Hangers wins environmental award
Tom Judge | |||||
The NPPR is devoted to promoting pollution
prevention and cleaner production. The MVP2 award recognizes
companies that demonstrate source reduction activities.
Tom Judge, owner of Hangers Cleaners in
Plover, said, “CO2 is naturally all around us and is
benign to the environment. Our system is a safe alternative
because it takes toxic chemicals out of the process and keeps
them out of clothes where they can irritate skin. Using CO2
even allows us to safely recycle the dirt we remove from
clothes.”
Other MVP2 winners included Saturn
Corporation, Audubon International and Condit Elementary School
from Houston, TX. Applicants are judged on innovation,
measurable results, transferability, commitment and
optimization of available project resources. Applicants fill
out an application where they must describe the project,
technological aspects, data on the project’s pollution
prevention, how the application can be used in other locations,
how the project affected them internally and what resources
were available and used.
Dan Schiller, COO of Cool Clean
Technologies, Inc., which is the master licensor of the Hangers
brand name, said, “This award is consistent with our
ideals and beliefs, and we are proud to have received such an
honor. We look forward to our future environmental innovations
and the continued growth of this great environmental cleaning
process.”
Hangers, Inc., has 60 locations from
Wilmington, NC, to San Diego, CA, and is looking to expand
throughout the United States under a trademark license with
Cool Clean’s direction. Cool Clean Technologies, Inc., is
the manufacturer/supplier of the “CO2OL Clean”
drycleaning machine.
For more information on Hangers Cleaners,
call (866) 262-9274 or visit Hangers website at
www.hangersdrycleaners.com. For more information on Cool
Clean Technologies, Inc., visit
www.co2olclean.com.
 |
Childers choice: retirement
Childers | ||||||||
Those years consisted of being a plant
owner’s son, plant owner, sales engineer for Sanitone,
college instructor in drycleaning and small business
management, author of the Master Drycleaners Notebook and other
books, a monthly columnist for the American Drycleaner
magazine, industry educator, trainer, speaker and consultant.
He said he decided last year that the time
had come to reduce his education and consulting workload and
devote more time to other pursuits.
“It will be difficult to slow down
from an exciting career and not be able to see some very good
people and friends that have been made over the years through
industry functions and assignments,” Childers said.
He has moved back to his native state of
Oklahoma and bought a house in a town of 12,000. The town,
Tahlequah, is the capitol of the Cherokee Nation. He lives
about 10 minutes from the airport where he keeps his airplane
and plans to continue writing his columns and traveling. The
Spanish version of his Master Drycleaners Notebook will be
released soon.
In his retirement announcement, he
expressed disillusionment with the direction of the industry
over the years, noting that he has seen it “go from a
tight knit industry with no major problems to where it is today
— divided, overcrowded and attacked by our very own
government, environmentalists and too many rules and
regulations to mention.” It has gone, he added
“from a respected art and craft to a commodity in far too
many instances.”
The most disheartening thing to him, he
said, has been “institutions that were set up to help the
drycleaners with business decisions, cleaning questions and
political help become too political and even self-serving to be
much benefit to the members they are to serve.”
|
|
McAllister, Kress join Kreussler
McAllister, who has been working and
managing in the family drycleaning business since the early
1970s, will be Kreussler, Inc.’s, technical sales
representative for New York City and environs, Long Island, New
Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. He will work with the sales
team of the exclusive Kreussler distributor, Minda Supply Co.
A native of Pennsylvania. He lives in Oak,
PA, with his family which includes four children. He has
been an active local volunteer firefighter for over 15 years.
The Kreussler territory covering Georgia,
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas
will be covered by the Jay Kress of
Dallas, GA. He started as route driver, then was
cleaner/spotter at a drycleaning plant. He has managed and
trained at multiple plant locations in South Florida for
DryClean USA for two years; was a technical sales
representative for R. R. Street & Co. Inc. for 11 years in
the Atlanta, GA, area and technical sales representative for
Seitz, Inc., for the past two years.
Jay Kress | ||||||
Kress received his college education at
Montgomery College in Rockville, MD, and the University of
Maryland where he earned an Associate of Arts and Bachelor of
Arts in Art History degrees. He and his wife have two
children.
