Clarifications of clean-air rules for drycleaners recently issued by EPA provide a little latitude for cleaners who installed equipment to control perchloroethylene emissions before the final rules were published.
In one amendment proposed by EPA, cleaners who installed perc transfer perc machines between Dec. 9, 1991 and Sept. 22, 1993, can continue operating the equipment. The final air rules published in 1993 banned transfer equipment although such a ban was not included when the rules were first proposed in 1991.
EPA has also decided that combined azeotropic control/carbon adsorber systems are the equivalent of carbon adsorbers for purposes of compliance with the federal clean-air rules. In its 1991 proposed rules, EPA stated that an azeotropic control system (aka Solvation) is not equivalent in emissions control performance to a refrigerated condenser or a carbon adsorber. However, EPA said, the combined azeotropic control/carbon adsorber system is equivalent in performance to a carbon adsorber even though the adsorber used with the azeotropic system is smaller than a stand-alone carbon adsorber.
On the transfer machine question, the International Fabricare Institute challenged the ban soon after it was published by EPA in 1993.
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association International, the Fabricare Legislative and Regulatory Education council and the Federation of Korean Drycleaners Associations supported the IFI effort.
IFI argued that the ban would require cleaners who had installed transfer machines between December, 1991 and September, 1993, with the understanding that they would continue to be legal, would have to replace those machine with dry-to-dry equipment.
EPA said that in changing its mind about a ban on new transfer machines it has assumed that no transfer machines were sold or installed after publication of its proposed rule in December, 1991.
In fact, that was not the case.
"The original (1993) proposal hit small plant operations hard, especially in the South and Southwest," said IFI CEO Bill Fisher.
EPA's Federal Register notice of Sept. 19 -- three days before the final phase-in deadline of the rules -- offers two categories of new transfer machines: those installed between the proposal (Dec. 9, 1991) and the final promulgation (Sept. 22, 1993); and those installed after Sept. 22, 1993.
In short, transfer equipment installed prior to Sept. 22, 1993, may remain in service provided it meets all emission control requirements of the clean-air rules. New transfer equipment after Sept. 22, 1993, is not allowed.
The azeotropic control device question was settled after two years of persistent effort by NCAI, the association said.
"This should give those drycleaners who own one and have not been able to determine if they were legal some relief," NCAI said.
NCAI assisted Diversitron, the manufacturer of Solvation, in tests in 1995, in an attempt to gain an equivalency approval from EPA. Although the tests were never totally completed, NCAI urged EPA to accept Solvation units on the basis of being a carbon adsorber if the unit already had the factory installed carbon adsorber in place.
"If you have an early Solvation without the small carbon adsorber on the stack, the law does not permit you to install one now, NCAI cautioned.
In an EPA memo, the agency said "While the carbon adsorber used with an Azeotropic control system is smaller than a stand-alone carbon adsorber, it is a carbon adsorber nonetheless and test data confirms that a combined azeotropic control/carbon adsorber is capable of achieving the same level of performance in reducing emission of perc as a stand-alone carbon adsorber."
Thus, EPA said, the units meet the definition of a carbon adsorber and can be used as such where called for under the clean-air rules.
With the final phase-in deadline for the clean-air rules now past, all cleaners should be in full compliance. In essence, the rules prohibit venting of perc emissions to the atmosphere, but the means for accomplishing that depend upon a number of factors including solvent usage and the type of drycleaning equipment in operation and when it was installed.
Rules in effect
The rules, officially called NESHAP or National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Perchloroethylene, also require keeping records of solvent purchases and machinery maintenance, inspection and repairs.
A review of the requirements was published in the July, 1996, issue of National Clothesline. Information is also available from the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International, (212) 967-3002, the International Fabricare Institute, (301) 622-1900 and from regional and state trade associations.
The Center for Emissions Control has published an easy-to-follow guide to the rules on its World Wide Web site: http://www.cec-dc.org.
SOUTHFIELD, MI -- A pair of Michigan drycleaners is taking on the issue of homelessness by putting garments left unclaimed after cleaning to work in support of a program called "Recycling to Rebuild Lives."
"There has been an abundance of coverage in the news lately about the issues of domestic violence," Wayne Wudyka and Jeffrey Snyder of Huntington Cleaners said. An estimated 60 percent of homeless Americans are homeless because of domestic violence, they added.
"We in the drycleaning industry are in a position to help," the two said. "We know of the huge amount of forgotten or disregarded clothing we have in storage. Huntington Cleaners has decided to donate our excess disregarded clothing to HAVEN (Help Against Violent Encounters Now)."
HAVEN is Oakland (Michigan) County's largest shelter for victims of domestic violence. The Recycling to Rebuild Lives project is affiliated with the HAVEN shelter.
Project organizers say the adult residents are women from all walks of life, many of whom have jobs but insufficient clothing to wear to work. By accepting unclaimed garments, the project helps these women keep working and re-establish a normal lifestyle.
The two cleaners said many shelters "exist on a shoestring budget with no assistance in sight." Donations by drycleaners help these organizations provide their residents with serviceable clothing.
"HAVEN will give our clothing to victims so they may begin to recreate their homes and lives anew," Wudyka said. "These are women and children who leave an abusive situation most times with nothing more than the clothes on their backs."
Zina Kramer and Lisa Bason at Events Marketing were working with Wayne on several projects when this idea came up.
"When we toured his facility, we thought it was a perfect fit," Barson said. "We wanted to spread the word on a more national level so other drycleaners can do the same thing. It's something every person in every state can do."
Barson, who is not in the textile care industry, was surprised by the quantity of good clothing abandoned by consumers.
"Think of all the surplus nationwide," she said.
Michigan law allows cleaners to dispose of garments after they have held them for one year provided that notice has been given to customers.
In the process of a store expansion, the unclaimed clothing was in the way more than usual.
"We have a lot of unclaimed clothing from time to time," Wudyka said. "Rather than just giving it away or letting them go to waste or lie on racks, we decided there were a lot of community groups that could put the garments to good use."
He began his search for an organization that could help was told by Kramer there was a program she knew of called Recycling to Rebuild Lives.
Wudyka organized a donation of the unclaimed garments to see how it would go. "Now we're trying to see if there's a consortium of cleaners in this area to do it on an annual basis."
His goal is to heighten awareness of homeless women. Moreover, Wudyka said it is important that "every industry take a role in curbing some social problems. This is one way our industry can bond together."
There's an added benefit besides helping people who need help. It's good public relations for the industry, too.
"You have no idea the impact of what you're doing on people you'll never see," a volunteer at the center told him.
"It was real touching. This woman vacated her home, took her son and got a new start. When you see a case like that you can't help but want to help."
Huntington Cleaners also likes the program because the help goes directly to those in need. It's not that other service organizations are less valuable. Wudyka just likes the idea of an immediate solution to a problem.
"There's a whole host of community events we take part of as a company," Wudyka added. "I'm president of the local Chamber of Commerce."
Huntington Cleaners is now organizing more people to participate. The goal is to take a day, "say Dec. 15, and have 15 cleaners show up at HAVEN and make a donation," Wudyka explained.
Huntington Cleaners urged other cleaners nationwide to follow its example and find a local homeless shelter where unwanted clothes can be provided to those in need. "If they do begin a program, we'd like to know other people have taken the ball with this," Barson said.
Cleaners interested in the project can call Wudyka at (810) 541-6038, or Lisa Barson at (810) 540-6688. They will help coordinate donations to local shelters.
Development of a liquid carbon dioxide cleaning system called DryWash is proceeding toward the goal of a machine that will cost approximately the same as existing perc systems, handle all types of garments and reduce cycle times.
Developers aim to have a machine ready for show and sale by Clean '97 in Las Vegas next June.
Jack Belluscio, president of Global Technologies LLC, said progress has been made since Clean '95 attendees saw a basic, one-garment-at-a-time demonstration of the technology in New Orleans. The prototype machine now has a 10 kg capacity drum and uses jets of liquid carbon dioxide ("hydrodynamic agitation") to clean clothes in cycles of 18 to 24 minutes. Belluscio announced these developments Oct. 12 during the Expo '96 exposition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There was no live demonstration of the technology at that show, however.
Belluscio said seven machinery manufacturers and five chemical companies have been licensed to develop the necessary equipment and supplies for the DryWash liquid carbon dioxide system. DryWash is the patented and trademarked name for the process owned by Hughes Aircraft Co. Belluscio's Global Technologies LLC is leading the commercialization of the process.
Although the liquid carbon dioxide machines will likely cost a little more than comparable-size perc machines, overall operating costs should be lower due to reduced energy consumption and waste disposal, Belluscio said. Shorter cleaning cycles and reduced finishing times due to lower cleaning temperatures should increase worker productivity and lower labors costs, also, he added.
Operating pressure for the carbon di degrees F., Belluscio said. Liquefied at that pressure and temperature range, carbon dioxide has good fat and oil solvating properties, is safe for most textiles, fabrics and dyes and is odor free, according to Belluscio
Those factors combined with the desirable environmental and health characteristics (carbon dioxide is chemically stable, non-corrosive, non-flammable, non-ozone depleting and non-smog producing), should make it a viable alternative drycleaning solvent, the developers believe.
Belluscio said comparisons of the carbon dioxide cleaning process to conventional perc cleaning processes bode well for the new system. The carbon dioxide process was equal to perc in oily soil removal, particulate soil removal, collar dirt and stain removal. Redeposition and dye transfer were less in the carbon dioxide than perc, he said.
The developing technology is getting media attention. CNN's Science News conducted interviews and filmed footage on the process for a report that was scheduled to air the last weekend of October.
CNN visited Los Alamos National Laboratory in Santa Fe, NM, and Hughes Aircraft Co. in El Segundo, CA. The cleaning power and properties of liquid carbon dioxide related to garment cleaning have been tested at the Los Alamos labs. The DryWash process was developed through work in precision part cleaning in the aerospace industry on the part of Hughes Aircraft
CNN also visited International Fabricare Institute headquarters in Silver Spring, MD to interview IFI CEO Bill Fisher, who has seen the technology demonstrated at Hughes Aircraft.
Fisher commented to CNN on the future of the technology and provided background information on other methods of cleaning clothes.
A summary of the Science News program should be available on the CNN World Wide Web Site: http://www.cnn.com.
Liquid carbon dioxide cleaning was also discussed by Josef Kurz of Germany's Hohenstein Institute at the international conference on cleaning technology sponsored by the Canadian Fabricare Association in Toronto in September.
Kurz said that CO2 cleaning in theory is excellent but until recently he believed it would be economically impractical. Now he says recent developments lead him to believe it possible that commercially viable liquid CO2 machines could be available by the end of the century.
Noting that technological advances cause assumptions to change, Kurz commented: "Not so long ago people thought that semiconductors were part-time orchestra leaders and microchips were very small foods."
What does it cost to do the laundry -- or to have someone else do it?
The Chicago Tribune tried to answer that question in a recent article by assessing the cost of several methods, from doing it at home to letting a full-service laundry handle the whole job.
