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Can cleaners make a case in Congress? Barney Deden, a leading advocate of the Small Business Remediation Act, commonly called the Barton bill, speaks to a group of about 50 supporters during a weekend conference where strategies for advancing the legislation in the 106th Congress were developed. More... |
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Can the cleaning industry unite behind a legislative proposal designed to ease the burden of solvent contamination cleanups? Can sufficient political support -- both in Congress and within the industry -- be generated to move the legislation? And can enough money be raised from cleaners to support this campaign and, perhaps, others that may arise?
Those questions were on the table at a meeting in Chicago on April 17 and 18 attended by about 50 supporters of legislation that has twice been introduced in Congress by Texas Republican Joe Barton. Those at the meeting believe the job can be done and they laid plans for what Barney Deden, one of the proposal's leading supporters, called "one big push" to get Barton's bill passed in the 106th Congress.
A three-part strategy for educating the industry, raising funds and building support in Congress gained the assent of those at the meeting.
In essence, the strategy represents a renewal of the effort that has engaged industry leaders for much of this decade: trying to end the horrors of litigation and cleanup costs cleaners can face when landlords, lenders, neighboring property owners or government enforcement agents deem the cleaner's property "contaminated" under stringent standards set out in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Under those standards, a quantity of perchloroethylene as small as 5 parts per billion -- often correlated to a drop of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool -- can render the property contaminated. Whether 5 ppb or perc in drinking water is safe is not the question in the current debate. The problem occurs when that standard, for lack of any other standard, is applied to perc in soil or in non-drinking water sources. A cleaner could be called upon to undertake an extremely expensive remediation of perc in those areas even if drinking water is not threatened.
Compounding the problem -- and putting many cleaners at risk -- is the fact that operating practices that were deemed safe, legal and even encouraged in the past could easily result in contamination levels that trigger a cleanup.
Several approaches have been tried to resolve this problem and relieve cleaners of liabilities and clean up costs that could easily bankrupt them. The first federal proposal called for a cleanup fund that would be based primarily on a surcharge on solvent purchases. That concept ran into opposition in Congress where representatives feared the surcharge would be viewed as a "new tax."
Nonetheless, cleaners in about a dozen states have pursued variations of an industry-funded cleanup plan. State plans, however, still leave liability under federal law open, so the search goes on for a nationwide solution.
Rep. Joe Barton entered his legislative proposal in the 104th Congress in October, 1996, and reintroduced in the next congress the following year. The solution offered in his proposal is to tie standards for cleaning up drycleaning solvent in soil and groundwater, but not drinking water, to the standard set by OSHA for exposure to the same solvent in the workplace.
Under his plan, soil and groundwater could contain no more than one-tenth the amount of solvent that OSHA sets as the maximum work place exposure over an eight-hour, time-weighted period.
The current applicable OSHA level for perc is 100 parts per million; thus the Barton proposal would allow no more than 10 parts per million of perc in soil and groundwater. That is considerably more than the Safe Drinking Water standard of 5 parts per billion.
Even if OSHA lowers the workplace exposure limit, as it is considering doing, the Barton-related standard for soil and groundwater cleanup would remain well above the more stringent 5 parts per billion level and would be more easily attainable by cleaners faced with a need for remediation.
With cleaning industry support, Barton's measure attained more than 94 cosponsors in the 105th Congress before it adjourned late last year. Of those, 89 were re-elected in November and two moved to the Senate, so a framework of support exists in the current Congress.
In a meeting with industry supporters last October, Barton said he would round up those cosponsors and reintroduce his legislation early in the new Congress. That, however, was before the November election in which Republicans saw the majority reduced to "paper thin" and also before the acrimonious partisan impeachment proceedings.
Barton still committed
At the Chicago meeting last month, Rep. Barton's legislative director Beth Jafari said the congressman remains "100 percent committed to helping on this problem." Barton, she said, is talking to congressional leaders about his Small Business Remediation Act with an eye to possible changes in the wording that could help gain greater acceptance. And he is engaging the EPA in dialogue that could lead to an administrative solution.
Depending on the outcome of those discussions, Barton now plans to reintroduce the bill on June 1. Once the bill is introduced, it will be important for industry members to beef up congressional support. Noting the 94 cosponsors that Barton had in the last Congress, Jafari commented "it would be very useful to have more."
In particular, she said, the backing of representatives on the House Commerce Committee and the House Transportation Committee will be helpful.
"We would need to have a huge number of cosponsors to move the bill on its own," Jafari said. That huge number, Jafari said, would be at least 250, more than a simple majority of the House.
If that level of cosponsorship can't be attained, she said efforts would continue to seek an administrative solution with EPA or work with congressional leaders and the National Governor's Association for a political solution.
Reintroduction of the legislation would reactivate efforts to get more cosponsors signed on. The goal, as set forth by Deden, would be to bring back all of the original cosponsors plus 25 new ones within 30 days of the reintroduction of Barton's Small Business Remediation Act. This would be accomplished through a nationwide network of committed individuals and trade associations, each taking responsibility for building support in their assigned geographic area.
Working Washington
Also in play would be a new strategy for convincing representatives to sign on to the bill. Gary Baise of the Baise, Miller & Freer law firm which has been lobbying for the bill in Washington, said the new plan would bring one or two drycleaners at a time to Washington for meetings with their representatives and congressional staff. This, Baise said, would be a "more efficient and more direct" way to build support in Congress.
Baise also said that his firm is working on new printed matter designed to make the political garment in favor of the legislation. Documents supporting the health and legal aspects of the proposal have already been developed.
"The facts are on your side," Baise told industry members at the meeting. "But you are fighting an uphill battle."
The International Fabricare Institute will be helping to spread those facts on Capitol Hill. IFI CEO Bill Fisher announced at the meeting that a new staff position has been created for a person to be dedicated full-time to representing the industry in congressional offices. Fisher said that person is yet to be hired but money has been made available in the budget for the position.
Another uphill battle is generating financial support within the industry to continue the lobbying effort. Most of the money to date has come from a handful of sources -- the Martinizing Environmental Group and Comet Franchises in particular. Several trade associations have contributed, too. Leading the way among the trade groups have been the Southwest Drycleaners Association, the Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning and the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association.
Where's the money?
The Dry Cleaners Action Fund of America was formed in late 1997 to solicit contributions from the industry specifically for the Barton bill effort.
The Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning volunteered to administer the fund so that all money raised could go directly to the legislative campaign. MILD executive director Merry Bering said DCAFA took in about $260,000 since its formation and has paid out $251,000. Monthly billings from the Baise, Miller and Freer firm range from $10,000 to $30,000, Bering said; currently there is a $31,000 invoice awaiting payment. That leaves DCAFA about $22,000 short of meeting its obligations to date. And the expenses continue.
A fund-raising effort launched this year by the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association has raised about $10,000; the goal is $60,000. MACLA has been selling chances at $25 each to win a drawing for a cruise for two later this year. (To purchase a ticket or to help sell them, call the MACLA office, (540) 775-2525.)
Even if the goal of that project is reached, the need for financial support will continue. At an average of about $20,000 a month for the Baise, Miller & Freer efforts, the industry needs to raise nearly $250,000 a year. Deden suggested that each state should pledge an amount equal to $1 per month for each cleaner in the state. That would bring in about $30,000 a month or $360,000 a year, an adequate level of funding for the current effort.
Beyond the current effort there was discussion about the need for a cleaning industry Political Action Fund (PAC). Many of the participants agreed that such was needed but there was no action taken towards creating such a fund.
Spreading the word
Another component of the strategy is education of industry members on the need for a solution to the contamination problem. Deden said the goal is to be sure that by Clean '99 "every drycleaner in America will be told or reminded about the solvent contamination problem and the solutions possible through enactment of the Small Business Remediation Act."
Trade associations, the trade press and allied trades representatives will help spread the word through the industry, he said. Industry consultants will also be asked to discuss the issue when they speak to drycleaners. Also, there will be volunteers available to speak at industry conventions and other gatherings.
Two major events are coming soon. The Federation of Korean Drycleaners Associations will have their annual convention in New Orleans Memorial Day weekend. Chris Won of FKDA said the Korean cleaners' groups will continue their efforts on behalf of the legislation. Previously the group has raised $50,000 to support the work of Baise, Miller and Freer.
The Clean Show in Orlando June 24-27 promises to be the largest gathering of drycleaners this year. Plans are still being firmed up to present the legislative program there and seek increased industry support.
The classroom of the 21st century is arriving a few months early for the drycleaning industry.
Last month, the International Fabricare Institute began making its courses available on the World Wide Web, adding yet another means for cleaners to benefit from the educational resources of their trade association.
Dubbed the "Cyberspace Learning Center," the on-line learning program made its debut with two courses, "Drycleaning and the Environment" and "Customer Service in Drycleaning." More courses will be added in the coming months, IFI said.
The courses are similar to correspondence courses that IFI has offered for years, but with a twist. All the course work, including the final exam, can be completed via computer. Study materials include a series of interactive questions and answers for each chapter in the course. Students provide what they think is the correct answer, then the computer lets them know if they are right or wrong by flashing the answer on the screen. Once all the chapters are completed, the student fills out a final exam and sends it to IFI by e-mail for grading.
Access to the courses is limited to IFI members who have registered, paid a $75 course fee and received a password, but anyone can check out the offerings by visiting the Cyberspace Learning Center web site: www.smart.net/~jwalton.
IFI's more traditional education delivery systems, which include resident courses in Silver Spring and outreach seminars around the country, will continue. For information on those offerings, see page 34.
"Drycleaning and the Environment' one of the two courses now available, covers the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Superfund. OSHA regulations that pertain to drycleaning, including the Hazard Communication Standard, Lockout/Tagout rules, bloodborne pathogens, perc spill cleanup and personal protective equipment are also covered.
The course also highlights other federal rules of importance such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and state regulations pertaining to ventilation and boiler inspections. Record-keeping, perc usage and process parameters for wetcleaning are also included in the course.
The other course currently on-line, "Customer Service in Drycleaning," covers the role of customer service representatives, how to communicate with customers and find out what they want from drycleaners and how to respond to questions and handle claims.
Courses to be introduced in the near future include Drycleaning Business Management, Stain Removal, Fibers and Fabrics, Finishing Procedures in Drycleaning, Fundamentals of Laundry Management, Power Plant Operations and Drycleaning Fundamentals.