Kreussler also has announced that it is
teaming up with Miele to provide a total wetcleaning solution
using Miele wetcleaning Systems and Kreussler detergents in the
USA. The two companies worked together in the late 1980s
in developing the wetcleaning process in Germany.
Miele will be offering all of the
Kreussler wetcleaning “Lanadol Range” products with
all of its wetcleaning systems.
|
|
Restorers network holds first convention
CRDN owners gather on the steps of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. | |||||||||||
“Thirty-five of the 41 territories
that currently comprise the Certified Restoration Drycleaning
Network were represented at the convention,” said Wayne
Wudyka, CRDN’s president and CEO. “We had members
from Washington state, Portland and California in the west, to
Connecticut and New Jersey in the east, to Alabama and Texas in
the south, and many parts in-between.”
The convention’s theme,
“Setting Sail for Success,” set the tone for two
full days of educational seminars, roundtable discussions and
networking among members
“We designed the convention’s
general sessions to convey timesaving, money-making ideas to
help our members grow their businesses and become more
profitable,” noted Wudyka.
“Our guest speakers presented
outstanding sessions on general operations, marketing and
insight on the industry from insurance company executives, as
well as third-party administrators who handle claims management
for insurance companies. We also presented panel
discussions where our members were able to learn from fellow
owners.”
The convention concluded with a black-tie
Awards Banquet that saluted the achievements of owners in
several categories.
Founded in 2001 in partnership with
Service Brands International of Ann Arbor, MI, CRDN was
designed for drycleaners who want to build their business
through insurance restoration services. The network seeks to
bridge the gap between drycleaners and the insurance industry,
which stands to save hundreds of millions of dollars each year
through restoration drycleaning services, with a cost average
of only 16 percent of the replacement of goods.
Service Brands International is an
umbrella organization for successful franchise brands such as
Molly Maid, Mr. Handyman and 1-800-Dryclean.
For information on CRDN, drycleaners can
call (888) 379-2532 or send e-mail to:
info@restorationdrycleaning.com. The organization’s web
site is located at www.restorationdrycleaning.com.
|
|
TRSA taps Ekfelt for top post
Ekfelt | |||||||||||
Based in Arlington, VA, TRSA represents
the linen supply, uniform service, dust control and commercial
laundry services segments of the textile care industry.
“In Dick Ekfelt, TRSA has found a
seasoned executive who will help us grow our industry despite
today’s challenging economy,” says association
Chairman Thomas M. Coyne of Coyne Textile Services, Syracuse,
NY. “I’m convinced that under his leadership,
we’ll enhance the value of TRSA membership in everything
we do — from government relations to marketing, technical
research, publications — and much more.”
Since 2001, Ekfelt has worked as a
consulting attorney overseeing projects such as the drafting of
corporate policies and guidelines for an energy company dealing
with EPA and OSHA regulations. He also prepared exhibits and
case files for a construction contractor engaged in litigation
before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.
From 1995-2000, Ekfelt was executive
director/CEO of the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers
Association, a trade group comprised of manufacturers of
automotive and industrial lubricants. In this $2-million
budget, 300-member association, he managed industry initiatives
before federal agencies including OSHA, EPA, SBA and DOT.
He has also held other association
management positions and served with two Washington, DC, law
firms.
Ekfelt served from 1992-94 as president of
the Animal Health Institute, an international trade association
representing the veterinary divisions of major drug companies
and independent animal health research interests. Ekfelt
managed a major federal legislative program, and worked with an
allied industry coalition to develop substantive legislative
positions, which led to passage of major industry-related
legislation in the 104th Congress.
Ekfelt’s other positions include
service from 1984-91 as vice president and account executive
for Hauck & Associates, a Washington, DC, trade association
management firm. From 1982-84, he was an investment adviser and
consultant to Investment Search Inc. in Annapolis, MD. In this
job, Ekfelt reviewed and analyzed SEC-registered oil and gas
limited partnerships on behalf of banks, insurance companies,
individual investors and others.