By the Tribune's reckoning, the cost to do a 10-lb. load of laundry at home is $15.04. Most of that cost is in personal time, which the Tribune estimated at $17.26 an hour. That amount is based on average annual income divided by 2,080 hours worked per year. The Tribune figured roughly 45 minutes of personal time to handle 10 pounds of laundry at home.
The utilities and laundry supplies portion of that cost is $2.10, the Tribune said, based on a figure of 21 cents per pound provided by Ken Faig of the International Fabricare Institute.
According to the Tribune's calculations, the cost of doing that 10-lb. laundry load at home is not much less than the cost of turning the whole job over to a laundry service. The Tribune quoted a Chicago firm's price of $18 for 10 pounds of laundry. That includes pick-up, delivery and some ironing.
Other options cited by the Tribune were doing the wash at a coin laundry ($21.44) and dropping it off at a laundry that offers wash, dry and fold service ($10.87). The coin laundry cost includes more than one hour of personal time. The drop-off cost includes only a few minutes of personal time -- dropping it off and picking it up.
Disregarding the personal-time calculations, the cost of the various laundry options used by the Tribune are as follows: home, $2.10; coin laundry, $2.75; drop-off, $8; and laundry service, $18.
A survey taken last year suggests that consumers may not value their personal time as highly as the Chicago Tribune's estimated $17.26 an hour.
David Porter of Garment Care Inc. in Kansas City, MO, surveyed several hundred of his customers as he attempted to determine the market feasibility of his drop-off and pick-up "Fast Laundry" service.
Among the questions he asked was "Assuming you could put a price tag on the time, energy and supplies you spend doing the laundry each week, how much do you think they'd be worth?"
One-third of the 524 customers who responded said $10 to $15. The remainder were about evenly divided between less than $10; $15 to $20; and $20 and up. Most of the customers reported doing between one and six loads of laundry a week at home.
Using mid-range values of about $15 on personal time for three or four loads of laundry a week, it appears a typical consumer thinks doing a load of laundry is worth about $5 of his or her personal time and expense.
"The battle is not between large or small operators. Rather, it is between old and new ideas."
That was how Christian Lafon, general manager of Boewe Passat France, described industry affairs in a nation where so-called discount cleaners are flourishing.
While the French public will still pay full price at traditional cleaners, they seem willing to experiment with their bulk cleaning at shops with lower prices. That was a finding of a survey conducted by the French industry trade publication, Pressing, and reported last summer by Laundry and Cleaning News International. Lafon's comments were reported by LCN in a follow up article in its September 13 issue, part of a survey of the state of the industry in various nations.
With the success of its Clean Discount concept, which charges FFr16 per piece ($3US), Boewe Passat has launched its Tocata shops where items are priced at FFr19 each ($3.68US).
Two-tiered pricing in that range, FFr15 to 25 (or $2.90 to $4.84US) is also offered by 5 a Sec's Top Net.
Mireille Compain of 5 a Sec told LCN that "when the discount concept was launched in France three years ago, we had to react quickly to protect our franchises."
Price-cutting is not good for the drycleaning business, she said, "but it is a commercial matter and cannot be ignored."
Other cleaners interviewed said they can't fight discounters with more discounting.
"Cleaners must accept that they are first and foremost business people, not lofty craftsmen," a Paris cleaner told LCN.
"Ambience, a warm greeting to the customer, identifying that customer's individual needs, listening to what they want and providing that service is essential. It is folly not to change with the times. Those who do not will be out of business."
Revitalizing in the UK. Business is good for cleaners in the United Kingdom where there is no pressure to cut prices, LCN reported.
There the Johnson Group is shaking up the industry's traditional image with a program that includes both image and training.
Shops are being refurbished to be more eye-catching, brighter and cheerier. Warm yellow, cobalt blue and subtle gray decor team with gleaming equipment stations in an attempt to rid the industry of its "back-room" image.
Staff training on how to achieve high standards of quality, service, efficiency and profitability is also taking place.
Johnson Group sales are up 7 percent, LCN reported. Small shops are reportedly enjoying good business, too, especially those that emphasize good service, finishing and presentation.
Strong image in Italy. Italian drycleaners are considered a professional class, according to Franco Corazza, export manager of Donini International. Thus traditional cleaners thrive since the art of looking good and relying on the skills of craftsmen to do so is alive and well.
Corazza told LCN that the industry is thriving in Italy because cleaners readily accept and appreciate new products, technologies and their ability to meet the needs of their customers.
Pressure in the US. LCN's survey of the industry in the United States noted pressure on cleaners in the forms of discounters, an aging population with shifting spending priorities, negative publicity about perc and the trend to more casual dressing.
Jerry Levine of the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International told LCN that price-cutting will hasten the demise of cleaners in an already saturated market.
Levine said that while he expects the industry numbers will be reduced, he doesn't think the decline will be as severe as the "Polyester Recession" of the 1970s.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- Clothes Care Gazette, the consumer newsletter published by the International Fabricare Institute, has been redesigned to use a question-based format and a four-color presentation.
Monthly features include the Gazette forum, a question-and-answer column based on questions frequently asked by consumers. Care Label Facts, another monthly feature, discusses various care label issues.
"Problem Garment Profile" and "Tips and Techniques" will appear in alternating months. The profile column addresses garment problems faced by IFI's analysts. How consumers can keep their clothes and textiles looking good will be the topic of the Tips and Techniques column.
For information about receiving the publication, call IFI, (800) 434-6222, ext. 107 or 125.
ATLANTA, GA -- The official hotel package for Clean '97 will offer accommodations in 12 Las Vegas Hotels with four of the six trade association cosponsors using the Las Vegas Hilton a their headquarters.
Housed at the Hilton will be the International Fabricare Institute, the Textile Care Allied Trades Association, the Textile Rental Services Association and the Coin Laundry Association. CLA will also have headquarters at Harrah's.
The National Association of Institutional Linen Management will have its headquarters at the Flamingo Hilton. The Uniform & Textile Service Association will be at Bally's.
Other hotels that will have special rates for Clean '97 attendees are the Aladdin, Alexis Park, The Mirage, St. Tropez, Stardust Resort, Stratosphere and Treasure Island. All hotels are within a mile and a half of the Las Vegas Convention Center where the show will take place Monday through Thursday, June 2-5. Shuttle bus service will be provided from the hotels to the convention center.
A loop shuttle will run between the four main headquarters hotels in the evening so attendees can get to various hospitality events and from the Hilton to the entertainment district.
All of the hotels except the Alexis Park and St. Tropez, which are all-suite hotels, have casinos and most have other forms of entertainment, also.
Reservations for the hotels should be made through the Clean '97 Housing Bureau, PO Box 825, Deerfield, IL 60015; fax (800) 521-6017 or (847) 940-2386; phone (800) 650-6893 or (847) 940-2155. Do not call the hotels directly for reservations since the show's room quotas are assigned to the housing bureau.
A $100 per room deposit by check, money order or major credit card is required to confirm a reservation.
Information about suites is available through the Housing Bureau. Special air fares will be announced later.
Official hotel reservation forms will be in the Clean '97 promotional materials, the first of which will be mailed in December. Information can also be requested by calling Riddle & Associates, the Clean '97 management firm, (404) 876-1988 or fax (404) 876-5121.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- Brochures that explain to consumers the Certified Environmental Drycleaner and Certified Professional Drycleaners programs are available from the International Fabricare Institute.
Both brochures explain the certification progress and tell what it means when a drycleaner has the designation "CED" or "CPD," how that benefits the consumer and what customers can expect from a CED or CPD. The brochures also tell why IFI believes certification is important.
For information about the brochures or to place an order, call IFI, (800) 434-6222, ext 107 or 125.
It seems like only yesterday that breakthroughs in petroleum solvent and wetcleaning technologies and the newest "generation" of perc machines were being heralded throughout the industry.
Wait a minute! It was only yesterday! But while listening to panelists at a forum during the recent Drycleaning and Laundry Expo, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association, we were struck by how things that seemed so new so recently already have moved into the established parlance and practice of the industry. Petroleum solvent has enjoyed a revival due to higher flashpoints and more sophisticated machinery. Wetcleaning is getting serious consideration as a means of handling half or more of the normal cleaning plant volume, thanks to new equipment and chemistry. And perc machines become evermore miserly in solvent usage to the point that the industry is using only half the amount of perc it consumed 10 years ago.
Yes, these developments are new, but they are not really news. Anybody who follows this publication and other trade journals is very familiar with "what's new" in these areas.
Well, keep following because it sounds as if there is more to come. Other panelists at the Expo show spoke of new developments in cleaning technology that they hope to bring to market next year. And still others in the industry are looking beyond to systems that could revolutionize garment care and provide a quantum leap in productivity and product offerings for cleaners. It's not easy now to sort through the choices and make intelligent, informed decisions for the future and it won't get any easier. The pace of change is quickening. Tomorrow will be here sooner than you think. Be ready to greet it.
The New York Capital District and Metropolitan New York chapters of the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International and the Illinois State Fabricare Association are in the middle of their annual Coats for Kids-style garment drive. These organizations have consistently offered their programs, year in and year out. They are to be commended for their diligence in maintaining their programs; programs which require a great deal of time and effort to manage successfully.
This year a new project has been created. It is not offered by an association, but through the efforts of Huntington Cleaners owners Wayne Wudyka and Jeffrey Snyder of Huntington Woods, Michigan. They developed the Recycling to Rebuild Lives project, an effort to help victims of domestic violence realize a new start. They supply unclaimed clothes to the Help Against Violent Encounters Now shelter in Oakland County, Michigan. The goods allow residents to lead more normal lives. The apparel may be clothes to go to work or to school. Or garments to wear when food shopping. The bottom line is, if these women are to reestablish themselves, they need the attire. Our page 1 story in this issue of National Clothesline provides the details of what it is. The "why" of the need for garments for women and their children who have taken to safe shelters is a little more complicated.
Wudyka said the incidence of wife beating occurs once a minute in the United States. One in three Michigan families has experienced domestic violence. And 60 percent of homeless people are so because of domestic violence. The need is there; it is up to volunteers to help. This is where Huntington Cleaners stepped in. They want other cleaners to join the effort and will lend a hand to those setting up their own local program. As the two said, "There are many ways to help and this is one small step you can take to make a large difference in someone's life." They have begun the walk. It is time for others to join them.
Hats off to the Clothesline for the great article last month about those brave souls who "Stood Up and Spoke Out!" at the recent hearing (before Congressman Joe Barton's subcommittee on Sept. 13) on the unfair and most damaging legislation to come before our industry, namely retroactive liability
I hope we will all cherish the names and give support to Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, Rep. Ron Klink of Pennsylvania, and Rep. Chris Cox of California for recognition of and standing up to the truth.
I can't give high enough praise to drycleaners Maureen D'Elicio, Daniel Helm, Martin Yee and Dennis Connant for telling their story and along with John Ayres who represented the International Council for Shopping Centers.