In addition to visiting the web page for course information, cleaners can also phone Anne Weakly in IFI's Education Department, (301) 622-1900, ext. 115.
IFI has also revamped its main web site. The address is still www.ifi.org but in all other aspects it is completely different. An extensive section has been created with information for consumers on drycleaning. Other sections have information for industry members, and another section has links to industry web sites.
Garment problems attributed to drycleaners are on the decline, according to garment analysis laboratories at both the International Fabricare Institute and the Fabric Care Research Association.
Both organizations, based in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively, offer services in which damaged garments are analyzed to determine the cause of the failure. In their most recent summaries of analysis activities, both organizations said manufacturing defects were found to be the cause of garment failure in about two of every five cases. Consumers were deemed at fault in nearly as many cases.
Typically, drycleaners have been held responsible by their trade associations for a significantly lower percentage of the problems than the other two groups. No doubt this has something to do with the fact that cleaners are more likely to send a garment for analysis when they believe the problem is due to a manufacturing shortcoming or a consumer error.
In that sense, then, garment mishaps deemed the responsibility of the cleaner are more disturbing since they demonstrate the inability of the cleaner to properly handle a garment or correct a problem. But in a summary of its 1998 garment analysis reports, FCRA said the number of problems attributed to drycleaners had dropped considerably.
"Whether this is due to improvements in the industry's knowledge and expertise or a more realistic customer care response is irrelevant," FCRA said. "The important point is that the number of justified complaints against the cleaner has reduced significantly and this can only help to improve the image of the industry."
FCRA deemed the manufacturer or retailer responsible for 38 percent of the cases it analyzed during the year; garment owners were to blame 30 percent of the cases. Cleaners were at fault in 15 percent of the cases.
A fourth category used by FCRA, "combinations," includes cases in which the blame was shared by more than one of the parties involved. For example, delamination, which is a manufacturer fault, could be exacerbated by a cleaner who tries to rectify the problem with overzealous pressing, causing glazing of seams and lapels.
IFI's statistics have no such shared responsibility category, but the distribution of blame in its analysis summary was roughly the same as FCRA's: Of 17,687 garment problems analyzed by IFI in 1998, 42 percent were deemed the manufacturer's responsibility; 41 percent were the fault of consumers and 13 percent belonged to cleaners. The remaining 4 percent were classified as "unknown."
IFI's statistics, too, show a continuing decline in the percentage of problems attributed to drycleaners. Through the first seven years of the decade, cleaners were deemed to be at fault in at least 15 percent of the cases.
In 1990, their worst year of the decade year, cleaners got the blame in 20 percent of the cases examined by IFI. Subsequent years showed a downward trend through 1997, when cleaners were charged with blame in only 13 percent of the cases. The same percentage was reported for 1998 by IFI.
IFI's statistics showed cleaners were at fault in 2,326 cases last year, the lowest number in the decade and, in all likelihood, in many years. The total number of garments processed in the IFI lab has declined significantly throughout the decade, from 46,906 in 1990 to 19,180 last year. (The 1998 total includes 1,493 garments submitted for restoration.)
IFI said the data it derives on cleaners' problems can be used to determine the types of bulletins, classes, seminars and other technical help it should provide to help members improve quality and service.
For example, the 1998 summary shows that problems related to color loss due to improper stain removal and cleaning accounted for more than one-fourth of all the cleaner-induced garment failures. Redeposition of soil was the second leading problem.
Remarkably, in one of every six cases, cleaners would have spared themselves a garment claim had they heeded the care label instructions on the garment, according to IFI's reports.
UK cleaners, too, are often victims of simple mistakes. Although faults attributed to cleaners by the FCRA have declined, the association noted, "It is with concern that those we have seen continue to be basic errors and show a lack of training and expertise."
(Dan Eisen, chief garment analyst for the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International, came to a similar conclusion based on his examination of more than 11,000 garment problems at NCA-I in 1998. See "The cost of claims is rising, but many problems could be avoided by cleaners," National Clothesline, February, 1998.)
In particular, the FCRA cited problems in stain removal -- overuse of slop spotting resulting in shrinkage or overzealous spotting result in fabric damage. FCRA said poor finishing resulting in irrecoverable damage is also evident on many of the garments it analyzes.
"Whilst cleaners can do little on their own about manufacturers' faults, they can do more to improve their own image," FCRA said. "A little more effort to improve skills and knowledge will ultimately save time and money as well as reducing aggravation from customers."
Manufacturers' faults
And what about those manufacturer faults?
In both the FCRA and IFI statistics, problems with the colorfastness of dyes were leading causes of garment failures. Shrinkage and distortion were also high on both organization's lists. A host of other problems, including, defects in construction, loose finishes, coatings and unserviceable trims and weak adhesives, were noted, too.
IFI and FCRA act as advocates for cleaners and consumers in seeking correction of manufacturer problems. IFI maintains a database of manufacturing problems which it shares with the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency that enforces the Care Label Rule in the United States. FTC has taken action against several manufacturers and importers whose care instructions were deemed incorrect or inadequate in the past few years, but poor care labeling remains a problem for cleaners and consumers alike.
As much as cleaners in the U.S. may complain about bad care labels, their counterparts in the UK have greater concerns. All garments sold in the U.S. must include care instructions, but instructions are optional in the UK. While the FCRA would like to see care labels required for all garments, the use of care labels in the current unregulated environment can be little more than a sales and marketing tool.
"Obviously the use of a care labels gives the customer a degree of comfort and at the same time encourages the purchase of such a garment. But a "significant number" of those labels are incorrect, the FCRA said.
Worthless -- or worse
"Whilst we can have little sympathy for the retailer who sells garments without proper care labels, we have some sympathy with those who are also victims of what is clearly fraud," FCRA said.
Growing problems with imported garments are also cause for FCRA concern. There has been a "noticeable increase in the proportion of complaints (about garments) with no country of origin labels affixed," FCRA said.
"This causes problems with the Manufacturer Contact program as it is often difficult to trace the manufacturer or even the importer" FCRA said, calling for tighter controls on imports, with at least the name of the UK import company shown on a label.
Even garments that are perfectly made and expertly cared for won't last forever, but garment owners sometimes hasten the demise of that favorite blouse, dress, sport jacket or shirt.
IFI found that in about a third of the cases they analyzed consumers had created the problems. Stains caused by perfumes, hair spray, food, beverages and "garden variety" substances were frequently found by IFI. Fabric damage from chemicals or insects also made the fault list. Moth damage, in particular, seems to be on the increase in garments analyzed by the FCRA.
"Many customers drop off items that are in good condition and are very frustrated by stains or tears that appear out of the blue after cleaning," IFI reported in its analysis summary. "They've forgotten about the hairspray used just before going out the door, contact with the cleaning solution puddled on the counter-top they leaned against in the kitchen, or the car door their coat sleeve was caught in while taking it to the cleaners."
After cleaning, these problems show up as dark splatters on the shoulder of a blouse, a thin area hole on a laundered shirt, or several holes in the outer and lining fabrics of a sport jackets.
IFI's garment experts are sometimes called upon to fix those problems. Last year IFI performed restoration on 1,493 items for members when a mishap occurred in the care process which the member was not able to correct.
A New York City-based importer of women's clothing has agreed to pay a civil penalty for failing to have a "reasonable basis" for the care instructions on its garments.
According to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, Laissez Faire Inc. violated the care labeling rule "in numerous instances" with a care instruction that could result in dye bleeding or color loss. The care instructions said the garments could be either machine washed or drycleaned, but FTC said drycleaning would result in damage to the garments.
Laissez Faire sells clothing under the brand name "Kiko."
The garments in question were sold through various retailers, including Kasals, Tumbleweeds, Caravan Classics and Hearthside.
The Care Label rule requires manufacturers and importers of clothing to attach care labels that state what regular care is needed for ordinary use of the garment -- usually either a washing or drycleaning instruction. Reliable evidence that the garment will not be harmed when cleaned according to the instructions is also required.
The company agreed to a $30,000 civil penalty as part of a consent decree filed March 24. The decree is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the defendant of a violation.
The consent decree is subject to approval by the U.S. District court of the Eastern District of New York and has the force of law when signed by a judge.
Information for about care label requirements are available from the FTC's web site at http://www.ftc.gov or by contacting the FTC's Public Reference Branch in Washington, D.C. 20580; phone (202) 382-5287.
While consideration is being given both in the United States and in Europe to a developing care label instruction for wetcleaning, no such label yet exists. That, however, has not deterred two manufacturers from using one.
The UK's Fabric Care Research Association reports that a member has come across two garments containing a care symbol consisting of the letter W inside a circle.
"Whilst it is anticipated that in due course (the symbol) may be accepted as an international care symbol for wetcleaning, this is not the case yet," FCRA said.
The label puts the cleaner on the spot. Since the "Circled W" symbol has replaced the drycleaning symbol, there are no instructions for, or against, drycleaning. Thus drycleaning the garment is undertaken at the cleaners own risk.
And since there is yet no method for testing the performance in the wetcleaning process or instructions on the label for how to wetclean the garments, the cleaner can't know what sort of wetcleaning is called for by the label.
Further complicating matters is the inclusion of the care symbol that means "Do not wash" on one of the garments.
"Clearly such labeling is confusing and needs clarification," said FCRA, which is trying to get cleaning instructions from the garment's German manufacturer.
A potentially dangerous care label was also noted by FCRA. The label, found in a lady's dress, reads: "Professionally Dry Clean, Immerse in Perchloroethylene for 21Ž2 minutes. No Heat. Reshape. Hang to Dry."
FCRA said it is extremely concerned to see a care instruction that, if followed, would put cleaners "in contravention of the Health and Safety Regulations."
"If you were to follow the instructions and expose yourself or your staff to solvent levels in excess of either the short- or long-term limits, you will be liable," the association warned.
At the same time, if the cleaner dries the garment by normal practice within the cleaning machining and a problem arises with the garment, the cleaner is liable for that, too, due to having cleaned the garment contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations.
There is no law against using such a label, FCRA said. Care labels are currently optional and unregulated in the UK. The association supports legislation in England that would establish mandatory labeling rules. The two labels cited above are examples why such rules are needed, FCRA added.
Time is running short for making plans to attend Clean '99 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. May 26 is the cut-off date for advance registration. Until that date, registration is $35 per person. After that date, the cost will increase and the convenience will decrease.
