Resillo Marks 70th
Resillo Press Pad Co. is marking its 70th
anniversary this year as a manufacturer of press pads for the
fabric care industry. The Lincolnwood, IL, company is
positioning itself for major market expansion both in the
United States and abroad, according to Leo Pearl, company
president.
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The company started during the depths of
the Depression in 1933. By 1944 it was ready to move to a
larger facility in Chicago, and within four years of that move
nationwide sales service was established. By 1956, continued
growth called for another move, this time to its present
location, a 30,000-sq.-ft. facility in Lincolnwood in the
Chicago suburbs.
As fabric choices changed over the years,
involving both natural fibers and synthetics, press
manufacturers adjusted their equipment. Pearl, who joined the
company in 1948 and became its president in 1980, noted that
the company has, over the years, “worked hand in hand
with press manufacturers to produce pads that fit the needs of
their users.”
“We responded to feedback from
laundry and drycleaning operators about ways to improve our
product,” he said.
One thing that won’t change, Pearl
said, is “the standard of excellence in the production of
our quality products — long lasting and perfect fitting
pads and covers.”
The company actually dates its origins to
before 1933 when Morris Rosenthal operated a family-run
business called Sheridan Laundry. As a heavy user of cotton
press pads, he ventured into manufacturing. In a quest to
extend the life of press padding, he purchased a quantity of
steel wool from a local hardware store and began experimenting
with variations in construction of steel wool pads until he
created a workable product for use on his own process.
He offered the steel wool pads for sale to
laundries within a 50-mile radius of his plant and, when the
first steel wool pads gained acceptance by those laundries,
Resillo became a growing industry.
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MFM spans 50 years, 3 generations
Methods
for Management Inc. is
marking its 50th anniversary as a management consulting firm
for the drycleaning industry.
MFM was founded in 1953 by Max Rechnitz.
His daughter, Deborah, joined the firm in 1980. A third
generation is on the horizon as Max’s grandson and
Deborah’s son, Scott, is the assistant web master for the
firm’s web site, www.mfmi.com.
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“You have peers that you trust and
respect; you talk about your issues and hold each other
accountable. You build long term friendships, hold each
others’ hands through the tough times and help each other
see those things that you’re too close to see in your day
in and day out routine. All of this is designed to make you a
little bit better, to get a little closer to achieving your
goals, your hopes and dreams,” she said.
MFM’s also provides strategic
planning, family succession planning with buy/sell assistance
and on-site management training for owners and managers.
“It’s our job to get to know
our clients, their likes and dislikes, their priorities,
personal and business,” Rechnitz said. “When
problems and opportunities arise, and they frequently do, we
are better prepared to work through these issues. We try to
provide an objective outside perspective, perhaps guidance,
frequently some specific data and information, and a few
insights, to help our clients see the forest for the
trees.”
Headquartered in Gig Harbor, WA, MFM can
be reached by phone at (253) 851-6327, by fax at (253) 858-2013
or e-mail at info@mfmi.com.
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Levine joins First film
First Film Extruding has appointed Robert
Levine as a new sales representative. First Film is a
manufacturer of polyethylene garment bags and other extruded
plastic products. Levine brings 15 years industry experience at
both the manufacturing and distribution level and is a
third-generation of his family to be involved in the laundry
and drycleaning industry.
Levine is based in Atlanta, GA, and will
primarily cover the eastern half of the United States calling
on distributors and drycleaners. He can be reached by phone at
(770) 578-4228, by fax at (770) 578-4229, or e-mail at
rlevine@ffellc.com.
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Richard H. Fox Jr. is Foster-Stephens’ new sales executive and will be in charge
of national sales and marketing for the company. He will be
representing the company at trade shows and will visit
customers throughout the year.
Fox can be reached at (800) 279-8269, ext.
204, or by e-mail at r.fox@foster-stephens.com.
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Fabricare Foundation names officers
New officers were named to the Board of
Trustees of the Fabricare
Foundation at the
organization’s February meeting in Las Vegas, NV.
Ron Kantor of Leather Rich, Oconomowoc, WI, will serve as
president; Chris Edwards of A Cleaner World, High Point, NC, as
vice president; Pat Godo of Avon Cleaners, Dallas, TX, as
secretary; and Wade Elam of Nashville, TN as treasurer.
The foundation was organized to fund
research for the industry, provide financial resources to
create and support education course work and scholarships, and
raise funds to support its programs. Last year the foundation
released the results of its Customer Attitude Survey.
Discussion at the Las Vegas meeting centered on future projects
for the organization.
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Union names NoCal distributor
Milestone Pacific Trading Co., a long-time
distributor in Northern California has joined Union
Drycleaning Product’s distributor
network. Tom Sheridan of Union Drycleaning Products is shown
with J.P. Lee, president of Milestone Pacific Trading Co., also
known as MPT, located in San Jose, CA.
Working and playing in Aruba
Members of Tuchman Training Systems
national management group met recently in Aruba where they
reviewed their accomplishments for the past year.
Despite a tough year in general for the
industry. 63 percent of the group members reported record sales
growth and 53 percent said they had increased their profits.
“The growth in sales and profits
resulted from the benefits of being in a group of successful
cleaners,” said Sid Tuchman, president of Tuchman
training systems. “It is very lonely being an
entrepreneur.”
Tuchman said most members have
significantly increased profitable sales through marketing
programs that not only boost drycleaning sales but also include
new services such as fire restoration, medical cleaning,
outlets in supermarkets, wedding gown preservation, routes and
other sidelines.
Members meet four times a year for two
days at a member’s plant to exchange ideas and
experiences. At the quarterly meeting members critique the host
plant followed up with a complete report and discussion of the
information with the host.
“After visiting each other’s
plant, there is a sharing and a bonding,” Tuchman said.
“This continues between meetings. We feel free to call
each other up. There is peer pressure to improve
performance.”
Tuchman noted that author Peter Drucker
has written that effective executives and mangers practice
systems in everything they do. The group’s goal is to
initiate, refine and share the best business practices that
have been shown to be effective over time.
The Plant of the Year award went to
Nesbit’s of Houston, TX. Mike Nesbit, the owner,
commented that since joining the group his business has
increased and that he has learned business practices that he
hadn’t used before.
Tuchman said there are currently several
openings for cleaners interested in joining the group. He can
be reached by phone or fax at (415) 751-3374 or e-mail at stuchtts@mindspring.com.