There have only been a few "voices lost in the wind" and yet all of us are affected and in direct ways by these totally unfair and horrendous lawsuits. To give up your time and expense and to fight a just cause for all of us, deserves a special place of honor in our hearts and minds.
Can we do more, than just acknowledge and appreciate what those four drycleaners have done for all us?
What torment they had to endure in fighting local laws, backed up against a federal mandate, the need for which has never been proven!
When this is settled, they deserve a special dinner in their honor, attended by the thousands of other victims -- and oh, yes -- paid for by the federal government and local litigants that sued them!
Let's start by saying "Thanks" to those named above. Then how about mailing a copy of the Clothesline article to your representatives in Congress? Remember, it could be YOU who might receive a lawsuit at a cost of $30,000 for something that you never had a knowledge or were involved in!
Those fighting four have set the stage. They have started a just cause. Can't we all continue to help right the wrong?
It's time to stand and be counted ! Let's start getting MAD, and not taking it ANYMORE!
CENTREVILLE, VA -- The Coin Laundry Association of Maryland has appointed David Norford as its executive director.
Norford also serves as executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association and will continue in that capacity.
The announcement was made at CLAM's Sept. 17 meeting in Frederick, MD.
Association president Selma Baker said "David's first priority of business is to develop and implement a membership benefits package that will be valuable to coin laundry owners in Maryland, and make certain they know about it."
Norford said he will gear up the association to offer programs and benefits, legislative and regulatory representation and a revitalized newsletter.
CLAM is an independent trade association. Information on membership benefits is available by calling Janice Knight, (410) 962-8222.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- The International Fabricare Institute resident courses in 1997 will offer an introduction to drycleaning, advanced drycleaning, basic stain removal, advanced stain removal, wetcleaning and a wedding gown workshop.
Introduction to Drycleaning is a one-week course covering the basic elements of drycleaning, stain removal and finishing fro employees and owners/managers with less than one year of experience. The course fee is $350 for members and $455 for non-members. Starting dates for the 1997 sessions are Jan. 27, March 3, April 7, May 5, July 14, Aug. 11, Sept. 15 and Oct. 13.
Advanced Drycleaning is a two-week course covering more advanced drycleaning procedures, including stain removal techniques and finishing procedures, wetcleaning, and fiber identification. Tuition is $700 for members and $910 for non-members.
The class can be taken in consecutive sessions with the introductory courses for a total cost of $995 for members and $1,295 for non-members.
Starting dates are Feb. 4, March 10, April 14, May 12, July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 22 and Oct. 20.
Basic Stain Removal, which covers fundamental of stain removal techniques, will be offered Jan. 11-12. Tuition is $129 for IFI members and $149 for non-members.
Advanced Stain removal is a three-day class that delves into more advanced techniques, including using bleaches, handling antique and specialty items and removing difficult stains. Members can attend this course for $210; non-members pay $300. One of the most popular classes offered at IFI this year, the class is scheduled in 1997 for June 20-22 and Nov. 14-16.
A one-day course on wetcleaning slated from Feb. 15, Aug 2 and Nov. 1 is designed for those who want to learn about various aspects of wetcleaning and using the new wetcleaning equipment and supplies. Cost of the course is $99 for members and $119 for non-members.
The March 22 wedding gown workshop will focus on how to market wedding gown services and various cleaning and packaging techniques. Cost for IFI members is $99; for non-members, $119.
Registration and other information about the resident classes and other education programs is available by calling the IFI education department, (800) 434-622, ext. 144.
He began with a simple premise: the drycleaning community is fragmented. The reasons why can't be pinned on any one reason. Rather, he recognized a shift from what used to work to a culture where an association is just another group.
"How are we going to help this drycleaning community survive?" Kenney Slatten asked. "That is a tough nut."
The new business owners are a different breed from their post-World War II fathers, he offered.
"We are a mobile community," Slatten said. "To the old timers, a good time was meeting over dinner and drinks. It's a societal change; it's the way people are today."
The Cowboy Cleaner speaks from the third tier of a four-generation textile care family.
"People have to change their attitude about teamwork," he continued. "It's the wrong attitude about working together. We need to get people to start liking spending time together."
The objective should be to persuade people to think, "I think I'm going to talk drycleaning with some people," Slatten argued. "People have to become more sharing, to give their time back."
But the climate is not right at the present to achieve that goal. "And you can't legislate that, you can't tell them that."
Slatten believes in associations with the faith of a convert. "I came from background where I thought associations weren't necessary. I think they are now because the camaraderie and the teamwork are needed."
He contended that associations cannot be what they were in years past. "We have to have money managers, people who can run an association, to guide us. You have to have people who have those skills that drycleaners don't have."
Slatten has no apologies for his support of multiple associations.
"I always let people know where I stand. I'm loyal with IFI; I don't believe in abandoning people in their hard times."
And now that the California Fabricare Institute has become an independent association, he is standing firmly behind his home team.
"It's my state organization and it is imperative that I give back to my state association," Slatten declared. "Then I have my local association -- the San Diego Drycleaners Association -- which is a whole story in itself. It has its own office, its own newsletter. We're the only local out here with a secretary and an office. We're in our fifty-first year now and it's a very strong organization."
And he supports the education component of the industry, which includes associations, individuals and schools around the country.
His most recent venture is a new school for the California Fabricare Institute. "We're creating a school in southern California," he said. "It's tough. I'm borrowing old ideas as I look at some of the old curriculums."
Of course, this is not new work for Slatten. He taught in the laundry and drycleaning school at San Diego Community College for a few years before the program closed
"I took that curriculum with me," he said. "I took it to Arizona three years ago and put it together in new package under different name."
The program included 300 hours of training curriculum. Slatten worked for some time to put a school together in Arizona.
"ADLA came so close to a school in Phoenix. They had a skill center and everything," Slatten claimed. But national support was slow in coming and the concept was laid to rest.
"I came back to California, presented it to the CFI board and said 'if you're really interested, let's go,'" Slatten said. "Harry Boucher named me head of a task force to put a school in California. We took the curriculum and put together a plan. We gave it a year with a target date of March, 1997, to have a school in southern California."
It's not a reality yet, but they believe it will premiere in March in the Los Angeles area.
"We don't know for certain but in-plant and on-the-road training will happen. CFI doing on the road education with me as instructor. And we're going to bring other instructors in."
Why does a San Diego cleaner go by the name "The Cowboy Cleaner."
"That was a self-title for reasons of my background," Slatten explained. It comes from "growing up in Houston on a ranch. Cowboy Cleaner -- that's my signature, as is my hat. It's a self-appointed way for people to remember me."
Slatten comes from a family of cleaners, dating back to his grandfather who was in cleaning from the 1920s in Louisiana.
"I grew up in laundry baskets with my grandfather and dad. I've been in it all my life," he said.
The family started moving west and ended up in Houston where "my grandfather was in the business right up to the early 1960s. My father was in laundry business in Houston in the 1960s and 1970s."
Slatten married into the cleaning business in 1970 when he got out of service.
"It was a large outfit down in Houston. That started me with another affiliation," he said. "By that time my family was out of the business. My dad became a lawyer. I went on to own a plant seven years later in Houston. That was my beginning on my own."
Time passed and Slatten, now divorced and remarried, was on the rest of the way west.
"I ended up in California six-and-a-half years ago by virtue of my wife, a commander in Navy Medical Corps," Slatten said. "She was stationed out here -- it was her first duty station." She is a career nurse, and was teaching at the University of Arizona when he met her.
"She joined the Navy and we ended up here," he added.
But duty tours last only several years before it's time for a new station. This makes two-career family life difficult, especially if a spouse has his own business.
"In the medical corps you get a little more leeway than line officers," Slatten explained. "San Diego County has several bases, downtown San Diego has a big Naval Hospital and then 50 miles up the road is Camp Pendleton." They have been fortunate to be in the same area for this many years. But he knows that some day that move will come. Last year his wife's near-transfer took him to the Navy's submarine base in Connecticut.
"I fell in love with New England," he said. It's a love that will have to go unrequited for a while longer.
"My business is doing so well I hate to move," Slatten said. "In my line of work, it's pretty crowded back East; there are consultants all over. California was ripe when I landed here six years ago with my environmental specialty. No one else wants to fool with it and with all the baloney going around in environmental issue."
His specialty positioned him well for the California state certification for drycleaners. The California Air Resources Board issues certificates to people who have participated in a class which qualifies them as a state drycleaning operator. Slatten has "personally certified more than 475 drycleaners and has another couple thousand scheduled soon in southern California."
"I was one of the first instructors," he said. "That program ties in with my plant training where I do things to get people in compliance with EPA and the state health people."
Not that he's completely satisfied with the CARB program. He wrote in the CFI newsletter that "the certification process for the instructors was weak and if the regulation and enforcement of the Airborne Toxic Control Measure code are the same, the program is doomed."
His focus on education leaves a trail back to his roots in this industry. "My grandfather was in one of the first classes at NID -- around 1925. My dad went in 1950 and I went in 1970."
Be it the CARB program, the ABC's of Drycleaning or counter personnel training, education will help the business owner survive. The influx of first-generation cleaners into this industry also means there's a need for proper education for this population.
"There are so many new people coming into the industry and they don't have a clue what they need to be legal," he asserted. "I have a 35 point list of what you need. If I am going to work with someone in a plant, that's my starting point. I work with the owner and employees."
The depth of Slatten's feeling for this industry is obvious.
"It's the kind of people we are -- a small business attitude but different than any other small business. A lot of the old timers are against change. That's hard to take. In the newer cleaners, they're willing to get help."
"The people who get things done are people who have a passion... like David Porter -- he's on fire; or Jack Godfrey -- he's on fire. We're in a brotherhood... we should all be sitting at the same table. Don't lose sight of the goal. It's the same old problems and the same old needs."
"I think we're not hungry. People need to get a little hungrier, a little more serious about their business. We've kind of lost sight of the brotherhood. It's going to take something to knock us in the knees" to wake our industry up.
This article is the first of two parts that concludes my series on care labels. Here we will examine the law that we are to follow. The manual tells us how to comply with the amended care labeling rule.
Who is covered?Author's note: You must be prepared to prove, without any possible doubt, that you followed the care labeling instructions to the letter.
Reinforce yourself with knowledge of solvent relative humidity, garment classification for cleaning, safe drying temperatures for various fabrics, proper mechanical action for various constructions of textiles, functions and composition of drycleaning detergents, safe solvent temperatures, safe distillation temperatures, etc. Remember, it's the operator who should control the machine and not vice versa. Human minds program machines, not vice versa.
Author's note: This would require plenty of technical knowledge of chemicals and processes that are harmful to certain textiles.
For example, permitting bleach on a white wool/polyester blend garments without forbidding sodium perborate (yellows fluorescent brighteners), or sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) which yellows, degrades and felts wool.
The rule of "following the procedure for the most fragile fiber in the blend" may not be known to the label writer.