More than 25,000 people are expected to be on hand for all or part of the show's June 24-27 run. Pre-registrants will receive their badges via mail in advance of the show and will be able to avoid the on-site registration lines.
Those who do not register in advance will find themselves standing in line at the show to register on-site -- and pay a higher fee of $60.
The registration fee covers entrance to the exhibit hall, admission to the opening general session and more than 40 hours of educational sessions provided by the show's cosponsors.
There are several ways to pre-register. Information and registration material was mailed to prospective attendees. The official registration form can be either mailed or faxed to clean show headquarters and the fee can be paid by check, money order or credit card.
Registration can also be accomplished on the Clean Show web site: www.cleanshow.com.
Where to stay
Hotel reservations need to be made, too. Although plenty of hotel rooms have been blocked out for the show, it may already be too late for those who have a particular preference if they have not already made their reservations.
The International Fabricare Institute reported in early April that 83 percent of the "room nights" available at its headquarters hotel, the Caribe Royale, were already booked. All rooms at the hotel outside the IFI allotment were already reserved.
To check on availability of rooms at the IFI headquarters hotel, call the hotel directly, (800) 823-8300 or (407) 238-8000 and ask for the special IFI rate, which is $145 a night.
In all, 26 hotels have committed rooms for the exhibition with accommodations available in the range of $69 to $165 a night, exclusive of local tax, for single or double occupancy.
Reservations for all hotels except the Caribe Royale must be made through the Clean '99 Housing Bureau to receive the special rates. Do not call the hotels directly since the show's room quotas are assigned to the Housing Bureau which can be reached by phone at (800) 258-7666 or (407) 363-5800, of by fax at (407) 370-5015.
All of the hotels are located on or near International Drive. In the mornings and afternoons, complimentary shuttle buses will take attendees between the official hotels.
Headquarters hotels for the other cosponsoring trade associations are as follows:
Travel and car arrangements can be made through Clean '99's official travel service, Globetrotter Travel (888) 242-5326 or (301) 570-0800, or at the company's web site, www.globetrottermgmnt.com/cleanshow.
The program
The Clean Show opens on Thursday, June 24, with a keynote speech by Jim Cathcart on the topic of "21st Century Thinking: Rethinking Business for a New Era of Growth."
Cathcart, a professional speaker and author of six books, has been a corporate executive, training director, entrepreneur, psychological researcher, meeting planner and association executive, managing people, products and payrolls for nearly 20 years.
His books include "Relationship Selling," which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese and Finnish, "The Acorn Principle," "Speaking Secrets of the Masters," "Be Your Own Sales Manager," and "The Winning Spirit."
Cathcart's keynote should be a fitting prelude to the Clean exhibit and related programs being planned by the six-cosponsoring trade associations. New technology, business management and environmental and regulatory issues will be the focus of the educational sessions.
The two-hour general session featuring Cathcart's keynote and other ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. and is open to all attendees. The general session will lead to the Grand March to the Exhibit Hall for the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the exhibition.
The exhibit hall will open to all visitors at 11 a.m. on Thursday and will remain open until 5:30 p.m. that day as well as on Friday and Saturday. Closing time on Sunday will be 3 p.m.
Opening hours on Friday will be 11 a.m. The hall will open on Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. Distributor-only hall hours are set aside from 8 to 11 a.m. on Thursday and 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday.
More than 500 companies had reserved exhibit space by early April. Riddle & Associates, the show management firm, expects a complete sell-out and the largest-ever Clean show exhibit.
More information about the show is available from Riddle & Associates, 1874 Piedmont Rd., Suite 360-C, Atlanta, GA 30324; phone (404) 876-1988; fax (404) 876-5121 or e-mail, info@cleanshow.com .
Educational sessions by the cosponsoring trade association's will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. The programs are designed to be of interest to association members, but anyone registered for the Clean Show may attend any of the seminars regardless of association membership.
INTERNATIONAL FABRICARE INSTITUTELegislation introduced in the House of Representatives would provide an income tax credit of 20 percent to purchase specific types of drycleaning equipment.
The legislation (HR 1303) was introduced by Michigan Republican Dave Camp and North Carolina Democrat David Price. Both spoke at the February unveiling of the Hangers drycleaning plant in North Carolina in February where they said such legislation was in the works. Hangers is the first plant in the United States to use the liquid carbon dioxide cleaning equipment developed by Micell Technologies.
The credit would apply to purchases of "drycleaning equipment which uses reduced amounts of hazardous substances." Perchloroethylene and petroleum based solvents, along with "any other hazardous or regulated substance," are defined as hazardous substances in the bill.
Price and Camp were the only sponsors of the legislation two weeks after it was introduced. Camp is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which has jurisdiction of tax bills.
In his remarks in the Congressional Record, Price said the legislation "would provide an incentive for drycleaners to transition to environmentally friendly drycleaning technologies."
"The Federal Government can and should help accelerate the transition to technologies that meet our criteria for greater energy efficiency or greater protection of public health and the environment," Price continued. "If we really want the private sector to move toward greener and healthier technologies, and if we don't want to simply rely on new regulations to do it, the simplest, most effective method is through targeted tax incentives."
He compared his tax credit plan to those proposed by President Clinton for energy conservation.
"Environmental technology," he said, "promises to mend the fit that has too often arisen between environmental protection and economic development. It will make reducing pollution easier and cheaper and it will itself become and engine for growth in our economy."
The casual look in fashion, while not going away, is becoming a bit less informal, according to Women's Wear Daily.
"In a sort of mini-backlash, sloppy is giving away to refined casual, and the trend should continue to be comfortable and neat in the next decade," WWD reported.
Employees still reserve wearing traditional suits for important business meetings, but men are going with the "Friday uniform" of khakis and a polo-style shirt, with or without a blazer, while women are focusing on twinsets instead of jackets and camisoles instead of blouses. Even the pantsuit has been deemed too structured by some.
"Women are having a terrible time with casual," according to John Molloy, an image consultant and author of "Dress for Success." He said he receives many letter from women complaining about their problems in casual.
"Women have lost the ability to maintain authority," he said. Men, even when dressed in khakis, can command authority, but there is still "a lot of prejudice against women in the office."
Valerie Steele, chief curator at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, believes that eventually the workplace uniform will become unisex. But right now, women are confused.
"Men have the uniform -- the chinos, the basic polo shirt," she told WWD. For women, the dress code is not so clear.
Steele predicts a backlash against casual in certain areas and in certain professions.
"I think you'll see the artistic crowd, who were pioneers of (casual), dress up. They'll be wearing three-piece suits."
The younger crowd shows more interest in dressing up, too, according to Suzi Chauvel, president of Pop-Eye Chauvel, a trend forecasting company.
"There is this new excitement among teens about dressing up. It is part of the lounge trend that started happening a few years ago. Kids are getting to look really sharp. Young women are dressing up, experimenting with glitter and shine and all this new space-age material."
Liz DiPilli, a partner at Project X, agrees.
"Kids are definitely getting neater," she told WWD. "Those huge pants are definitely out. They are wearing more tailored clothing."
Most of the dressing up seems connected to going out, not going to work. The casual trend should remain in the workplace.
But, said R. Fulton Macdonald, principal of International Business Development, "It can't become more casual in the workplace. There is still a need for respect and authority."
Men, he noted, are investing in casual "power" clothes for the workplace, like Gucci and Missoni or the U.S. equivalents from Ralph Lauren.
"The whole utilitarian chic is easy to understand, and we are going to see a continuation of that," said Pat Tunsky, creative director at The Doneger Group, a buying office.
"It is all driven by comfort and easy care," Tunsky added.
While it sometimes seems there is a drycleaner on every block in U.S. cities, the case is quite different in Russia, according to organizers of the first Russian trade show for laundry and drycleaning.
The Russian market is experiencing a rebirth, they say, and many key companies have expressed interest in participating in the Sept. 8-11 show at the Sokolnik Exhibition Centre near Moscow.
Visitors to Moscow would not have difficulty finding cleaning services. But in other cities that is not necessarily the case.
"In the cities with the population of over 500, 000, there are either no drycleaners or one or two are active," according to Olga Beregovaya, manager of the Drycleaners and Laundry '99 exhibition. "Interest in opening of dry cleaning enterprises is very high."
Interest was evident at the Expo Detergo Exhibition last fall in Milan, Italy, which was attended by about 100 Russian representatives. This year Russians will put on an exhibition for cleaning equipment, technologies and services. Companies planning to participate include Electrolux, BUFA, Böwe, Veit, Seitz, Wima, Geiger, Miele, Kannegiesser, Passat, Pharmagg, Renzacci, Firbimatic and Italclean.
Maxima International Exhibition and the Association of Drycleaners and Laundries is organizing the event with official support from the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, the government of Moscow and the Moscow Region Administration. The Association of Drycleaners and Laundries will prepare a series of seminars. Booth space is available at the rate of $260 per square meter.
For more information, contact Beregovaya by fax at 007 (095) 124-7060 or e-mail at waits@centro.ru.
Whether you are thinking of Clean '99 as the next opportunity to secure new equipment, or if you are considering getting financing somewhere down the road, keep in mind the well-known scouting motto: "Be prepared."
The best thing for a small-business owner to do to be prepared is the proper legwork.
For most small businesses, a lender is going to consider two critical things when reviewing an application:
To do this, the lender needs gather information. The biggest obstacle to timely issuance of financing is a lack of information. Here are nine suggestions that may help you, the prospective borrower, achieve success:
1. To initiate the financing application process, a business owner can get his bank to offer a reference in advance. Keep in mind, however, that many banks are short-staffed these days, so the time it takes to get a reference might increase.
2. A lender will obtain the history of the business primarily through Dun & Bradstreet. Any small business owner should review the Dun & Bradstreet report to ensure that it's accurate and complete.
If it is not, supply Dun & Bradstreet with the correct information.
They can be reached by calling (908) 665-5000, or on-line at www.dbisna.com/dnb/dnbhome.htm.
3. A business owner in need of financing should also check his personal credit history for accuracy, by contacting credit bureaus.
4. The financing history of any business is a big factor to a lender.
An established credit history is very attractive. Even if you are capable of buying a piece of equipment with cash, it is advisable to finance equipment early on and successfully pay off the loan in time.
With customary plans for growth in the future, when bigger financing may be necessary, a history of paying off an earlier loan will definitely work to your advantage.
5. Depending on the size of the loan, you may need to supply two or three years' worth of financial statements. Business owners should engage a competent CPA who produces financial statements at least twice a year that reflect precisely the condition of the business.