Ekfelt served from 1976-82 as an attorney
for two Washington, DC, law firms: Olsson, Frank & Weeda
and Collier Shannon Scott. In these positions, he
represented trade associations and private companies with
interests before federal regulators and the U.S. District and
Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Ekfelt began his career as a law clerk
from 1974-76 to Justice Richard Neely of the West Virginia
Supreme Court of Appeals, Charleston, WV. Ekfelt is a graduate
of the University of Virginia School of Law and Yale
University.
A native of Omaha, NE, Ekfelt is married
to Sally Ekfelt. They have a high-school-age daughter and two
college-age sons.
|
|
CLA names Sokolowski deputy executive
director
Sokolowski has been part of the
self-service laundry industry since 1992, having co-owned two
Chicago laundries. He and a partner currently co-own and
operate Wash Around the Clock, a 24-hour laundry on
Chicago’s south side.
Sokolowksi has been an active volunteer
with CLA since he joined the Illinois Coin Laundry Association
board of directors in 1996. He also served as a member of the
CLA insurance Board of Directors and rose to the CLA executive
committee as treasurer in 2002. He has also been a frequent
contributor to association’s education seminars.
“I am very familiar with the issues
important to today’s laundry owners: rising utility
costs, increased competition, and personnel issues, to name a
few,” Sokolowksi said. “My experience on the CLA
board broadened my view of the challenges facing store owners,
distributors and manufacturers alike. I am delighted by this
opportunity to use my experience to help CLA members.”.
Upon joining the CLA staff, he resigned
all of his volunteer leadership posts to concentrate on his new
role. His responsibilities include helping to manage the CLA
staff and the association’s day-to-day operations. He
will concentrate on serving as a resource to CLA’s
store-owner members through special projects and by aiding in
the development of future membership benefits.
With the addition of Sokolowski as deputy
director, CLA now has 10 full-time positions on its Downers
Grove, IL, headquarters staff. The association’s
insurance branch office in Plano, TX, has a staff of three led
by executive director Ruby Burch, headquarters staff.
Sokolowksi and his wife, Dora, have two
children and reside in suburban Chicago.
|
|
New name for Chevron Phillips solvent
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company’s HC-DCF Dry Cleaning Fluid will now be
marketed as EcoSolv drycleaning fluid.
“This change is in name only,”
said Greg Collins, strategic accounts and projects manager. He
said the solvent is the same product that we have been
delivering in the United States for the past two years and
under a private label throughout Europe for over a decade.
Collins said Chevron Phillips is
responding to an industry request to switch from a technical
product identification to one that customers can identify with
on a environmental level.
“We want our drycleaning customers
to associate the benefits of the product with the new name:
“Eco” for ecologically sound and environmentally
friendly and “Solv” for a solution of your
drycleaning problems,” Collins said.
The fluid is 100-percent
hydrocarbon-based, and its flash point lies within the NFPA
standards for Class III A solvents (above 140 degrees and below
200 degrees Fahrenheit). It is completely biodegradable and
poses no long-term health risks to plant employees, according
to Dr. Nancy Eilerts, technical services director.
“Drycleaners with proper permits and
equipment may use our product in any cleaning process currently
using petroleum or other hydrocarbon solvents,” said
Collins. He listed other benefits of using a hydrocarbon
cleaning process with EcoSolv fluid, including:
• The flash point of EcoSolv solvent
is higher than that of traditional Stoddard solvents.
• Adco, Inc. of Sedalia, MO, has
tested the cleaning power of EcoSolv fluid and the results show
that switching from other high flash hydrocarbon solvents to
this product will not change the system’s cleaning
performance.
• Because EcoSolv fluid is quick
drying, garment processing will not be slowed and damage to
buttons and other heat sensitive trims is reduced.
• EcoSolv is compatible with most
additives that are ordinarily used with hydrocarbon solvents.
In addition, dye and soil transfer is minimized when the
product is used with anionic and cationic detergent formulas.
For the customer, this means cleaner garments, which are
essentially odorless, thus reducing the need for deodorizers.
Collins and Dr. Eilerts stress that
drycleaners should always check with the manufacturer of their
equipment to make sure the machine is properly configured to
operate with hydrocarbon drycleaning solvents.
For information on EcoSolv drycleaning
fluid, call Chevron Phillips Chemical Customer Service, (800)
858-4327.
|
|