Author's note: Therefore the importer, not the foreign manufacturer, would be liable for failure to attach the care label. But what about consumers who remove care labels because they irritate their skin?
I suppose your should ask your customer if you have need to read a care label, if he or she has removed it. More confusion and nuisance.
Labeling textile clothingAuthor's note: Fastening the care label in a seam half way from top to bottom is a poor example of "easily found." Directly under the waistband of a skirt is more visible to a consumer.
Author's note: This is all well and good for the consumer who may wash and dry, or hand wash and hang, at home. But what about the poor drycleaners? We don't have any care label to guide us and protect us from process problems since it was never attached in the first place. Would your customer bring you the hang tag? I think not.
Author's Note: In this regard, it would be a good idea to attach marking tags to a care label (or fiber content label) provided the marking tag is left dangling from the label and not attached tightly to it. If the marking tag is doubled, it will not be pulled off in cleaning, However, be wary of a label made from paper or a pulpy product.
Labeling piece goods
Author's note: This provision can be detrimental to the cleaner since the normal rule is that all trim and decoration attached to the garment can be processed along with the garment unless it is forbidden in the care label. Therefore, be wary of the trim's durability on a dress or blouse which has no care label attached.
Test for durability in solvent with amyl acetate on plastic and with volatile dry solvent (VDS) on dyes. Make the test harsh with a generous application of the chemical on an obscure location and rub vigorously using a white cotton cloth. If the plastic gets tacky or sticks to the amyl acetate, or the dye bleeds to the VDS, don't process the garment.
Exemptions
The following products do not need to have permanently affixed care labels although temporary labels must be provided.
Author's note: Test dyes.
If the item is granted an exemption, the consumers still must be given the required care information by use of a hang tag, placed on the package or in some other conspicuous place.
Author's note: How can the cleaner see this temporary label after the sale? Are they saying that when no label is attached to the garment, you can dryclean or wash it without recourse? Try telling that to the customer or retailer or manufacturer.
The FTC care labeling law defines this care process as follows: "Can be machine washed in hot water, can be machine dried at a high setting, can be ironed at a hot setting, can be bleached with all commercially available bleaches and can be drycleaned with all commercially available solvents."
The FTC care labeling law defines "dry cleaning" as follows:
"A process by which soil may be removed from products or specimens in a machine which uses any common organic solvent (for example, petroleum, perchloroethylene, fluorocarbon) located in any commercial establishment. The process may include moisture addition to solvent up to 75 percent relative humidity, hot tumble drying put to 160 degrees F (71 degreesC) and restoration by steam press or steam-air finishing."
Author's note: Fluorocarbon is now outlawed.
Professionally Dryclean is defined by the law as follows: "Use the drycleaning process but modified to ensure optimum results either by a drycleaning attendant or through the use of a drycleaning machine that permits such modifications or both. Such modification or special warnings must be included in the care instruction."
Petroleum, fluorocarbon or perchloroethylene "employ solvent(s) specified to drycleaning the time."
Short cycle by law means "Reduced or minimum cleaning time, depending on the solvent used."
Minimum extraction by law means "least possible extraction time."
Reduced moisture or low moisture by law means "do not tumble dry."
Author's note: Can hang only garments cleaned in petroleum solvent.
Tumble dry by law means "Tumble dry up to 120 degrees F (49 degreesC)."
Tumble cool by law means "tumble dry at room temperature."
Cabinet dry warm by law means "cabinet dry up to 120 degrees F (49 degreesC)"
Author's note: Only petroleum solvent can use a drying cabinet since no manufacturer makes a recovery drying cabinet for perchloroethylene. Although one would sell like "hot cakes," how could we make the transfer and still satisfy NESHAP and OSHA?
Cabinet dry cool by law means "cabinet dry at room temperature."
Steam only by law means "employ no contact pressure when steaming.'
No steam or do not steam by law means "do not use steam in pressing, finishing, steam cabinets or wands."
Violations
Failure to provide reliable care instructions and warnings for the useful life of an item, as required, constitutes a violation of the Federal Trade Commission act and subjects the violator to enforcement action and penalties of up to $10,000 per offense.
Next month this article will conclude with washing instructions and more detailed drycleaning instructions. With wetcleaning becoming more popular than ever before and more problematic than before, it behooves us as both drycleaners and wetcleaners to become familiar with "Big Brother's" versions of what we should do and should not do.
I often hear an established drycleaner proudly announce, "I don't hear many complaints! "
In my estimation, just one is too many. The simple fact is that very few people like to complain! They would rather go somewhere else. This creates a continual erosion of customers. It can be brought to a screeching halt only by a consistent level of quality. The results and responses to discount coupons, special offers or a sharp sales letter confirms that belief.
All drycleaning and shirt laundries can only be as good as the "Final Inspection." This is management's most important tool in maintaining a standard of excellence.
What is required is routine of inspection of the finished product and maintaining it with a consistent quality control. This involves the return or re-do. The inspector sends it to its respective department when a correction is needed. This can be accomplished without verbal communication, time loss, discontent or acrimony to the individual or the department at fault.
Sound simple?
It truly is, but only if management recognizes its importance and sees to it that the system is firmly established and respected by all concerned. This is accomplished by the use of color coded stick-on tags (colored roll tapes with dispenser). Each department is assigned a color, which could be your choice. For example Blue for tailoring; red for spotting or drycleaning, etc.
A good pair of eyes
The inspector can be anyone who is conscientious and who is hired for simply having a good pair of eyes!. The inspector is shown a perfectly finished laundered shirt or a perfectly drycleaned man's suit, jacket, or pants, blouse etc.
Then the inspector is told and shown what to look for -- a smooth finish, no wrinkles, no soil on collar or cuffs, stains, etc.
As the work comes off the line, the inspector carefully scans the garment and also the ticket for any particular instructions that the counter person has added, and possibly should have been picked up by that department.
Under proper lighting, the inspection goes on. It's a great advantage for the inspection station to be in full view of the counter so your customers can witness the care and concern that is being given to their garments.
If a flaw or stain is noticed, the operator sticks on a designated color for that department and records the time and date of the inspection in a handy memo book.
When a fair amount of returns or touch-ups have accumulated, the inspector brings the garment to that department for correction.
Silence is golden
It is important that no words are spoken. Those words could lead to opinions, then personalities start to take over. It is clearly explained to your experienced and valued production staff (whether that is one or 20!) that the inspector was hired for having "eyes" and each return is to be treated with priority so as to not hold up an order in the process of being assembled.
Assume you have designated yellow to be the color of the drycleaning finishing department and the inspector has noticed a double crease on a pair of trousers.
The inspector then simply sticks on a yellow tape with that color, over the crease, records the fault in the inspector's book under D/C and codes double crease with a single mark, date and time and gives the trousers back to that department head.
The individual receiving the garment acts as the dispatcher to that operator or corrects the fault
That's it. No words are to be spoken. No exchanges.
The operator corrects the error or puts on a tag if correction cannot be made. All returns are to be treated as a priority and again must be returned to inspector to complete assembly immediately after the additional treatment It becomes the department head's responsibility to make the correction or delegate it to whomever he or she designates. That way they soon know who the offending operator is and can determine if more training is required or a correction of a mechanical problem, padding or an improvement to a some chemical formula is needed.
The system works because every return is recorded in the inspector's log! The purpose of the log is for weekly or eventually monthly meetings of the key staff to go over the number and nature of returns. The goal is, of course, to constantly reduce the number of returns, find out the reason, and eliminate any on-going problems so operator performance can improve.
This meeting is to be officiated and moderated by management. It could be a small social event, like a pizza party, and kept within a half hour of time.
The final inspector
The customer is, of course, the final inspector and is in reality the "inspector's inspector." Management must immediately meet with the inspector and zero-in on how future problems should not get to the point of a customer complaint.
It invariably starts with the counter and the proper writing on the invoice of a stain or soil condition that could have easily been removed by pre-spotting, etc.
It takes a small amount of training for the counter sales personnel to simply ask, as they are writing a ticket, "What a lovely fabric! Is this the first time this dress or blouse is being cleaned?" Or, while reading a label, they can ask, "Are there any unusual stains?" Then comment on how easy it is to remove some stains before cleaning, such as sugar stains which otherwise disappear in drycleaning but show up in pressing.
We are in the fabric restoration business and very much have to contend with an imperfect product in an imperfect world. I'm amazed at the truly excellent job drycleaners constantly produce. There should be no mystery about how good a job you are doing if you have final inspection and if you have a control system that can be monitored.
What does it cost?
Think about what it costs to acquire a good customer and how difficult it is to get that customer back once lost for a legitimate reason such as the appearance of a sugar stain or a broken button.
I often recall our former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who would shout to the crowd and the reporters "How am I Doin'?"
With final inspection in place, you have an exact way control how you are doing. And to quote Bill Seitz, "I never heard of anyone going out of business for too much quality."
How good a job are you doing?
Want to know more? Ray Colucci will send you his Guide to Finishing, his counter training pamphlet "Up Front Is Where It Counts!" and a brochure on using the Spectralight. Enclose $5 with your request and mail it to Ray at the address below.
Most shirt fabrics are quite durable and present little, if any, trouble in normal wear and laundering. But on occasion, problems on shirts occur that may be difficult to explain to the customer.
In many cases the fabric may be imported and expensive. The shirt may look like many shirts you process and are of standard construction and fiber, usually a 100 percent cotton or a cotton/polyester blend.
In almost cases, poor performance is traceable to poor quality and quality control in manufacture. This garment failure can occur on men's, women's and children's dress and casual shirts.
Problem with shirts
Because of the relatively low incidence of shirt problems, the customer usually assumes it is the laundering process that caused the damage. That may result not only in a claim but also in a lost customer.
Some of the major reasons for the fabric failure fall into the following categories:
l. Poor dyes and dyeing procedures.2. Oxford.Striped/checked shirts. The problem is a deterioration of the fabric in the striped or checked dye portion of the fabric. It may be more prevalent in underarm, elbow, cuffs and other points of wear.
The problem is due to the use of sulphur type dye that is affixed to the yarn in an acid bath. If the acid is not thoroughly rinsed in manufacture, it will increase in potency and deteriorate the fabric.
The problem does not occur on all striped or checked shirts and does not affect other shirts in the load. Manufacturers of laundry chemicals have reduced the incidence of deterioration by using washing formulas at lower temperatures, milder alkali and the use of buffered sours which reduces the acidity of the neutralizer left in the shirt.
Despite the strides made by modified laundry procedures, the manufacturers of shirts have done little to improve the quality control in manufacture.
Although the problem has been brought to the attention of shirt manufacturers, many will not reimburse the customer and still blame the fabric failure on the laundry process.
Fluorescent dyes. Optical brighteners are used by manufacturers to whiten an off white fabric. An unstable fluorescent dye can break down in laundering producing a fabric with a loss of brightness. The discolored fabric may appear yellow, gray or bluish.Dye bleeding and transfer. Some manufacturers apply dyes and prints to shirt fabrics that bleed, transfer or crock/streak.