These statements, kept accurately for two or three years, along with two to three years of business and personal tax returns, are necessary when attempting to gain financing efficiently. Keep in mind that smaller loans do not require as much paperwork.
6. A lender will require a summary of the business history. Look for patterns and look for progress. See where your shortcomings have been, and how you have compensated for these. Highlight good planning and hidden successes.
7. Of course, the lender will need to know the purpose of the loan.
The best advice when applying for financing may simply be this: consider how the request appears to the lender. A thorough and credible explanation of why this new equipment would make sense and how it will eventually "pay for itself" can help overcome ambiguous elements that may turn up in financial statements or credit reports.
8. The future positives are far more important than the past negatives.
This is the most important thing to remember as you head to Orlando and Clean '99, or if you are thinking of financing a project later this year.
With careful preparation and sound direction, a small business owner should be able to get the financing he or she needs to purchase or lease that new piece of equipment that will fulfill expanding business needs.
9. If you do intend to consider purchase or lease options while attending Clean '99, bring any paperwork with you to the show. This includes all the things mentioned above and any other financial data you think may be necessary (i.e., bank account numbers).
Resident courses at the International Fabricare Institute's Silver Spring, MD, headquarters are continuing under the new format that started this year.
The longer courses have been broken into shorter segments to accommodate cleaners who want training but can't be away from their home plants for a week or more.
All courses are now either one or two days in length. However, it is also possible to register for the full three-week cycle ($1,250 for IFI members; $1,995 for non-members) or one week's worth of courses ($450 for IFI members; $695 for non-members.)
Drycleaning Process & Equipment will be offered July 12-13, Sept. 13-14 and Nov. 1-2. The two-day course costs $199 for IFI members, $299 for non-members.
Stain Removal will be offered July 14-16, Sept. 15-17 and Nov. 3-5. Tuition is $299 for IFI members and $449 for non-members.
Finishing will be offered July 19-20, Sept. 20-21 and Nov. 8-9. Tuition is $199 for IFI members and $299 for non-members.
The Shirts class will be offered July 21, Sept. 22 and Nov. 10. Tuition is $99 for IFI members and $149 for non-members.
Wetcleaning will be offered July 22-23, Sept. 23-24 and Nov. 11-12. Tuition is $199 for IFI members and $299 for non-members.
The course will cover removing stains, understanding bleach baths, understanding wetcleaning equipment, handling special items and master wetcleaning and finishing techniques.
A Wedding Gowns class will be offered July 26, Sept. 27 and Nov. 15. The cost is $99 for IFI members, $149 for non-members.
Business Practices will be offered July 27-28, Sept. 28-29 and Nov. 16-17. Tuition is $199 for IFI members and $299 for non-members.
The legislation course, which covers care label rules, OSHA and EPA regulations and soil and groundwater contamination will be offered July 29, Sept. 30 and Nov. 18. The cost is $99 for IFI members; $149 for non-members.)
A Customer Service course will be offered July 30. Oct. 1 and Nov. 19. The cost is $99 for IFI members and $149 for non-members.
Outreach seminars
IFI also has schedule a series of outreach seminars on stain removal, finishing and wetcleaning in various cities around the country this spring and summer.
Stain removal seminars will be held in Bloomington, MN, on May 1; Birmingham, AL, on May 22 and Columbus, GA, on August 7.
The finishing seminars are scheduled for Bloomington, MN, on May 2; Atlanta, GA, on June 5; Columbia, SC, on June 19; Montgomery, AL, on July 17; and Tampa, FL, on August 21.
Wetcleaning seminars will be held in Mobile, AL, on May 8; St. Louis, MO, on June 12; Kansas City, MO, on June 13; Savannah, GA, on July 10; and Charleston, SC, on August 14.
For more information about IFI's educational offerings, call the Education Department, (800) 434-6222, ext. 144.
Courses covering a variety of subjects will be offered at the Fabricare Technology Center in Cleveland, OH, this spring and summer. The center opened last year to provide training on cleaning technologies and general business development for garment care professionals.
Most classes are limited to no more than 12 students. Dates and topics are as follows:
April 16: Introduction to Boiler Operation/Maintenance.
April 24: Finishing Finesse.
April 29: 3 P's of Gorgeous Wedding Gowns.
May 6: Industry Outreach Meeting.
May 7: OSHA Safety Training for Drycleaning Operations.
May 14-15: Hands-on Wetcleaning.
May 20: Ohio EPA Forms Workshop/ Regulatory Update Luncheon.
May 25 How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service.
June 4: Spotting Essentials.
July 1: Industry Outreach Meeting.
July 16-17: Hands-on Wetcleaning.
July 22: 3 P's of Gorgeous Wedding Gowns.
July 24-25: Finishing at its finest.
Aug. 5: Hire Quality Employees.
Aug. 13: OSHA Safety Training for Drycleaning Operations.
August 19: Ohio EPA Forms Workshop/Regulatory Update Luncheon.
Aug. 27: Introduction to Boiler Operation/Maintenance.A seminar on drycleaning route sales will be offered by consultant Ed D'Elicio one day before the official opening of the Clean Show in Orlando, FL.
The seminar will be at the Doublet Castle on International Drive on June 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Since leaving his business, Jupiter-Towne Cleaner in Palm Beach County, at the end of 1994, D'Elicio has been consulting with drycleaners throughout the United States, concentrating on route-generated business for the past year and one-half. For nine months he was a consultant to a large, route-generated drycleaning with 42 residential tours. He has worked with smaller cleaners, too, including one this year whom he assisted in inaugurating route service which, after two months, was producing $3,000 per week. Some individual routes he currently assists generate more than $7,000 a week.
In addition, D'Elicio is the director of the National Route Management Group which consists of drycleaners across the United States who run routes in addition to their retail locations. The group concentrates on the marketing techniques and logistical costs of route sales.
Prior to starting his consultancy, D'Elicio had five routes as part of his 14,000-sq.-ft. plant operation in West Palm Beach. His plant was featured in a 1994 American Drycleaner cover story titled "Plant of the Future."
Anyone interested in attending his seminar can call him at (561) 694-8414.
A seminar for advanced users will be offered by Dry Cleaning Computer Systems (DCCS) in Norristown, PA, May 21-22.
The advanced user seminar is designed for hands-on operators with detailed specifics for DCCS users on troubleshooting, communication by modem and multiplexer, operating system commands and utilities, software options and switches and back-up logs.
The company also announced that Sid Tuchman will be the keynote speaker at the Fifth Biannual National User Conference in Orlando, FL, June 23 in conjunction with Clean '99.
For information about either of the events, call DCCS, (800) 451-8431, or visit the company's web site, www.dccs.com.
The recipient of an International Drycleaners Congress fellowship spent several days visiting with the North East Fabricare Association office and a number of cleaning plants nationwide.
Kazuhiko Nishi, owner of Kokusai Cleaning Company, LTD, in Japan, is the Takeo Igarashi Fellow. As such, he toured the United States for two weeks.
Tom Gosselin, IDC fellowship chairman and NEFA president, played host to the Japanese cleaner. Gosselin hosted Nishi for a week, showing him his plant, Kleen Inc.. Gosselin also took Nishi to a number of other NEFA members including the Pratt-Abbott plant in Maine, Anton's Cleaners and Dependable Cleaners in Massachusetts, and the NEFA office in Reading, MA.
During his second week in the U. S., Nishi traveled to Cincinnati to observe the Widmer Cleaners operation. He also went to Louisville, KY, to tour Sam Meyers, Inc., and to Knoxville, TN, to tour Prestige Cleaners.
Nishi thanked NEFA for opening its offices to him.
"You were kind enough to explain about your operation in detail, which was very instructive for me," Nishi told the staff. "I will make good use of this valuable experience for my future management."
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International is preparing a lawsuit against the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the association said last month.
The suit is based on the co-located facility stance the DEC developed last year. The DEC stated laundromats and drycleaners in the same building are legally co-located even if owned by the same person. They were previously considered a "stand-alone" business.
"The first step is a declaratory ruling where you make the department formally re-examine their stance," NCA-I associate director Nora Nealis said. "It may well be that the DEC will go back to its position that the laundromat and cleaners combination is a stand-alone. If they don't, NCA-I will proceed with a lawsuit."
The law firm of Farrell, Fritz of Uniondale, NY is handling the case for NCA-I.
The North East Fabricare Association is warning cleaners that a national union is organizing workers in a number of states, including Massachusetts, NEFA's home base.
"The Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) has vowed to organize every laundry in the country," NEFA told members in April. "The union is claiming the need to organize stems from low wages, unaffordable health care and unfair treatment on the job."
NEFA advised cleaners to be aware of the union efforts.
"You need to know your rights and responsibilities, especially what you are allowed to do and what the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prohibits you from doing," NEFA said. "We strongly urge you contact the NEFA office and a labor attorney for assistance before taking any action."
The association also warned cleaners against doing "anything that could be construed as coercement, defined as threats, interrogation, promises or surveillance." It suggested cleaners avoid any of four actions, which it called TIPS.
These include behavior which would indicate threat, interrogation, promises or surveillance.
NEFA explained what might fall under the four categories. A threat may be any statement that would be interpreted as a threat of retaliation for union activity. Interrogation is asking employees about their support of the union or their union activities. Also, employers cannot promise benefits for not supporting the union nor can it do anything that indicates an employee's union activities are being watched.
The association said employers may talk with employees alone or in a group, as long as it doesn't task place in a managers office or someplace the employees may feel threatened. An employer may also answer claims being made by the union.
NEFA said it has a "complete guide to handling union organizing and re-prints are available by calling Peter Blake at the NEFA office. The guide was written by attorney Jeffrey Hirsch, a partner with Robinson and Cole in Boston, MA.
To reach NEFA, call (781) 942-7630.
The Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International will hold a training seminar on May 13 in Randolph, MA. The topic will be the care of suedes, leathers and furs and their storage
Guest speakers will be Norman Roth of Towne & Country Cleaners and Gerald Palmer of Hudson Services.
The program will be held at the Holiday Inn, Randolph, starting at 7 p.m.
The seminar is hosted by APAC Supply Co. of Avon, MA.
For information on this or other chapter programs, contact Ted Aveni, (781) 767-1220, or Susan Goddard Jean, (508) 384-3715.
NCA-I can be reached at (212) 967-3002.
