National Clothesline

DRAPER, UT — New features designed for enhanced business management are available in the release of SPOT version 4.10.

Retention Marketing, for example, begins with automated transaction analysis at order entry. SPOT uses integrated Microsoft Word merge for personalized, e-mail and hand-signed contact letters to simplify customer communications.

All contacts are automatically recorded in SPOT’s new Customer Relations Manager. New customer marketing pop-up views show customer trends, including next anticipated visit, dollars spent, last visit, either by gender or by special service.

Advanced Retention Marketing reports provide marketing information such as out of pattern visits based on a review of a customer’s visit pattern of the past 12 months; out of pattern by marketing category, which shows services or department types used by a customer and if shopping habits or service usage has changed; service by marketing group, which analyzes customer usage of services by department or percentage; and customer/retention summary, which views the retention summary for counter or route customers, including lost customers, new customers, all customers, and production by department, service and gender for the current period vs. previous period of same period last year.

WESTLAND, MI — Hamilton Engineering has introduced a larger version of its 99.8 percent efficient water heating system, the EVO 99.

The EVO 99 was introduced over two years ago as a 199,999 BTU/hr input unit. It is “stackable,” allowing modular components of two, three, or four units to be integrated into a single functioning system. Since its introduction, Hamilton has placed nearly 1,000 units in laundry applications.

In response to a demand for larger laundry applications, Hamilton now offers a 399,999 BTU/hr input model. This new, higher capacity water heater can supply greater amounts of hot water using fewer individual units, which could mean a lower initial investment for the laundry owner. Both sizes continue to perform at a 99.8 percent thermal efficiency rating, resulting in reductions in gas consumption.

Hamilton offers the EVO 99 water heating systems with multiple units pre-piped to a new storage tank, or pre-piped for easy hook-up to an existing storage tank. All systems are accurately sized to each specific laundry application using the exclusive, computerized CompSize sizing program.

SYRACUSE, NY — Thermopatch has announced the availability of the Thermoset II heat seal machine with optional shirt pocket platen, letting companies slide bulky shirt pockets, gloves and other hard to heat seal items around the bottom platen.

The Thermoset II head sealer has the option of 4" x 6", 5" x 7" 6" round, 3" x 4", 6" x 10" and now the 3" x 4" shirt pocket platen.

SEDALIA, MO — Adco Inc. has announced the roll-out of a new line of wetcleaning detergents, sizings and conditioners with enhanced performance.

“Fine Clean” is a powerful, yet gentle new wetcleaning detergent designed for fine and dryclean-only fabrics.

“Fine Texture” is a wetcleaning sizing and conditioner that gives fabrics a soft hand to ease the finishing process and control static.

For customers who prefer a single application, Adco offers “Fine Plus,” a combination detergent, sizing and conditioner with an added brightener.

The company said its new line of wetcleaning products is easy to use and offers more effective cleaning power, while still being gentle on fine fabrics, allowing the use of wetcleaning equipment for effective cleaning of fine fabrics with greater economical and ecological benefits.

Development work on the “Fine” products was undertaken by Adco’s Research and Development Department.

The line replaces Adco’s earlier line of wetclean detergents, sizings and conditioners. The company continues to offer Leather Sof and Leather Treat for leather wetcleaning processes.

MIAMI, FL — CleanBlue Dry Cleaning Services has launched a partner program targeted at proficient plant owner/operators in metropolitan drycleaning markets.

The program allows the local partner to exclusively contract with CleanBlue to provide drycleaning and laundry services for a weekly capacity of 7,000 drycleaning items and 6,000 shirts. This lets CleanBlue’s plant partner focus on production and quality cleaning, instead of marketing and sales to acquire new customers.

Members can access CleanBlue’s national infrastructure of suppliers and service providers for improved economics while providing quality cleaning services exclusively to CleanBlue. CleanBlue has teamed up with national leasing companies, plant developers and real estate investment trusts to help local partners build a new industrial-size drycleaning plant.

GIG HARBOR, WA — Methods for Management has developed an industry-specific program to help drycleaners translate their dreams, passion and ideas into a practical plan.

MFM consultants combine their executive level, hands-on experience in leadership and strategic planning with the company's 50 years of industry-specific expertise to help business owners:

• Reflect their vision of where their business is headed and what is needed to get there.

• Achieve the right fit between the company's potential and its skills, needs and desires.

• Keep the planning process close to the realities of markets, key customers and suppliers.

• Integrate planning into a continuous business cycle.

• Focus efforts on what is most important to success.

NAPERVILLE, IL — R. R. Street & Co. Inc., has introduced its SpotSMART Stain Removal Sequence, a free visual tool that guides a spotter through specific sequences using procedures for maximum effectiveness, indicating the correct procedure for all stains whether or not the stain’s origin is known.

SpotSMART can hang by the spotting board to give all spotters a step-by-step picture sequence for stain removal. Steps are shown from the top of the guide and working down, from dry side to the wet side, until maximum spot removal has been achieved.

The SpotSMART chart is available to drycleaners upon request.

COLD SPRING, KY — Stamford, a division of Fabritec International, has announced that the updated formulation of its Flik oily gel type paint and grease remover.

The gel structure keeps the spot remover fixed to the stain to help break up stubborn, greasy soils with the aid of a bone or brush. Flik remains in a small area where it can be easily flushed with a volatile spotter. It is also effective in pre-spotting many types of ink and oxidized soil stains.

Flik is available in one gallon containers and is classified as non-hazardous for shipping purposes.

TULSA, OK — Ultra Odor from Royaltone is an odor neutralizer for wetcleaning or drycleaning in the form of a highly concentrated liquid additive.

Added to the wheel of any laundry washer or drycleaning machine it can neutralize undesirable organic odors, including pet odors and smoke odors. It can be used on any clothing or household items that have undesirable bad odors by adding one ounce per ten pounds of cleaning, batch cleaning for five minutes with no filter in drycleaning or washing for five minutes in wet cleaning.

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Kaeser Compressors line of booster compressors extends from 3 to 50 hp with flows from 10 to 600 scfm and pressures as high as 650 psig. The units can be used to boost existing plant pressure and eliminate the need for separate high-pressure systems and complex installation requirements. Kaeser Boosters come with an TEFC motor, motor starter, control monitoring system, after-cooler, prefilter, anti-vibration pads and a discharge hose.