Blue Shirts. Even though the shirt appears to be blue, it is constructed of blue and white yarns. This deterioration occurs on the blue yarns when blue and white yarns are used. The problem is similar to striped and checked shirts.
3. Fusing or backing fabric separation, puckering or staining.One of the most important commercial shirtings, the Oxford weave is an interlacing with fine warp (lengthwise) and heavier filling yarn (widthwise.) Because of the soft yarns and loose weave, yarn slippage occurs at seams and within the fabric itself. The yarns will also readily weaken, snag and pill.
4. Fabric finishes -- chlorine retentive resins.The backing on the collar, cuffs and placket area is usually a fused fabric. Some backing fabrics are not stable. This will result in separation, puckering, shrinkage and sometimes transfer of the resins (staining) used to fuse the fabric.
5. Lack of pre-shrinking treatment.The finish on some shirts may be chlorine retentive which means that the sodium hypochlorite bleach residue will not rinse out or be neutralized but will build up in the fabric even after thorough rinsing and souring.
When a shirt fabric is properly pre-shrunk, the shrinkage problem does not occur. In some instances, shirt fabrics shrink even after being washed numerous times. This may occur if the shirt has been washed in a lower water temperature and then washed when the temperature is elevated. Shrinkage is more noticeable on form-fitting or custom-made shirts.
Inspection
Examine shirts for signs of wear at cuffs, elbows and collars. Explain the striped shirt problem to customers. Customers should be made aware that a laundering process can not deteriorate only the one set of yarns in a fabric. The washing process can not cause selective deterioration.
Prespotting
Many commercial prespotters are effective for removing soil on collar areas. Sometimes a lubricant and ammonia sprayed on the collar area will help in laundering. New biodegradable, laundering prespotters are effective in removing dryside stains without risk of water contamination.
Laundering process
Manufacturers of laundering chemicals usually provide excellent technology for the proper use of laundering chemicals and washing formula. The proper use of detergents, alkali and bleach is important for effective laundering results.
The higher the temperature of water, the more soil removal, but it must be remembered that every 18 degrees F increase in temperature doubles the chemical action. The effect of bleach will be different if one laundering process uses 140 degrees F and another uses 160 degrees F.
Bleach without chlorine is referred to as oxygen bleach. Although safe on most colored shirts, higher temperature increases the bleaching action, so dyes can be affected. Some poorly dyed shirts are affected regardless.
Proper loading is important for obtaining satisfactory results. Overloading a washer does not supply the proper mechanical action for proper soil removal. Underloading may cause too much mechanical action.
The use of sours neutralizes the alkali and bleach. Buffered sours are sours that maintain a constant pH between 6 and 6.5. This may reduce the incidence of the striped or checked shirt problem but will not prevent it.
Finishing
The proper retention of water in the fabric is important to obtain a properly finished shirt. When the fabric is too wet or too dry, it will not press properly, resulting in a poor quality shirt appearance.
Corrective procedures
Yellowing -- chlorine retentive resins.
The yellowing due to chlorine bleach retention can sometimes be corrected by using sodium hydrosulphite bleach in a bath. Mix 1 to 2 ounces of sodium hydrosulphite per gallon of water. Soak for 15 minutes and rewash using no bleach.
Dye Bleeding.
Sometimes dye bleeding can be corrected by rewashing the shirt and hanging it to dry. If this is not successful, sometimes a mild sodium hydrosulphite or titanium sulphite bleach will correct the problem.
The following article went out to Golomb Group members several months ago. Shortly after our members received this report, the subject of employee benefits came up on the Internet. The topic of employee cleaning was most discussed.
As I read the comments, I realized it was time for the industry to think through the advantages and disadvantages of providing employee discounts for personal cleaning.
I sent a message through the Internet stating that I would e-mail the same four-page report I sent to our members to anyone who requested a copy. Within a couple of days, I was deluged with requests. They were coming in at the rate of more than a dozen a day.
Our mailings to the hundreds of Golomb Group members are exclusive to them, as they pay a retainer fee for being part of this group. But it was obvious through the net that this is a hot topic and needs to be addressed. So I decided, in light of these circumstances, to reprint my comments for the entire industry.
Now to the article:
People you hire for counter or productive work usually have been spending less than $25 a year for drycleaning and shirt laundering services. I usually refer to this type of customer as a minnow.
If you offer free cleaning as an employee incentive, these same people will jump to at least $500 a year, or 20 times their previous spending. I call a customer who spends this much money on drycleaning a "Big Tuna." And, after your Big Tuna freebie employee leaves your employ, he or she immediately drops back to their previous standing as a minnow.
Can you explain this? I can. It's human nature and it's called greed.
One plant owner I talked to on the phone offers a garment free a day. He has five employees taking full advantage of this special offer. He has a total of 25 employees, and all the rest take advantage of his generous plan, but at a lesser rate. At an average price of $7.50 per piece, this could come to $45 a week and well over $2,000 a year for each employee.
How do you think they feel about doing all this work for some of their fellow employees for free? They don't care. They are getting paid for their production regardless of whether it's free work or paid-for cleaning.
You may think this isn't too much because you probably don't think it costs you much to do a few extra garments free each week. "I can live with this," you say.
Unfortunately, your solvent doesn't know what's free and what is paid for, nor does your boiler know or care, nor your press pads and all other supplies.
And what about the labor to process all these extra garments with no income? Doesn't it cost you at least 25 percent to 45 percent in payroll to process all this work?
If your direct labor is over 30 percent, that's another problem unrelated, but it is magnified by processing hundreds of free garments a week. If you are running over 30 percent production, you should check your policy on free or half price cleaning, or whatever it happens to be.
Let's look at this problem from a different angle.
A drycleaner I know is a real nice guy and was giving his employees a 50 percent discount for their own cleaning.
One of his better customers suddenly quit him without explanation. When he got her on the phone and asked why she quit, she said her daughter's friend went to work for a drycleaner in town and was offered free cleaning as a benefit of the job. The girl didn't have much work of her own so she told her friend she could get free drycleaning for her mom.
This nice lady customer quit my friend's store because she is human and greed made her do it.
The new cleaner finally woke up and fired the young counter girl. When the lady, a Big Tuna customer, lost her privilege of free drycleaning, she came back to my friend's plant where she had to pay, but got better quality work.
Very few plants in the U.S. work at a true net profit of 14 percent. Doing free work does cost money since you have to pay the other employees, supplies, energy and all the usual expenses of running your business.
In the example above, I showed that one employee who brings in $1,000 a year in free cleaning is actually costing the owner 86 percent of that or, in this case, $860.
I'm often asked by cleaners what it costs to process a suit. I ask them what their net profit is. Let's say the guy really knows and says he operates at a 10 percent net profit after all expenses.
My next question to him is, "How much do you charge for a suit?" He might tell me that he gets $7.50 for a two-piece man's suit. Then I tell him it costs him $6.75 to process that garment.
This is an easy question to answer because with a net profit of 10 percent, the $7.50 garment costs 90 percent of $7.50, which comes to $6.75.
If you have 10 employees, it would cost you $7,020 if they brought in an annual total of $7,800 in drycleaning at retail prices, but they got it free. Each employee with an average of only two full garments a week apiece would equate to a total of $15 in free cleaning. Multiply this by 10 employees and you have $150 a week or $7,800 a year. Can you afford to give away $7,020 in profits a year?
That's what you are doing if you match this situation.
How many customers do you think you have that give you $780 in cleaning a year? We recently checked a cleaner who does $1.2 million a year. This cleaner has 12,000 active customers and tracked 600 who gave him over $300 a year. Stop and think a moment... how many customers do you have who spend over $780 a year?
Your employees would never spend $780 a year in cleaning and it's only greed that makes them take advantage of your offer. It's free, so why not? Free cleaning for employees makes them think there is not much value in your service. Is this what you would have them think? I'm sure it isn't.
Your employees can't help but think you are making a fortune, even if you are doing their work for 50 percent off.
Wouldn't it be great if you did make a 50 percent profit? In all my years in this industry, I've never known a cleaner who came anywhere close to making this kind of profit.
After deducting all expenses and executive management salaries, even the best managed plants in the country rarely show a profit of 15 percent.
The Tuchman Management Group shows a target of 14 percent net profit after allocating all true expenses. Even in these exceptionally well managed plants, only a few show profits slightly over 14 percent. The few who do have a unique situation, such as very high volume over the counter(s), and usually process over $10,000 a week per plant.
A survey we did regarding employee benefits included the policy for employee drycleaning and showed overly generous plans. In almost all cases, the employees took advantage of this policy.
So how do you offer this benefit without having your employees abuse the privilege? There are options:
Don't turn good people into greedy people who will take advantage of an overly generous offer.
If any of you disagree with my comments, I would appreciate hearing from you. I'm always open to opinions different from my own and I'll be happy to publish any new and creative suggestions for the benefit of all.
The person accepting the suede, leather or fur garments needs only to examine the item brought in for cleaning and identify items that require the customer's risk or release signature.
To assist this, it is helpful if counter personnel have a checklist of all of the possible problems that may be encountered on any item they receive from a customer.
Get complete information. Just as in drycleaning, it is important to get complete information about the customer. This includes the complete name and address, city, state and Zip Code. The date the garment is taken in and the date due out is important for scheduling and follow-up.
Telephone numbers are needed to contact the customer regarding the processing of the garment or for sending a reminder if the garment is left past the due date.
The charges for extra services, dyeing, water repellent and repairing must be added.
Describe the garment. It is important to describe the item being cleaned. First measure the length from collar to tail (if a coat) and note it on the ticket and price it accordingly.
Specify the type of skin. For example, pigskin, cowhide, sheepskin, painted leather, cuir savage or naked leather. The gender of the garment wearer (male or female) should also be noted. The color of the garment should be specified to help identify it.
Repairs and alterations should be noted and priced before the customer leaves the premises. Other services such as water repellent, recoloring and refinishing should also be noted and priced. There may be more than one piece to an outfit being cleaned and the customer should be asked, "Is this piece part of an outfit?" All pieces need to be cleaned at the same time. Other pieces may include jackets, skirts, pants, vests, belts, zip-in liners and zip-on hoods. These should be noted on the ticket, tagged and cleaned together.
A customer release? The most important part of handling suede and leather is to check items requiring customer release signature.
Release items on a checklist are divided into three categories:The person accepting the garments needs only to examine the items brought in for cleaning and to note items that require a customer release signature. These should be pointed out to the customer when the article is accepted and the release signature obtained on the invoice.
Any other pertinent information should be listed on the invoice and pointed out to the customer before he or she signs the release.
After the customer signs the invoice, the counter person accepting the garment should also sign the top of the ticket. Then the garment and ticket can be hung on a coat hanger for safe handling.
Uncontrollable conditions. The conditions on the checklist are those for which the cleaner cannot be held responsible because the cleaner has no control over them. For example, tick bite scars will not disappear in cleaning.