Legislation proposed by New Jersey Assemblyman John Rooney was the topic of a meeting in late March attended by representatives of trade associations whose members would be affected by the bill.
Leaders of the Korean Cleaners Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Legislative Coalition and the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International discussed whether Rooney's pending legislation would help or hurt the industry. Provisions of the bill include an early phase-out for first- and second-generation cleaning machines, extended dates for phasing out or retrofitting third-generation machines, a requirement for fourth-generation machines in new plants or replacement situations, sales tax exemptions, low-interest loan guarantees and certification for machinery and operators.
NCA-I said the principle reason to support the bill would be "as a preemptive, pro-active move to forestall the introduction of more onerous legislation or regulation against the industry."
Some people outside the industry to not think the federal Clean Air regulations provide adequate environmental protection. NCA-I said, and they are pushing for stricter regulations on the state and local levels. The Rooney bill addresses some of those concerns "without falling victim to the environmental overkill provisions of other states' regulations," NCA-I noted.
The three groups representing New Jersey cleaners are seeking input from their members as to whether to support Assemblyman Rooney's proposal (AB 526). NCA-I, KCANJ and NJLC leaders will meet again to discuss which direction to take after getting advice from their members.
A seminar on employment issues and waste management was held by the Korean-American Cleaners Association of New Jersey on March 20, with about 130 members in attendance from southern part of the state at the Korea Garden in Cherry Hill.
Attorney Ian Mekinsky and Kang Wan-Mo spoke on how to lawfully manage employees, and James Nyemchek and Carl Plossl of EPA discussed how to handle hazardous wastes according to the law.
More information about the association is available by contacting its office, (732) 283-5135.
If they were giving away money, would drycleaners want some?
Apparently not. At least that's the way it looks to the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International.
NCA-I says that the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. has $8 million to give to qualified drycleaners to help with the cost of compliance with the state's regulatory requirements.
Applications for the financial Assistance to Business program were sent to anyone who might be available -- which includes all New York drycleaners outside New York city's five boroughs -- in mid-March. Only a handful of cleaners have applied for the funding, the Environmental Facilities Corp. told NCA-I.
The mailing was send in a 6" x 9" manila envelope with a white mailing label and a return address for the EFC in Albany.
"If you put that envelope on the side, with the thought that you'd open it later, find it and open it now, because it's later than you think," NCA-I advised New York cleaners.
Not all cleaners will be eligible, but NCA-I believes that there are far more cleaners could qualify than who have already applied.
"The association worked long and hard to bring the industry's financial needs to the attention of the state," NCA-I said. "The state senators who recognized the need worked long and hard to arrange for a package for you. Don't let this unique opportunity slip away from you."
NCA-I is offering assistance to cleaners who need it in making an application. The association also said that any cleaner who applied but was turned down should contact Nora Nealis at the NCA-I office, (212) 967-3002, ext. 228.
Cleaners who did not receive an application or can't find the one that was sent to them should call Laurie Allen at the Environmental Facilities Corp., (800) 200-2200.
New Jersey drycleaners who hold a boiler license or drycleaning machine registration have been advised that the state will not be sending out renewal notices when the registration or license expires. It will be the responsibility of the holder to know when a license or registration is due for renewal and that the cleaner must initiate the process.
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International warned cleaners to check the expiration dates on these documents to avoid retesting and/or a fine.
The association said the boiler license is good for three years. The expiration date is three years from the date the license was issued. This date appears on the face of the license.
Cleaners who fail to renew the boiler license in a "timely period" lose the opportunity to renew, may be fined $500 and must apply for a new license and take the test again.
Drycleaning machine registrations are good for five years. The expiration date for the registration is on the face of the document. The fee is $500.
Previously, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection sent out renewal notices prior to the expiration date, but "due to a computer changeover in the department, that is no longer the case," NCA-I said.
In addition to this issue, NCA-I, the NJDEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plan to present a series of seminars on new permit requirements.
The dates of the programs have not been chosen, but all cleaners in the state will receive a notice in the mail regarding locations, dates and times for the meetings.
NCA-I said it "strongly urges every drycleaner to attend these meetings. The new forms are complicated..."
There's a new name for a regional trade association in the east. The MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners is being phased in as the name of the former Mid-Atlantic Cleaners & Launderers Association.
The association board of directors approved the change at its April meeting.
The board also announced a special meeting in Fredericksburg, VA, scheduled for July to present bylaws changes. The tentative date is July 17, although it may be shifted to July 25.
Executive vice president Dave Norford said the cruise fund raiser for the Barton Bill has reached $11,275.
MAC, North East Fabricare Association and the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners Association are offering a cruise for two opportunity with every $25 donation to the fund. After 2,500 donations are received, a drawing for the Seminars at Sea program in the Mediterranean will be awarded to the holder of the matching ticket. The cruise is Nov. 14-21.
Information of the drawing is available from Norford at (540) 775-2525.
MAC is finalizing its speakers list for the "Powerful Programs" section of MAXPO/4. The convention/exhibit will be held Sept. 25-26 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. The programs are scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. on both days.
Presentations will include a program on honesty, background and drug testing. In addition, Jane Rising will present a program on coin laundries. MAC also plans to have an interactive panel on the state of the future of the industry. Other sessions will cover managing for profit and improving the business bottom line. Also in the works is an estate planning program featuring an attorney who will explain how to move money from a business to a retirement account.
For information on MAXPO, call (540) 775-2525.
Drycleaners in northeast Pennsylvania have reorganized a local cleaners group that has been inactive for a while.
The Northeast Pennsylvania Drycleaners Association was reestablished recently by several of the region's cleaners.
Bill Nicolais was named temporary president of NPDA at the first meeting. Other members of the organizing committee are Joe Jackson, Ed Grimes and Dan Polerecki.Plans are being formed to develop membership benefits and bring speakers and programs for members.
The Pennsylvania & Delaware Cleaners Association warned its members "federal EPA and their local counterparts will be stepping up their inspections in the upcoming months."
PDCA president Joe Iannarelli and IFI District Director Dave Rosenblatt visited officials of the Allegheny (PA) County Health Department to discuss the impending inspections. The two reviewed procedures the inspectors will use and the technical aspects of drycleaning.
"They felt that the inspectors will try to be fair and helpful, but they will not tolerate blatant disregard of safety," PDCA said.
EPA inspections are proceeding in central Pennsylvania as well as for Delaware cleaners. PDCA said the visits are on "an informational and instructional basis."
Among the problem areas a cleaner should be aware of is record-keeping, including perc purchase logs and a housekeeping checklist.
MSDS sheets and waste disposal paperwork should be in order as well. There should be no open containers, everything should be labeled and cleaners should be able to show temperature monitoring results.
The North Carolina Association of Launderers & Cleaners is proposing legislation to amend the state's Dry Cleaners Solvent Clean-Up Act by repealing the mandatory insurance requirement and a six percent sales tax on laundry and drycleaning services. The association proposes replacing the tax "with a temporary 4 percent environmental fee dedicated to the cleanup of polluted sites."
"The North Carolina Dry Cleaning Solvent Clean-Up Act of 1997 is in danger of collapse due to the unavailability of pollution liability insurance which covers historical pollution," NCALC told cleaners in April. A major problem with the current law is the unavailability of site pollution insurance.
NCALC will hold a series of meetings around the state to provide details of the legislation.
All meetings will be held from 7:30 to 9 PM.
The programs will be held in Raleigh on May 4, Fayetteville on May 6, New Bern on May 11, Kernersville on May 17, Asheville on May 18 and Charlotte on May 25. The Charlotte meeting is co-sponsored by the Piedmont Drycleaners Association. For details, call Sto Fox, (919) 850-0707.
The Kentucky Fabricare Association held three district meetings in April to discuss what services and issues cleaners consider important.
"U. S. Rep. Ken Lucas attended one of the sessions and said he was concerned about the state of small business," KFA executive director Tom Underwood said.
The key points discussed at the meetings were the Barton Bill, the industry business outlook and changes in the role an association plays in a small business's life. Underwood said the objective was to make the services of the association meaningful to its members.
"If they feel they're better off with an association, they should join," Underwood said.
KFA will offer a pair of seminars on "a federal clean air act program. These are small business assistance programs to help cleaners meet them," he added.
In order to publicize the association and its programs, the board divided the state into seven districts. Each director will do outreach work within a district.
"To make the things interesting," Underwood said, "every board member puts $20 in a pool. Whoever gets the most members wins the cash."
KFA can be reached at (502)223-5322.
The Tennessee Fabricare Association plans to present three stain removal seminars in August.
"Spotting" will be taught by Donna Freese, a representative of Adco, Inc. The class fee is $15 for member and $25 for non-members. All four sessions will be held from 1 to 5 p.m.
The classes are planned for Aug. 14 at the Embassy Suites in Nashville, TN; Aug. 15 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Memphis, TN; Aug. 28 at the Holiday Inn Cedar Bluff in Knoxville, TN; and Aug. 29 at the Chattanooga Clarion in Chattanooga, TN.
For registration information, contact TFA executive director Debbie Lowenthal, (615) 269-5312.
The Missouri Better Business Bureau for Southeastern Missouri presented a program on service industries last month in which drycleaning was one of several services examined. The program was based on a study conducted by the BBB and the Emerson Electric Center for Business Ethics at St. Louis University.
"Customer Complaints... Closing the Gap" was presented by the sponsors after considering complaints listed in the BBB's "Top 10 Industry Complaints." Drycleaners finished seventh on that list with 364 complaints out of 5,751.
MidAmerica Fabricare Association executive director Dennis Loomis said "about 200 people attended the presentation. Drycleaners didn't do too badly" in the report.
The area in which cleaners were cited the most frequently was the quality of product/service provided. The study showed 72 percent of the root causes of complaints were in this category.
Cleaners fared better in the area of poor repair work, being cited in only 14 percent of the root causes of complaint (last among the 10 industries studied).
The study involved MBA students doing field research by investigating actual complaints from the ten listed industries. The researchers collected information from both consumers and companies. Based on the data, the researchers created a case study.
The presenters said special interest had been shown in "the connection among issues of product quality, employee service and ethical practices."
There was a finding that "customer service policies and procedures of businesses often do not fit the situations they are designed to cover."
In addition, there was a strong negative reaction to customer complaints with "50 to 80 percent of complaints (termed) illegitimate and the motives of the complainers suspect," the study reported.
Part of the problem with complaints may be traced to communication problems, where the two parties never contacted or failed to respond to a contact about a problem.
