycleaners who add multiple machines at a single location.

The company said that effective July 1 it will charge $1,250 for the second and subsequent dry-to-dry or washer-extractor machines a drycleaner begins operating at one location using the patented silicone-based GreenEarth Cleaning solution. The affiliation fee for the first machine at any location remains $2,500. The discount does not apply to multiple machines used at multiple locations.

“As drycleaners ourselves, we are pleased to respond to a growing number of requests from people in our industry to help drycleaners expand in this difficult financial period,” said Jim Barry, the company’s chairman. “GreenEarth Cleaning is committed to helping drycleaners succeed, and we’re delighted to make this special offer so they can grow more quickly.”

Barry said the drycleaning industry’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization have fallen from 30 to just 12 percent over the past decade. Barry attributed the drop in drycleaning business to the nation’s still recovering economy and a more relaxed dress code in the workplace.

He said the reduced affiliation fees are designed to help drycleaners convert more easily to the GreenEarth system, which he said has boosted revenues in locations where the solution is promoted to consumers.

To use the patented GreenEarth Cleaning process, drycleaners currently invest $2,500 in an annual license fee per machine at every location. Barry said capital costs to use GreenEarth Cleaning’s system are similar to costs for perc or hydrocarbon drycleaning machines — an average of $40,000. The cost of the silicone-based solvent is less than $20 per gallon, and one gallon can clean from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of clothing.

GreenEarth Cleaning has licensed 13 machine manufacturers to develop equipment for use with the silicone-based solvent. These include Böwe Garment Care Systems, Firbimatic, Forenta, Hoyt Corp., Lindus, Marvel Manufacturing Company, Multimatic Corporation, Multitex Maschinenbau, Realstar, Renzacci, Sanyo Techno Clean, SailStar Machinery, and Union Drycleaning Products.

Dry-to-dry machines manufactured by Union, Firbimatic, Realstar, Forenta and Böwe and a reclaimer made by Hoyt Corp. are currently approved for use with GreenEarth. Other equipment is in the beta field test phase and should be approved soon.

“We will continue to work very closely with manufacturers to be certain their machines perform at the high standards that cleaners have come to expect of GreenEarth Cleaning’s system,” Barry noted. “That’s very important to us, our customers and their customers.”

The new affiliate discount follows GreenEarth Cleaning’s announcement that it has signed an agreement with Dow-Corning to provide drycleaners with another source of silicone solvent used in the patented cleaning system.

Previously, the sole supplier was GE Silicones, which is a joint venture partner of GreenEarth Cleaning and Procter & Gamble.

Barry said Dow-Corning will be required to adhere to the high standards the company expects of every supplier selected to accelerate adoption of the GreenEarth Cleaning solution.

“The actions we’ve already taken just this spring demonstrate our firm commitment to delivering the best processes, best equipment, best products and best performance possible for drycleaners,” Barry said. “We’re delighted we have been able to take these positive actions on the industry’s behalf.”

Barry said the GreenEarth system has been used to clean more than 15 million pounds of garments in approximately 200 locations throughout the nation.

According to GreenEarth, drycleaners who have adopted its system report their customers can actually see, feel and smell the difference in their clothing.

Barry said economic benefits reported by GreenEarth Cleaning drycleaners include reduced labor costs of up to 15 percent and increased sales ranging from 15 to 70 percent.

GreenEarth Cleaning was created in 1998 by three drycleaners who, in the face of regulatory pressure and other business issues, were seeking an environmentally preferable alternative to the nation’s leading drycleaning solvent which is used by 85 percent of commercial operators.