After noting all items requiring customer risk, it is safe to accept articles for cleaning without accepting unreasonable and unnecessary risks for conditions the cleaner did not create and can't change or, in some cases, can change if the customer is willing to pay the price for the corrective measures.
The next training session at the Royaltone Suedemate Leather Cleaner Center in Tulsa, OK, will be Feb. 6 & 7.Have you ever done a mailing, been disappointed, then given up on direct mail?
Well, when giving presentations around the country, I often hear "Direct mail doesn't work" from drycleaning professionals who don't get the response they expected.
That's because one mailing is not enough to assess the power of direct mail. You can't just do something once, then abandon the effort when it fails. Even doing it once every few years, or once a year won't work.
The only way direct mail works is by conducting a campaign. As the word implies, a commitment must be made to marketing. It's the cumulative effect of direct mail -- frequency, not quantity -- that produces the results everyone raves about.
I'd like to share some cheap, direct mail secrets I've learned over the last 10 years or so. I hope you'll find them helpful.
A postcard campaign is the easiest and most cost effective campaign to start with. But that doesn't make it any less effective. In fact, the opposite is probably true. That is, a postcard is more likely to be read and get your message across than a letter.
Postcards can be used for many different marketing purposes:
Postcard introduction. To generate new customers by welcoming them to the neighborhood, or "introducing" your new store or new service to the local market.
Postcard follow-up. To encourage first-time customers or "lost' customers to return and try your services again. Sometimes this added incentive is all that is needed to bring them back.
Postcard reminders. To remind customers that their orders have been ready for some time and are awaiting the customer's return. You may be surprised at how much this will improve your cash flow. And it's fairly cheap to do.
Four-color postcards (which is printers' jargon for "full color") are by far the most effective. These are about three times more likely to be read than simple black and white postcards. And they are at least twice as effective as any other two-color combinations.
Unless you are in a position to have several hundred-thousand full-color postcards printed at one time, the cost can be prohibitive. Fortunately these can be purchased, either direct or in conjunction with the mailing services (which I recommend) from The Golomb Group, (708) 887-7339.
If you feel compelled to do it yourself and still can't afford four-color postcards, here is a listing of the most effective two-color combinations:
You will also want to invest in purchasing a bulk-rate permit for $85 and you'll have to mail a minimum of 250 pieces per mailing, which is a relatively low quantity for this type of project. Your bulk-rate permit will have paid for itself after you've mailed a little more than 600 postcards.
If you use an envelope, the "Cardinal Rule of Envelope Copy," according to well known direct-mail author Herschell Gordon Lewis, is this: "The only purpose of the carrier envelope, other than keeping its contents from spilling out onto the street, is to get itself opened."
Colored envelopes command attention. So do envelopes with unusual designs and textures. Test your envelope by slipping it into a pile of your mail. Wait a few hours or even a day (try to forget about it), then go through your mail.
What do you see first? Does your envelope stand out? Would you open it first? If not, what did grab your attention? Can you apply that to your direct mail?
Addressing your mail-out can determine the success or failure of your venture. This is more true of an envelope than a postcard.
Since a postcard can be "opened' with a flip of the wrist, not much attention is paid to the addressing. Envelopes require a greater effort on the part of the addressee. For this reason, hand written addresses should be used on envelopes, whenever the woman-power is available. Women, for the most part, have better handwriting than men.
If time doesn't allow this, or the quantity is too great, try using clear plastic labels, which create an initial impression of an individually addressed envelope.
Last December I wrote an article about "the numbers" and in it I stated that the bottom line is not something that just happens -- it's something that can and must be managed.
The more time I spend in drycleaning plants and in the "back office," the more I see owners working like bloody fools for nothing more than a week's pay. These people are working 10 to 12 hours a day at the plant and then doing their bookkeeping at night or on Sunday. What's wrong with this picture?
In order to manage a company by the numbers, we must first understand the relationship that exists between productivity, piece volume and average price per piece. By examining real numbers from successful drycleaners, we can begin to develop a strategy that will lead us to the point of "optimum balance" where all three of these elements (productivity, volume and price) complement and support each other.
First, let's take a look at productivity. The following production standards are actual averages from some of my current clients and cost group members.
In the drycleaning department, your drycleaner should be spotting and cleaning 70 pieces per hour. If you are drycleaning 1,400 pieces a week, he or she should be spending 20 hours (20 x 70 = 1,400) per week on cleaning and 20 hours per week performing some other productive tasks.
The finishing department should be producing 28 pieces per hour per operator. If you are processing 1,400 drycleaning pieces per week, your finishing department should be working 50 hours per week (1,400/28 = 50).
At the inspect, assemble and bag (IAB) position, it requires one hour to process 60 pieces, or you should be producing 60 pieces per hour per operator. Once again, our 1,400 pieces should take 24 hours (1400/60 = 24).
Thus far, we have a total of 94 hours (spot/clean, 20 hours; finishing, 50 hours; IAB, 24 hours) in the drycleaning department.
The next area is the shirt department. Your shirt department should process 25 shirts per hour per shirt department employee. That is; wash, shake, press, inspect, touch-up and IAB. If you are doing 2,000 shirts per week, you should have 80 hours of work in the shirt department (2000/25 = 80).
What about productivity at the counter? On average, your counter people should process 12 tickets per hour. That means 12 incoming tickets or 12 outgoing tickets -- or some combination of the two that equals 12 tickets per hour. This standard allows for the periods during the day when there are no customers. This standard does not include marking in.
These production standards include each employee's allotted time for breaks - morning and afternoon -- but not for their lunch break. You don't pay your employees for their half-hour lunch, do you? If you do, stop!
Also, these standards include your employees' personal time in which to use the rest room, get a drink of water, etc. Don't be like some people who insist on manipulating their actual numbers to make them fit the standards.
I had one owner tell me that his shirt department was producing 25 shirts per hour per employee. To arrive at that figure he had to deduct 50 minutes from each employee's eight-hour day! He deducted time for their breaks, cigarettes, rest room visits... he even deducted time for the employees to chat with each other. His philosophy being, I guess, "When all else fails, manipulate the data!"
Now that we have some realistic, achievable production standards let's look at a single plant that does only its own retail work.
Avg pieces/hr Number Labor hrs
per operator of pieces required
Drycleaning
spot/clean 70 2,025 29
finishing 28 2,025 72
IAB 60 2,025 34
Total DC hrs. 135
Shirts
All operations 25 2,000 80
Counter
incoming tickets 12 1,210 101
outgoing tickets 12 1,210 101
Total Counter hours 202
Total hours needed 417
This plant does $6,500 per week in sales. Drycleaning represents 75 percent of total sales or $4,875 per week. The average price per piece for drycleaning is $4.43 which equals 1,100 pieces of drycleaning. The average number of pieces per drycleaning ticket is three which means there are 370 drycleaning tickets.
Shirt sales represent 25 percent of total sales or $1,625 per week. The average price per shirt is $1.35 which represents 1,200 shirts. The average number of shirts per shirt ticket is 5 which is 240 shirt tickets. Total tickets = 370 + 240 (610 tickets).
In Example #1 the company is generating $29.15 per labor hour ($6,500/223 hours). To calculate what the average hourly wage should be to achieve a 30 percent labor cost, multiply 29.15 times .30. This equals 8.75 which is the average hourly rate that this company can pay to maintain a 30 percent labor cost ($8.75 per hour).
Avg pieces/hr Number Labor hrs
per operator of pieces required
Drycleaning
spot/clean 70 1,100 16
finishing 28 1,100 39
IAB 60 1,100 18
Total DC hrs. 73
Shirts
All operations 25 1,200 48
Counter
incoming tickets 12 610 51
outgoing tickets 12 610 51
Total Counter hours 102
Total hours needed 223
This plant does $9,000 per week in sales. Drycleaning represents 78 percent of total sales or $7,020 per week. The average price per piece for drycleaning is $3.47 which equals 2,025 pieces of drycleaning. The average number of pieces per drycleaning ticket is 2.5, which means there are 810 drycleaning tickets.
Shirt sales represent 22 percent of total sales or $1,980 per week. The average price per shirt is $.99 which represents 2,000 shirts. The average number of shirts per shirt ticket is 5 which is 400 shirt tickets. Total tickets = 810 + 400 (1,210 tickets).
In Example #2 the company is generating $21.58 per labor hour ($9,000/417 hours). To calculate what the average hourly wage should be to achieve a 30 percent labor cost multiply 21.58 times .30. This equals 6.47 which is the average hourly rate that this company can pay to maintain a 30 percent labor cost ($6.47 per hour).
It is highly unlikely that anyone is operating a plant with an average labor cost this low.
If the company in Example #2 were paying an average of $8.75 per hour (which is much more likely than $6.47), their labor costs would be 40.5 percent of sales -- even though their productivity is the same as in Example #1.
The major difference between these two companies is pricing. Plug your numbers into this formula and you will discover what changes you need to make to increase profitability.
Remember, in the game of business, the more you know the better you can play the game.We have talked much about different marketing and advertising methods to use for building your business.
The usual question about these programs is: What is the best method of marketing a business or what type of advertisement should you use?
The answer may be surprising. The exact method is less important than the effort itself. I believe that 90 percent of a marketing program's success is that you do something at all. The plan can be the most important aspect.
Simply stated, doing something is much more effective than doing nothing at all. Most people do not plan to fail; they simply fail to plan.
The vital step in improving business is to first decide to do something. If you are doing something already, analyze it to see if it is working as well as you would like or needs a fresh, new look. Even the longest journey begins with the first step.
Most of us are busy day in and day out with the boring details and problems of running our business. We all become complacent at times and forget the excitement we had when we started. We sometimes need to step back and look at our business with a fresh view.
Would you do business with you?
At times it helps to enter your store and view it as a customer would. Look at it with the critical eye of an outsider. Would you get excited about doing business in your store if you were a customer?
When you look at your business as an outsider, think of what you see as its strong and weak points. When you do this you can develop a concept in your mind of what it would take to make it better. Determine if you need to highlight some things that you do that the customer may not see. Marketing takes more than just advertising.
Do you specialize in cleaning gowns or bridal gown preservation? Does the customer know this, or can you make an interesting looking display in the customer area to highlight this service? Make this different and more professional than your competitors. After all, they think they are doing a better job than you.
Incorporate into this idea bragging a little about your strong points, but not to the point of being arrogant. If you or any of your people have attended a seminar, or passed a certification program, display it in the store. Things that you say and believe in have to be carried through in your actions. Before working on any program, make sure you look the part that you are trying to get across to customers.
If you are not attending conventions or seminars, I urge you to start. I have been involved in some associations and see the hard work that is being done for us. It is sad to see how little participation the average cleaner is giving to their associations. Perhaps that is why there are so many average cleaners out there.
Give up an evening or a Sunday a few times a year to improve your skills. Just one idea will pay off for years to come. The successful cleaners are doing just that. I know because those are the people I see repeatedly, year in and year out, at such events.