In addition, the study suggested that "customers commonly have unrealistic expectations or lack of product knowledge."
Also noted was "a pattern of 'complaint escalation'... whereby problems of poor product quality or those caused by incompetent or discourteous employees developed into charges of illegal or unethical business practices."
The study referenced past research which suggests "most dissatisfied consumers exit without ever complaining directly to the business itself." But those who do complain show no reluctance in pursuing the claim. One in five of these reported "over 10 contacts with the company regarding their dispute," the study said.
Among the recommendations offered to businesses -- "Know your customers, make it easy to complain, act fast, focus on employees, forge effective partnerships, resolve the complaint within the company and provide leadership.
For more information on the study, call Dennis Loomis at MAFA, call (314) 832-1839.
The Mid-America Fabricare Association said efforts to persuade Missouri Vocational Enterprises to stop providing subsidized cleaning to non-profit agencies and state employees were unsuccessful.
"We did go to the hearing last month and they basically decided not to make any change," MAFA executive director Dennis Loomis said. "They will continue to provide the cleaning services to them."
This program has had a negative impact on cleaners in towns with significant numbers of government employees. In Jefferson City, the state capital, 15,000 of the city's 28,000 workers are state workers.
Last year the MVE program grossed $35 million. $5 million went into the working capitol revolving fund.
MAFA member Steve DiNolfo has contacted his state representative with a proposed bill to change legislation. The objective is to delete state employees, political subdivisions and non-profits from the eligibility list.
The program evolved from the 1994 Missouri "truth in sentencing" law. The Department of Corrections asked to be allowed to put prisoners to work.
Since then, it has "opened up selling services to all government employees, political subdivisions and not-for-profits," DiNolfo said.
He reported that the MVE group charges 60 cents for a pair of pants and $1.50 for a suit. This level of subsidized pricing makes things very difficult for cleaners.
The sponsor of that bill did not know it would have that effect, DiNolfo added.
The cleaner said he has been the target of criticism from some state employees for this attempt to change the law, but remains determined to continue the effort. DiNolfo is also looking to have the bill introduced in the Senate.The Ohio Cleaners Association has several programs in the works for cleaners in the state this spring and summer. Among them are a golf tournament, the association's annual summer meeting and two days of educational seminars.
The OCA annual golf outing will take place May 19 at the Royal American Links Golf Course. This year the event is open to all cleaners and allied trades. The program includes golf, a lunch cookout, a steak dinner and prizes for golfers. Steve Smith of Columbus Lace Cleaning Co. is the tournament chairman.
The OCA summer meeting will be held July 9-11 at Quail Hollow. Titled "Cleaning in the New Millennium," the program will include motivational speakers, golf, scholarship awards, the induction of association officers and a number of other activities. Laura Baron will present "How to Wow Your Customers," a special seminar on marketing. The summer meeting chairman is Mike Timmer.
Jane Zellers will be in Ohio Sept. 22-23 to present a pair of seminars. Details of the program are being worked out. Complete information on her sessions can be obtained from OCA.
OCA also announced a contribution to the Coalition for Competitive Energy, a group lobbying for new electric service restructuring. Supporters of restructuring hope a bill will be adopted by summer.
For information on OCA, call (614) 221-1900.
U. S. Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) urged members of the Louisiana Mississippi Drycleaners & Laundry Association to build support for the Small Business Remediation Act. The Congressman addressed cleaners at the association's annual convention at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, MS.
Barton told cleaners he "is very committed to reintroducing the legislation," LMDLA director Linda Ferguson said. She spoke to the attendees prior to Barton's appearance and introduced the congressman to the audience.
Barton cautioned that it may be very difficult to get a stand-alone bill. He said he is looking for 200 sponsors for the measure. He did suggest that the bill could be tied to another bill or its goals could be pursued through an administrative position.
"He reiterated his commitment to his seeing it through," Ferguson added. "He is very understanding of our situation and very realistic about our problems in reaching our goals."
Ferguson reported LMDLA raised $1250 in support of efforts to pass the bill during a call for donations following Barton's speech.
LMDLA executive director Darienne Wilson said other convention activities included the election of new officers and directors.
John Wingo of The Cleaners in Natchitoches, LA, is the new LMDLA president.
The new vice president is Regina Ueltschey of Imperial Cleaners, Gulfport, MS.
Linda Ferguson of Safe Way Cleaners in Jackson, MS, is the association secretary/treasurer.
The chairman of the board is Kevin Caldwell of American Discount Cleaners.
Board directors include Tim Cook, David Ogden, Jim Beadles, John Obed, Jim Shepherd, Derwin Slay, Carroll Hernandez, Frances LeBlanc, Red Langlinais, Don McDaniel, Avis Odom, Sandy Barrios, David Blaine, Steve Casso, Richard Blades and David Pesses.
The sergeant at arms is Bobby Harris.
Joe Stoma is a lifetime board member.
Wilson called the annual convention "a complete success. She said LMDLA was pleased with the convention.
"I think it was a smashing success and anybody who missed it really missed a treat," Ferguson added. "We're looking forward to working with Texas and MAFA for the Big Show 2000 next March 17-19 in Ft. Worth."
The association warned Louisiana cleaners that the state Department of Environmental Quality requires permits when existing equipment is modified or new construction is undertaken. It said the state small business ombudsman can assist business owners with information on the requirement. The ombudsman is available at (800) 725-6122.
In addition, the association announced the relocation of its offices. The new office is located at 4273 I-55 North, Suite 104, Jackson, MS 39206.
The telephone number is now (601) 321-4625. The new fax number is (601) 321-4628.
Ferguson also said the Jackson Area Drycleaners Association May meeting will feature a speaker from the law firm of Phelps Dunbar. The topic will be labor relations, a subject which has been a hot topic in the area.
"Speculation in the last several weeks concerning the possible activation of a union for laundry workers in the Louisiana area is causing concern among drycleaning stores," Ferguson noted.
JADA meets one Thursday a month. The May meeting date will be announced soon.
For details, contact Ferguson, (601) 939-0710.
The summer session of the two-week long General Fabricare training program of the Southwest Drycleaners Association will be held June 7-18. The class is given at the Texas Research Center for Laundry & Drycleaning at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX.
The course covers a wide variety of topics, including textile identification, working with fabrics, drycleaning and wetcleaning processes, stain removal, basic finishing, equipment, general management and regulations and laws pertaining to drycleaning.
Jane Zellers is the chief instructor for SDA.
This is the third program of the year for the school. Last month stain removal and advanced stain removal classes were held. A finishing course will be offered later this year.
For details on the programs, contact Debra Eaton at SDA, (210) 826-4684.
Western States Drycleaners & Launderers Association conducted its annual fund-raising dinner and auction this spring at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix, AZ. The association said the event "was well supported and highly successful."
Natalie Clapick served as emcee of the evening.
Following dinner and comments from WSDLA President Mark Witt, Bill Strauss, the featured speaker, reflected on past experiences and related his perspectives on cleaning. Strauss is with KXAM, 1310 radio.
Midwest Hanger's Pat Davis led a live auction as part of the fund-raising program. The top item was the sale of a Phoenix Suns' Danny Manning jersey which was autographed by the entire 1999 Suns squad.
An unusual item in this year's auction was a weekend's use of the new Saturn EV1 electric car. Donated by Saturn of Tempe, the sporty two-seater EV1 was available for test drives.
WSDLA said the auction was "a great success. We anticipate the net result will deposit over $7,000 in the WSDLA treasury... for supporting the group's programs, lobbying efforts and publications."
Special guests of the evening were Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Kim.
Kim, president of the Korean Drycleaners Association of Arizona, presented a $200 contribution from his group in support of WSDLA. WSDLA executive director Michael Schenck held a discussion with Kim exploring possibilities of further interaction between the two associations.
The 1999 Fund-raising Committee was chaired by Natalie and Larry Clapick and included Mark and Jan Witt, Mike Jordan, Dave Link and Michael Schenck.
The Southern Arizona Chapter of WSDLA hosted two representatives of the Pima County (AZ) Department of Environmental Quality at its April meeting.
Frances Dominguez and Richard Grimaldi of the DEQ explained why cleaners need to be current with all operating permits. The two department representatives explained that the agency is attempting to standardize both permits and inspections. The two reported the "most violations are the result of inaccurate (or no) record keeping," WSDLA said. "They reported a relative low frequency of violations in the area."
"In general, drycleaners are very aware of environmental laws and regulations," Grimaldi said.
Assistance is available from the department, they added. For information, call (520) 740-3344.
Attending the chapter meeting from the regional association were president Mark Witt and Mike Schenck.
Schenck also issued a report to the membership on the IFI affiliates meeting held recently in Baltimore, MD.
The annual meeting included "a review of the status of the Barton Bill. The update included the announcement of a special Task Force meeting."
"Membership recruitment and retention were an extensive topic," Schenck said, "as was the issue of the recent dues increase and the potential of employing professional membership sales representatives."
Also discussed by the executive directors was the need for a "nation-wide industry spokesperson and the development of a print and video campaign offering positive impact for the industry."
The group also reviewed new technologies, the Clean '99 show and the future of industry trade shows, Schenck added.
Information on WSDLA programs is available from Schenck at (602) 253-9186.The Pellerin Milnor Corp. will hold a washer/extractor service seminar Aug. 10-13 in Portland, OR.
The company said the four-day seminar is a condensed program which is designed to train personnel "in the rapid and accurate diagnosis and treatment" of machine problems in the plant. Part of the program will be training on how the equipment operates.
The seminars will focus on Milnor washer/extractors in the 35 lb. to 75 lb. capacity range. These include split and open pocket designs.
Also planned is training on a variety of Milnor controls.
For details on Milnor training seminars, contact Randy Stiver, supervisor of training and education at Pellerin Milnor. He can be reached at (504) 467-9591.
More information on seminars is available at the Milnor website, www.milnor.com.
A recent case presentation by the Better Business Bureau, St. Louis University and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals studied the perception gap that exists between consumers and companies when it comes to complaints. Forget for the moment the type of complaints or the way in which they were presented. Instead, focus on what the report called the causes and implications of the many complaints the Better Business Bureau received.
More than half the complaints were grouped in five categories, with the lack of follow-up contact and failure to respond chief among consumer complaints. In fact, only two of the top ten complaints actually dealt with the service or product provided. In too many cases, the way a business handled a problem, dealt with a customer and responded to a complaint showed there is a real failure to communicate. Simply put, it's not the poor cleaning job that's making customers mad. It's the poor follow-up in discussing the problem with the customer. Customers don't need to be ignored, nor do they need their perceived problems trivialized.