Now that you have covered some of the basics, you can proceed with a business-building program. As you may have heard repeatedly, there are four ways to build a business:
These are not difficult principles to accomplish. What is sometimes difficult are the ideas it takes to make these things happen and taking the first step. Let's look at them one at a time:
Getting customers
This can be done through satisfied customers who like your service so much that they must tell everyone about it. This is a great method, but I would not wait for my business to build significantly by this method.
You can add to this by a regular mailing program. Mailing to new move-ins into your area will bring a regular stream of new customers.
National statistics show that 20 percent of the population moves annually. This means that many new people are moving into your area every month. You can be attracting a higher than average percentage of these people by inviting them to try your service with an attractive offer.
Keeping customers
The down side of the last idea is that some of the people moving are your customers, so you must place an emphasis on keeping customers.
If you are building your customer base by only 10 percent per year you will be falling behind since 20 percent are leaving because of moving. You will lose others for different reasons, so you must keep all that you can.
This can be done by methods such as excellent customer service and the quality of your service. Again, your competitor is doing this, and he thinks he's better than you are, so you must do more.
I like in-store promotions -- frequent customer cards, scratch-off games or other customer recognition programs.
The holiday season is coming soon and we do some extra effort promotions like a free turkey drawing for Thanksgiving.
Last year we started sending greeting cards to the top 10 percent of our customer list. Some people include a coupon to get customers back into their store an extra time.
Getting them into your store more often
This is partly covered in the preceding ideas, but it takes more effort than this.
There are tremendous pressures from all types of products and services to attract those all-important disposable dollars from your customers. If you do not work at getting that money someone else will.
Remember, when their money is spent elsewhere it is gone and you have no chance of getting it.
A special offer timed properly will get customers to look through their closets to freshen up those items that may otherwise be worn a few more times.
Just a few extra items a year from every customer can add up to huge dollars.
Get them to spend more with each visit
The answer we found to this may shock you since it involved no extra expense or discount from us at my own store. We use an express bag that we talk about to customers who look like the type to be big drycleaning users.
They put a refundable deposit on the bag which they then enjoy using since it saves time for them, but it also makes our job easier.
When we started this program, I did a survey of customers who went on the express bag plan. I was surprised to see that same customer was spending about 10 percent more. This was no small figure since they were, for the most part, our best customers already.
I reviewed this customer group recently and was even more surprised. We run a pick-up and delivery service and know that customers on our route spend five times more than our average store customers. I was convinced that they were our best customers.
Surprisingly, I found that our store customers who used that express drop-off bag were spending about six times more than our average store customers. The moral to this story is to do everything you can to make it easier for customers to do business with you.
Another side story to this is an experience I had while looking for a present for my wife for our anniversary. I had a price in mind and was intent on staying within that price range. I went to the jewelry store in our shopping center almost every day. I would go to the mall for ideas and ask my neighbor if he could get something like this or that I had seen.
One day, discouraged, I went to another jeweler across the street. The store was beautiful, all of the clerks were dressed impeccably and there were workers everywhere anxious to help. I am sure that the store decked them out in jewelry from their stock and they looked great. One saleslady stood by and listened to what I was looking for and instantly produced the perfect item.
Of course it was twice what I wanted to spend, but she convinced me that it would be the perfect item. I could not resist. It was beautiful and I knew she was right.
What I am saying here is that if we believe in what we are selling and have enthusiasm pouring out of us that makes the customer believe that we are doing what is best for them, how could they resist? This feeling must be shared with our employees in our ongoing training if it is to be effective. If I, as a customer, can see a big difference in workers from one jewelry store (or any other type of store) to another I think we can do the same if we try.
There are many ideas here and elsewhere telling you the best way to improve your business. Your success is a combination of many things that make your business special. There is no one single thing that will make you a success. Your job is to take all of these ideas and blend them into your already successful business and make it better.
Arthur Weiss owns Betty Brite Cleaners and loves to get mail from readers at 334 Route 33, Mercerville, NJ 08619. He can be reached by phone at (609) 890-8787 or through his e-mail address: awclean@aol.comJOLIET, IL -- The Illinois State Fabricare Association has developed a plan to draft legislation for the remediation of drycleaning sites in the state, using an experienced consulting firm to help them in the process.
Williams & Company Consulting of Sioux City, IA, met with the ISFA board to discuss what action could be taken to work on the enactment of a remedial program in Illinois. The talks between the two centered on what Williams & Co. would do to move the initiative forward. On Oct. 23 the ISFA board voted to retain Williams & Co. Funding for the effort will come from the Illinois Drycleaners Pollution Prevention Fund.
Williams was the company that developed the Liquid Underground Storage fund in Iowa, "a very successful state project," ISFA executive director Jinelle Walker said.
The work to be performed has five goals. These include research on a drycleaning remedial fund, review of existing remedial funds in other states and discussions and meetings with ISFA members on the needs and issues. Williams & Co. will also meet with the Illinois EPA to review regulatory concerns and issues and provide ISFA assistance in reviewing the proposed legislation with legislative groups.
The consultants will deliver a preliminary draft of the proposed legislation by Dec. 15. It will revise and amend the draft until a proposal satisfactory to ISFA is created. The goal is to have a completed proposal in legislative sponsors' hands by Jan. 15, 1997.
ISFA is involved with several other initiatives aimed at environmentally-friendly activities. Among these is the "Star" program -- gold, silver and bronze stars awarded for the level of achievement in reaching defined goals. The objectives include compliance with all regulations, passing the certified environmental drycleaner and the certified professional drycleaner tests, and meeting the requirements of other association programs. Another program is the Environmental Management Plan.
Details on these programs will be provided at the ISFA State of the Industry dinner on Nov. 20.
WEST DES MOINES, IA -- The Iowa Fabricare Association has announced this year's recipient of a scholarship to the International Fabricare Institute.
Judy Ernst of Mohawk Cleaners in New Hampton, IA, was given a $2,000 toward the IFI general drycleaning course. According to the terms of the program, she will be eligible to attend the Silver spring class in 1998. The 1997 scholar is Ed Longanecker of Iris Cleaners, Mt. Pleasant. This year's scholar was Frank Rankin of Mayfair Cleaners in Ames.
IFA also noted the election of new officers. Janice Lawson of DeWitt Cleaners in DeWitt is the new president. The president-elect is David Noah of Noah's Drycleaners in Des Moines. The secretary/treasurer is Rick Kasperbauer of Kasperbauers in Carroll.
Newly-elected directors include Carol Rankin of Camelot Cleaners in Des Moines, Dave Watson of Watson Cleaners in Washington, Don Wilson of Campus Cleaners in Spirit Lake, Bob Davenport of Davenport Cleaners in Sioux City and allied trade person Ron Gander from Barton Solvents in Des Moines.
Joy A. Cole is the executive director of IFA. She can be reached at (515) 225-3654
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The Indiana Drycleaning & Laundry Association has scheduled the third program of its fall education program. IDLA and the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management are cosponsors of the seminar.
The meeting features a look at changes in regulations, the results of last summer's in-plant visits and revisions in the compliance manual. Seminar hours are 4 to 8 p.m.
"We're going to play a videotape of the testimony at the Barton hearings," IDLA executive director Rex Beddies. He said cleaners who wish to attend can get a registration form from him at the IDLA office, (317) 453-3054.
IDLA also noted that participants in the Indiana Five-Star Program can expect new brochures after the first of the year. IDEM, IDLA, Greenpeace and other groups worked on a new brochure which included revisions to the previous handout.
Beddies also unveiled the IDLA web page at "http://www.indla.com".
Information on IDLA can be obtained from Beddies with toll-free call in Indiana, (800) 401-0703.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The Indiana Drycleaning & Laundry Association has scheduled the third program of its fall education program. IDLA and the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management are co-sponsors of the seminar.
The meeting features a look at changes in regulations, the results of last summer's in-plant visits and revisions in the compliance manual. Seminar hours are 4 to 8 p.m.
"We're going to play a videotape of the testimony at the Barton hearings," IDLA executive director Rex Beddies. He said cleaners who wish to attend can get a registration form from him at the IDLA office, (317) 453-3054.
IDLA also noted that participants in the Indiana Five-Star Program can expect new brochures after the first of the year. IDEM, IDLA, Greenpeace and other groups worked on a new brochure which included revisions to the previous handout.
Beddies also unveiled the IDLA web page at "http://www.indla.com".
Information on IDLA can be obtained from Beddies with toll-free call in Indiana, (800) 401-0703.
GREENFIELD, WI -- Charles Cass is the new president of the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute, the trade association announced last month. He was officially elected by the institute's board of directors at the summer WFI meeting.
Cass has served on the WFI board for 15 years and was most recently the vice president/treasurer of the group. He operates nearly 20 One-Hour Martinizing and Carriage Cleaners stores in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.
His work with WFI includes work on the Pollution Prevention Partnership program, the Five Star Environmental program, the Fitzgerald Scholarship Fund and the Drycleaners Environmental Response fund.
In addition, Ron Kantor was elected WFI vice president/treasurer. Kantor operates Leather Rich Inc. in Oconomowoc.
The institute's membership committee said it plans to utilize a focus group at the WFI convention on the weekend of Feb. 7, 1997. The Radisson Hotel in Green Bay, WI, will be the site of the convention. The focus group will "comment on and discuss a series of questions relating to the drycleaning industry, WFI, the services provided by the association and the services desired by the membership," WFI said. WFI hopes to obtain "a candid appraisal of the participants on a number of topics related to the state and national associations that serve the drycleaning industry."
WFI executive director Joe Phillips also said the state's first Five Star Cleaner has been named.
Stannard Inc. of Oshkosh became the first "Five-Star" plant last month. It is owned by brothers Joseph and James LeRoy. The final step was a plant audit which was conducted Sept. 24 by Bob Wellsfry of Oconomowoc and Charlie Cass of Pewaukee. The award will be presented at the WFI convention.
WFI can be reached at (414) 529-4707.
COLUMBUS, OH -- An amnesty program with free compliance assistance visits has been conducted for Ohio drycleaners by the state EPA, the Ohio Cleaners Association reported last month.
"The Ohio EPA offered to visit Ohio drycleaning plants and to provide free compliance information to owners," OCA said. "The offer included an amnesty, with some exceptions, for any hazardous waste violations found during the visit."
The amnesty covers violations which did not pose "substantial and imminent danger" to either human health or the environment. Also exempted were violations that did not involve criminal conduct and those which were not previously discovered by the state EPA during a routine inspection or citizen complaint investigation.
Imminent threat means acts such as directly discharging hazardous wastes into ground or surface waters or depositing hazardous wastes onto land where it is probable that it would later find its way to surface or ground water.
Criminal conduct means "knowingly taking an illegal action or recklessly violating a hazardous waste requirement."
For cleaners who did not participate, the state EPA offers the "Environmental Guide for Ohio Dry Cleaners." It is available from the state EPA or through the OCA office. OCA can be reached at (612) 221-1900.