The lines of communication extend from the front counter to the back office. As the report observed, a company may think it has a customer service policy. But what it has is a policy that doesn't work for the problem it was designed to cover. As a manager and an owner, a cleaner must learn to modify and refine the company policies to meet the everyday demands the public places upon a business. It's not all right to copy something out of a 10-year-old book and say, "This is our policy." Good business practice demands researching, planning and delivering a service policy that is honest and fair to both parties and reflects how things happen in the real world.
Yes, there are a few people out there who may take advantage of a company's good will. But there's real opportunity to improve the industry image by answering complaints and talking with a person with a problem. They are, after all, your customers.
In his column this month, Stan Golomb recalls a day gone by in which neither EPA nor OSHA figured into the calculations of anyone who was out to make a living in the drycleaning business. Those days are gone forever. To anyone who entered the industry in the last 20 years or so, those days must surely seem like a mythical time from the foggy past.
Every drycleaner in the country now has, like it or not, a junior partner in the form of government agencies that scrutinize their operations in ever greater detail. How much solvent did you buy last year? Have you checked all your equipment for leaks in the past month? Do you have a readily available inventory of all the chemicals in your plant? Do all of your employees know what to do in the event of a spill or some other accident?
These are just a few of the questions every drycleaner's "junior partner" wants answered. And that is just the paperwork. As everyone who has any kind of interest in the industry should know by now, there are greater concerns that this "junior partner" has brought to the business than just a paperwork burden. Throughout most of this decade, industry leaders have been trying to find a way to defuse the time-bomb that lies underneath many drycleaning plants. The bomb exists in the form of small amounts of drycleaning solvent -- usually perchloroethylene -- that have seeped into the ground in and around the plant. One of our junior partners -- the Environmental Protection Agency -- has determined that an amount as small as five parts per billion of perc could endanger drinking water supplies. The property becomes "contaminated," which means nobody will want to buy it or lend money against it. Neighbors and landlords will call their lawyers if they think a drycleaner has contaminated their property. In some cases, the "junior partner" will demand that the property be decontaminated.
No matter who issues the clean-up order, it is certain to be expensive. In fact, expensive is an understatement. For some, it will means bankruptcy; at best it means sleepless nights followed by days of meetings with lawyers, consultants and engineers (not customers). Some choose to bury their heads in the sand and pretend the problem does not exist, or cross their fingers and hope it won't happen to them. Eventually, those who take these approaches will be sadly, perhaps tragically, disappointed. The best hope lies in action such as that envisioned by industry people who met in Chicago last month. When they call on you to help, be there.
You can always tell what your relationship is with customers if they value your opinion. A benign relationship is the foundation in making regular customers. By having a friendly attitude you learn customers' wants and find it easier to anticipate their needs.
In the business world, there will always be competition. As long as the market is profitable, competition will prevail. The fit will survive; the ones that flounder will quietly disappear and not be missed.
The greedy and gullible investors will exploit the industry. First they will go after the easy-to-do work and leave all of the time-consuming and difficult work for the experienced drycleaner.
This happens when serious drycleaners are not aggressive enough in informing consumers of the benefits of drycleaning. This neglect happens because of poor public relations. A printed slogan tacked up on the wall is insufficient for developing goodwill. No amount of advertising will make a company liked when the friendly attitude is not recognized at the source.
Dr. Ernest Dichter, an internationally known motivational researcher, made a number of consumer studies for the International Fabricare Institute (IFI). In 1983 the last study was released to the National Clothesline so that non-members would also benefit from the Dichter report.
The study revealed that drycleaners were not clothes-conscious enough and employees were not properly informed and trained. The study also pointed out that drycleaners were not actively seeking new customers.
Now, 16 years after the Dichter report, there is no change in activity nor in attitude. This, Dr. Dichter says, "could spell doom."
The poor public relations we are experiencing now are not totally the fault of the drycleaner. Our institutions are at fault. Suppliers, the equipment manufacturers, and everyone within the drycleaning industry is at fault. When equipment is sold to beginners who have no knowledge of drycleaning, no one seems to care or inform the beginners that certain knowledge is important. Nor are they told from whom or where such knowledge is obtainable.
Drycleaners of the not too distant past fared much better than drycleaners of today. During that era, drycleaners were blessed with knowledgeable technicians known as Factory Reps, or soap salesman. They helped drycleaners become successful.
Since most small drycleaning plants are owner-operated, the owners may have a weakness as managers. This could be that they do more working and less at managing. They would rather do the work themselves than delegate others to do the job. This, of course, brings on pressure and stress, allowing no time to think.
For this reason we can't say that drycleaners in general are not caring enough about their business. However, it takes more than caring. In business, it takes a lot of doing and sweating. Success has its price.
To stay and succeed in business, one must understand advertising. This does not mean that you must be an expert or a genius.
Looking at this from another perspective: A highly skilled heart specialist would probably have a hard time trying to repair a sagging door. He would likely hire a carpenter who knows how to repair doors.
We can be geniuses in some things, but ignorant in others. Hiring an advertising specialist is not only a good idea but the best decision you can make in promoting your business.
Why should you promote or advertise your own business? The reason is that we live in a country of economic abundance. We have more of everything. More than enough, more products, more textiles, more cars and, of course, no shortage of drycleaners.
What all of this means is that people have choices. When people have choices they become picky. Sometimes they become frustrated in making a decision when there are too many choices. They become frustrated because they don't want to make the wrong choice. It's easy to choose between two things, but not so easy when there are hundreds of choices.
Knowing that, think of advertising as a service to help people make the right decision. Pressuring them in thinking your way is not helping, it's selling. Being in business, we like to think of people as customers. However, in advertising they are thought of as users and buyers.
Generalizing words and phrases -- quality; the best; your reputable drycleaner; prestige; tender loving care; we clean clothes, not your wallet -- say nothing of your services. They are meaningless cliches.
When you cannot describe the kind of services you provide for customers-to-be, then why should they patronize your place of business?
The late Jack Ireland, a friend and popular IFI drycleaning instructor, told me this story about advertising and promotion that failed.
There was a packaged food company that decided to get into the pet food business. They had the money and resources to blow the competition away. As soon as they went into production they blasted-off a heavy ad promotion. They loaded retail food stores with their pet food product and promising volume sales.
Six months later with promotions going strong, the retail stores did not reorder. In fact, they wanted the food company to take the pet food back. Customers made first-time-purchases, then no more. This became a grievous concern for the packaged food company.
They held a special meeting in one of those tall buildings in New York City. All the principles attended. After hours of discussion, no one had the foggiest idea why pet food sales didn't take off as predicted.
While the principals were silent with deep thought, a voice from the back broke in. It was the voice of a bald-headed man leaning on a push broom. He was the janitor of that particular room.
He apologized for interrupting and said, "I have two dogs and I like dogs. I bought your pet food and the dogs wouldn't eat it. They didn't like your pet food. This may be the answer to your problem. That's my opinion."
This is probably not the way Jack Ireland would have told this story. But somewhere, up there above the clouds, Jack is grinning.
The moral of this story is: if people don't like something, they won't buy it.
Why you receive value added benefits when you order from your distributor salesman:
An experienced, professional salesman does a lot more than write up your want list on his order pad. He shares with you a lifetime of experience in your industry.
He or she acts like a bee, picking up a lot of know-how and "tricks of the trade" from customers as well as from manufacturers to fertilize your tree of knowledge.
You'll eliminate this valuable resource by ordering from the new mega-mail-order people. You may save a few pennies by paying in advance, but you give up the little extras that your travelling troubadour has garnered.
Your faithful distributors also support your local, state, and national industry associations. They deserve your loyalty and support. You want them to stay in business!
It costs money to carry big inventories, carry charge accounts, and give customer service. But that's what "value added" means.
So think twice before you make it impossible for your loyal suppliers to stay in business and support your trade organizations, your industry, and you.
GERALD LIEBERMAN
PRESIDENT B & G LIEBERMAN CO. INC.
There is a point in the life of a business "when you go beyond the entrepreneurial level and become more than a mom and pop company. You go beyond that level to work as a team," Illinois cleaner George Vaselakos remarked. His message conveys the lesson he learned -- treat a business as a business and not as a means of filling the day with a job.
George Vaselakos recalled impressions of the efficiency of cleaners that his father-in-law passed on to him.
"Look at the people in the drycleaning industry. The expend a great amount of energy on their business. In any other industry, they could work as hard from 9 to 5 and then go home to play golf."
Vaselakos has been a cleaner for 30 years, detouring into the profession from the world of graduate studies in nuclear biophysics and teaching.
"I started in 1967 working part-time for my father-in-law," Vaselakos recalled. "I just got married to Denise Fraser and I was teaching full time -- biology, chemistry and physics. I taught for the Archdiocese of Chicago in inner city schools -- APS Physical Science. I also helped teachers set science programs up."
Vaselakos also taught at DePaul University lab school.
He also dabbled in politics, working on a Republican U. S. Senate campaign in 1966.
"I worked for Sen. Percy in his first campaign," Vaselakos said. "He was the first person to speak for an Asian solution to Asian problems."
"I also worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. I've been an activist for many years."
He was going to grad school in nuclear biophysics when his first son was born. The signals were clear that funding for academia was growing tighter and tighter.
"Most of the funds for the National Science Foundation were being eliminated, so I went to work for my father-in-law," Vaselakos continued. "That lasted six months. The town was not big enough for two sheriffs."
This is not to say that Vaselakos didn't respect the man.
"He was one of the most brilliant businessmen I have ever known. He was a wonderful mentor." But two strong-willed people in one business wouldn't work, Vaselakos realized. There was only one option.
"In December, 1969, I opened my own business in Oak Park, Illinois." This was Poly Cleaners, the business he operates today. It's a business he looks on fondly as "a nice little cleaners where we do a nice little job."
It was time-intensive at first.
"Being the only employee, I didn't have time to think, only time to work," Vaselakos continued.
Given his bent for activism, Vaselakos became more than a new business in this Chicago suburb.
"I became involved in the merchants association and the Oak Park Exchange Congress, an organization working on racial diversity and economic development," he said. "It created the environment of trying to face some of the realities of changing neighborhoods."