Regulators in Ohio are making regular inspections now, OCA warned. It advised cleaners to take the necessary steps to keep their facilities in compliance, including a facility walk-through, a review of records and familiarization with the EPA rules.
ST. LOUIS, MO -- The proposed Midlands Fabricare Association involving the Mid-America, Iowa and Nebraska drycleaners associations failed to muster the needed votes in Nebraska and Iowa, putting the plan on the back burner for now.
MAFA interim executive director Dennis Loomis said he'll wait to see if his plan to merge the four states is reconsidered. In the meantime, discussions may be held with other regional state associations.
Loomis said he originated the merger idea among the three groups. He also said he is only an interim executive director of MAFA.
LONG PRAIRIE, MN -- A new treatment system at the site of a perc-contaminated area of Long Prairie has opened a 15-year effort to clean the groundwater.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said the PCE contamination was first detected in 1983 and by 1994 the plume had expanded so greatly that many residents were re-piped to the city water system.
The ground water treatment system includes a treatment building, eight ground-water extraction wells along the contamination plume and buried pipes which connect the building with the wells, MPCA said.
Contaminated water is drawn into the treatment building and processed through carbon filters.
The treated water is discharged into the Long Prairie River. The filters are removed and either recycled or sent to a proper disposal facility.
This withdrawal of the contaminated water contains any further expansion of the plume. According to MPCA, it should take about 15 years for the treatment to be completed.
This site is included in the state and federal Superfund programs and marks new growth in ground water cleanup technology.
A quicker, cheaper way under investigation
In nearby Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute reported that it is investigating a cleanup process that forces ozone and oxygen into a perc plume and breaks the perc into carbon dioxide, water and mild hydrochloric acid.
WFI claimed "that within 90 days, it's reported a site contaminated with perc can be cleaned to produce a five parts per billion level of perc." It also contended the equipment for this method of cleanup costs about $15,000.
More than 3,000 drycleaners, launderers and allied trades people gathered in Atlantic City, NJ, the weekend of Oct. 12-13 for the Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association trade show and convention.
Nearly 300 exhibit booths in the Atlantic City Convention Center were filled by some 120 exhibiting companies displaying a full range of equipment, supplies, products and services to attendees who, despite the various attractions and distractions of the city that bills itself as "America's Favorite Playground," kept a steady flow of business in the exhibit hall.
Seminars on Saturday and Sunday mornings were well attended, too. The ever-popular Jane Zellers led off Saturday's program with a discussion of problem garments, then technicians and service people presented a maintenance workshop. Sunday's session focused on the changing nature of the fabric care industry with a panel discussion of the latest cleaning technologies, both for today and in the near future.
WILLOW GROVE, PA -- From computers to chemicals to cleaning machines, today's cleaners have everything they need to run their businesses profitably. But something is missing, says Everett Childers -- people.
The missing people may be steady, capable employees who have decided there are easier places to make a living than a hot, noisy drycleaning plant. Or the missing people may be customers who have decided it's not worth paying 20 percent or more of the purchase price of a garment to have it cleaned professionally.
Childers, an industry consultant and educator based in Washington State, will discuss this problem in a series of seminars sponsored by the Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association.
He will give his talk "Bells, Whistles & People," in Allentown on Nov. 18; Harrisburg on Nov. 19 and Pittsburgh on Nov. 20. The program is free for PDLA members; the charge for non-members is $25.
Although it has been a while since Childers spoke in Pennsylvania, he may be familiar to many cleaners through his column in American Drycleaner magazine. He is also the author of the Master Drycleaners Notebook, a textbook which he uses in training sessions he conducts around the country as part of E. Childers & Associates in which Norm Oehlke and Doug Porter also participate.
For more information on the seminars, call the PDLA office, (215) 830-8495.
CENTREVILLE, VA -- Seminars at Sea is a 12-day, 11-night Caribbean cruise being organized by the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association and the Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association.
Scheduled for Feb. 21-March 4, the cruise will depart from Miami on the Norwegian Cruise Lines' M/V Royal Odyssey with stops in Curacao, Caracas, Aruba, Grand Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel.
For information and reservations, call Janet Rudolph at Rosenbluth Travel, (800) 851-1116, and identify yourself as part of the Seminars at Sea group.
CENTREVILLE, VA -- Bob Jones of Air-Lee Cleaners is the new president of the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association. Jones was elected at the association's annual meeting Oct. 20 in Roanoke, VA.
Barbara Harvey is the association's new vice president and Gerald Markowitz is its treasurer.
Both the International Fabricare Institute and the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International are offering South Carolina drycleaners a means to comply with a new state law the requires certification in environmental regulations and machinery operation.
The Drycleaning Facility Restoration Trust Fund stipulates that owners and operators be certified as of December 1.
IFI is offering its Certified Environmental Drycleaner exam at four sites in South Carolina while NCAI has a textbook and test program. Both organizations say their programs have been accepted by the state as meeting the requirements.
IFI said it added the testing sites in South Carolina to accommodate cleaners unable to take the regularly scheduled CED exam on Oct. 5. The exams will be given in Columbia, Spartanburg, Charleston and Florence, all on Dec. 7. The sign-up deadline is Nov. 15.
The CED exam consists of 150 questions on environmental regulations, proper waste handling and safe operating procedures for drycleaning equipment. The fee for the CED exam is $175 for IFI members and $275 for non-members. Those who register receive a "Drycleaning and Environment" study guide. For more information and a "Handbook for Candidates," call IFI, (800) 434-6222, ext. 144.
The NCAI program provides a textbook to study in preparation for the test. The text covers federal and state environmental compliance, safe handling of perc and emergency response, machinery operation and maintenance, ventilation, solvent mileage, sources of contamination and how to avoid them, and test equipment and procedures.
NCAI will send the textbook after receipt of the $150 payment. Within two weeks, the test of true/false and multiple choice questions will be sent. For more information, call NCAI, (212) 967-3002.
NEW YORK, NY -- The Neighborhood Cleaners Association International series of local meetings in its membership service areas concludes this month with five dates in Florida cities.
The meetings are billed as "A Hands On Workshop: Understanding Your Drycleaning Equipment and Learning How to Avoid Odor Complaints."
Michael Tatch of T.T.S., NCAI's endorsed environmental consultant, will show how to inspect and maintain drycleaning equipment, avoid odor complaints and improve solvent mileage.
The meetings are free. Drycleaning machinery operators and maintenance people are invited as well as owners and managers.
Lake Worth, FL: Monday, November 11, 8 p.m., Holiday Inn, 7859 Lake Worth Rd.
Dade/Broward, FL: Tuesday, November 12, 8 p.m., Howard Johnson, 16500 N.W. 2nd Avenue/N. Miami.
Tampa, FL: Tuesday, November 19, 7:30 p.m., Holiday Inn, 2701 E. Fowler Avenue, East of I-275, Exit 34.
Orlando, FL: Wednesday, November 20, 7:30 p.m., Holiday Inn, 230 W. Highway 436 at I-4, Altamonte Springs.
Jacksonville, FL: Thursday, November 21, 7:30 p.m., Holiday Inn, 9150 Baymeadow Road and I-95.
For more information, call NCAI, (212) 967-3002.
FRANKFORT, KY -- A plan to develop an empowerment zone in Louisville as an industry and government partnership is being developed by the Kentucky Fabricare Association.
"We need to retrain people," KFA executive director Tom Underwood said. "One way is to investigate empowerment zones."
One plan being discussed is a drycleaning school in a local magnet high school. The program would act as a conduit to the empowerment zone.
Underwood said there's a great deal of money involved in this concept -- three million dollars in federal money and $72 million in private funds raised. The idea is training for workers to go into private industry. The empowerment zone also serves as a business incubator.
KFA plans an open house with Jefferson County cleaners and probation staff to get the project going.
On Dec. 5 an informational meeting will be held for drycleaners on the probation project. On Dec. 13 probation officers and drycleaners will meet to get to know each other.
KFA has met with American Laundry & Linen College officials to discuss opportunities within that program. It now offers a two-week on-campus program at the University of Eastern Kentucky under the auspices of the National Association of Institutional Linen Management.
For KFA information, call (502) 223-5322.
CHARLESTON, SC -- Pollution liability insurance at group rates is gaining acceptance among South Carolina drycleaners now that the financial assurance requirements in the state are law.
According to ECS Underwriting, a provider of environmental insurance, it has already approved three dozen policies in South Carolina and is receiving approximately 20 new applicants each month. Working with PC & L Agency out of Spartansburg, SC, the underwriters are backing "a group program that was exclusively endorsed by the South Carolina Dry Cleaning Council."
The ECS-backed program offers a master policy with a $15 million limit, and provides third-party bodily injury and property damage claims which result from either "historical or ongoing pollution events," ECS said.
The company added that each drycleaner pays an annual premium of $500.
South Carolina drycleaners must also obtain certification under the new law. Both the International Fabricare Institute and the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International are offering programs to meet that requirement. IFI has the certified environmental drycleaner test; NCAI offers a correspondence study course.
WAKEFIELD, MA -- North East Fabricare Association is developing the plans for a three-association meeting April 17 - 20, 1997, in Atlantic City, NJ.
NEFA executive vice president Peter Blake said NEFA will be joined by the Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association and the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association in offering the Spring Conference. The program will feature in-depth discussions focussing on how to build business and increase profitability.
Sid Tuchman, president of Tuchman Training Systems Inc., is the featured speaker, and opens the conference.
MACLA executive director Dave Norford will discuss the methods of avoiding gender discrimination in garment care pricing. MACLA has seen an uproar over the issue in its area.
The sponsors of the program will announce the rest of the speaker slate and events in the near future, Blake added.
"Atlantic City features its own unique hot spots and promises fun in varieties of ways," Blake said. "There will be an association sponsored cocktail party each evening to renew old acquaintances -- and to forge some new ones."
The kickoff reception Thursday evening will feature quick "Introduction to Gaming" seminar.
Meals are not provided, but there will be numerous optional tours available throughout the weekend, including golf, shows, dinners, and sight-seeing, all based on attendee interest.
Michelle Stephan, director of marketing and public relations for NEFA, is handling program information. She can be reached at the NEFA office toll-free, (800) 683-6332.
NEFA's other education opportunities include a series of training programs for drycleaners and launderers, covering topics ranging from "Professional Spotting" to "Customer Service."
A "Professional Spotting" program will be held Nov. 1 - 3 in Connecticut. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
An "Environmental Cleaning" seminar will be held in Maine the weekend before Thanksgiving, Nov. 22 - 24. Course hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
A "Certified Environmental Drycleaner" program is planned prior to each exam. It will be held at the NEFA office in Wakefield.
The class meets 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Saturday. The tuition is $25. This is a prep class for the certified environmental drycleaner exam. Peter Blake will guide participants through all areas covered by the exam.
A "Certified Professional Drycleaner Workshop" is also planned prior to each exam at the NEFA office. The class is usually held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. This is a preparatory class for the certified professional drycleaner exam and will be faci