As Vaselakos observed, "We're in the same boat together. We can develop common solutions for businesses and residents."
Part of this program of solutions was developing new vehicles to address business issues.
"We created a business association rather than go through the Chamber of Commerce," he said. "We had chief executive officers of nine financial institutions in Oak Park plus community activists."
The financial expertise provided by this block offered the option of using grant money in new ways.
"We took U. S. Housing & Urban Development money and created economic development, using community block grant funds," Vaselakos explained.
Instead of doling out funds for projects, the group used it as collateral for income-producing instruments.
"We used the money to leverage loans," he said. The group put the grant money on deposit in interest-bearing certificates of deposit. Then, "all the financial institutions would spread the risk and one would act as the lead for loan."
The big advantage was that small business owners could get loans at below interest rates.
"There was very little lost to defaults. It created a problem because at the end of the loan you had money left over." Since the HUD grant money was provided as an economic stimulant and couldn't be given back, the association developed a local solution.
The idea was simple.
"We elected to give the funds to the Village of Oak Park. They, in turn, gave it back to us."
The variety of projects funded through loans and grants went beyond the typical small business. A unique local cultural institution benefited, too. "We had a finger in the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio project, his original home in Oak Park."
This activity was taking place while Vaselakos was building his own business in the seventies and early eighties. It stands as proof of his contention that a well-created business will survive since "the development company is still around."
Besides the Oak Park development company, Vaselakos served as president of his local business group, the Madison Street Business Association, for several years.
His industry association connections began with the local trade group.
"I was involved for many years in Chicagoland Cleaners Association," he noted. It was the ideal way to learn the nuances of running a cleaning business.
"Competitors would walk in the door of a nice restaurant once a month in Chicago. The fellowship was overwhelming," Vaselakos said. "What I learned from that group is overwhelming. They included people like Cecil Treadway and Bob Breen."
"These are the mentors who stand out as individuals and continue to give to the industry," Vaselakos declared. They are the kind of people who demonstrate "how to be good business people, not greedy individuals. They were the examples."
"The amount of things they shared, not just in terms of business, you just can't calculate," he continued. "I don't think there was a time when I went to a meeting that didn't get something from them."
From this, he learned it is "easy to go in and see what is wrong, but harder to go in and find something right."
The value of sharing is something he tries to pass on.
"I just got off the phone with a competitor. His customers are my customers, but I have a responsibility to mentor this person. It's something you have to pass on, a valuable jewel."
The responsibility of sharing goes beyond sharing business knowledge, Vaselakos added.
"Every drycleaner has a fiduciary responsibility to put back into the community. It's no different than that message you receive from your synagogue or church -- Give back to the community. I feel you have to give back."
Vaselakos is unafraid to express his feelings on the state of the industry.
"I'm a person who's proud to be a drycleaner. But there are people out there who do things that make me ashamed to be a drycleaner," he said.
"Associations have been selling from an empty wagon for some time," he began. "Now that's not true. We have created programs and positioned ourselves where we are the only people who can provide these services. We haven't created something that doesn't need to exist. They need to exist."
Vaselakos is in line to be the next president of his state association. His active participation in this group ranges from work on a state site remediation law to reorganizing the way the board does business.
"We have no executive director," he said. "The role is handled by the executive committee. The vice president's role is defined to act as coordinator of different committees and offices and feed information between all the group. We also include on that particular executive committee active past presidents -- Peter Paros, Bob Breen, Cecil Treadway and Bill Tullar. They are active and attend the board meetings as before."
The new organization was created when "I forced all the old warhorses to come together and define what we have to do."
It was a gutsy decision, since Vaselakos had only been active with the Illinois State Fabricare Association for four years.
The impetus was his belief that "a greater recognition than pats on the backs is a legacy."
"There are a lot of people who are leaders in their communities," he stated. "Drycleaners, being an independent bunch, tend to be involved in community affairs."
Vaselakos wants ISFA to reflect that it is "a professional trade association. We are into education and professionalism. You are not a professional until you are a member of a professional trade association."
He also wants to expand the ability of the association to meet the needs of the new generation of cleaners.
"The thing that is instrumental, when you deal with racial diversity, is you have to listen to other people and their culture carefully," he explained. "I remember speaking with a Korean group. A translator was there and the Korean leader said 'I must apologize, because the president speaks in broken English.' I started laughing, and explained that he never heard my father speak English. The ice was broken."
"This common ground is we are one," he said.
"Networking with people has been one of the most positive experiences in my life because there are a lot of good people out there," Vaselakos continued. "You can't do this job if you keep running into people who are negative. You need to be recharged."
Vaselakos likes to think his efforts in changing the way the industry operates have been "stretching the envelope. There's a lot of stuff happening; a lot of good stuff."
The growing popularity of the injection detergent (cationic) system seems to be increasing the number of filter performance problems, especially with abnormal climbing of filter pressure and difficulty in correcting it.
Several members of the internet forum have experienced abnormal filter pressure rise, and they cannot seem to permanently correct it.
The problem lies mostly with powderless spin disc filters using a cationic detergent/water blend. When the filter discs are spun clean (supposedly), they quickly return to a clogged condition. However, cartridge filters can also be affected.
First of all, we should understand the characteristics of cationic detergent. A surfactant detergent's molecule has a small head and a large body although the molecule is very tiny. Since the cationic detergent molecule has a hydrophillic head and a large hydrophobic body, and the head has a negative ionic charge with the body having a corresponding positive ionic charge, the result is that the detergent/water mixture is insoluble in a non-ionic solvent (perc or petroleum).
The positive ionic charge of the major part of the molecule results in its substantive nature This means that the detergent will not only fail to dissolve in the solvent, but it will also adhere to any fabric that it contacts.
Is not paper a cellulosic fiber? Is not the nylon or polyester filter disc a synthetic fiber?
The answer to both questions is unmistakably YES. Fibers are the basis of fabrics.
Cleaning the filter discs
Once the cationic detergent adheres to the filter fabric, and it builds up over time, the resultant coating is as hard as cement, and it cannot be totally removed by spinning and flushing the filter discs with solvent.
Usually, the filter discs have to be removed from their housing and hand cleaned with a stiff bristle brush and oily-type paint remover (dryside formula). After cleaning, the filter discs should be soaked in petroleum solvent to dilute the oily type paint remover.
If you use perchloroethylene solvent for the soaking, make sure the container is closed, and you should wear neoprene or viton gloves and a mask to satisfy "Uncle Sam."
How can you avoid coating the filter paper or discs? Simply by running the load, after injection of the cationic detergent, on batch for at least three full minutes (after injection) if you operate on a "pre-wash to the still," and at least for four full minutes (after injection) if you operate in a "single batch through the filter" (circulation from cylinder to filter and back to cylinder).
In fact. I always recommend running on batch for five full minutes before circulating through the filters for about eight more minutes when using a cationic injection detergent.
The difference between a cationic detergent blended with a small amount of water and an anionic detergent-blended with a larger amount of water/water carrier detergent is that the cationic mixture forms an emulsion which is insoluble in solvent while the anionic mixture actually dissolves into the solvent to form a solution.
The emulsion actually scrubs the surface of the fabrics to remove insoluble and water soluble soils while the anionic (charge system) detergent/water solution actually floats away insoluble soil and dissolves water soluble soil. The charge system uses more water safely.
Since the large body of the anionic detergent molecule has a negative charge it is soluble in solvent while the tiny head of the molecule has a positive charge to hold the moisture added to it. Together, the group of molecules form what is called a micell. The micell formation is in suspension while the cations are attracted to fabric.
Charge system shortcomings
The major shortcomings of the charge system are:
1. Requires management of the amount of detergent dissolved into the solvents. This is usually accomplished by using a titration kit.
2. Control of the solvent temperature is critical when adding moisture since a too-high temperature will automatically increase the amount of moisture added, and the percentage of detergent contained in the solvent will lose its capability to keep the increased moisture in solution.
An emulsion will then be formed which will cause damage to natural fabrics. Recommended solvent temperature is between 75 degrees F and 85 degrees F with the optimum of 75 degrees F to 80 degrees F.
3. The percentage of anionic detergent to the total solvent in the system must be at least 1 percent by volume of a premium grade detergent.
The recommended percentage (charge) is 1.4 percent to 1.6 percent by volume for a single bath system. A percentage over 2 percent by volume should have a short batch rinse as a second bath.
However, management of the charge system can be easily done as long as an occasional monitoring of the shortcomings are adhered to. Temperature gauges are easily read to monitor the heat exchanges keeping the solvent within a safe temperature range, and the percentage of detergent charge is maintained only when new or distilled solvent is added to the system.
Knowing about how much solvent is being added and multiplying that figure by the approximate number of ounces of detergent to add will maintain a safe percentage between titrations made once a day (of new or distilled solvent is added).
Some manufacturers use a modified charge and injection system combination with an anionic detergent. The initial system is charged with a small percentage of detergent (containing a small amount of moisture blended into it), and a small percentage of the same detergent blend is added to each load.
The major advantage to the cationic injection system is its simplicity since there is no requirement to add detergent or moisture each time new or distilled solvent is added to the system.
Additions through injection of the cationic detergent must be in the amount recommended by the manufacturer.
If too much is injected, the fabric will feel gummy. If not enough is added, the results will be poor. The usual recommended amount is 1Ž5 ounce per pound of garments or fabrics, or two ounces per 10 pounds of garments or fabrics. This means that a 40-pound load will take eight ounces of cationic detergent.
The major disadvantages of the cationic detergent injection, therefore, are:
1. Exact amount of addition must be followed and batching after injections is CRITICAL.
2. The solvent must contain almost no non-volatile residue (NVR) for maximum efficiency. Therefore, the distillation rate must be very high.
NOTE: Good solvent maintenance needs a high rate of distillation in both cationic and anionic systems, although it is critical in cationic injection systems.
Finally, whichever system you use, follow the directions for good solvent maintenance through distillation, filter performance and pump performance. Keep all lint traps clean.
Remember, if you use a cationic detergent injection system, always run the load on batch before sending the solvent through the filters.
Some manufacturers recommend using a cycle called "milling" during the first batch runs. This is a process whereby the solvent is pumped from the washer cylinder, through the button trap, through a pre-lint filter and back to the washer cylinder, by-passing the primary filters.
I do not recommend this procedure with a cationic injection detergent for the simple reason that the detergent will adhere to the fabric filter element and the full amount injected will not benefit the load of garments or fabrics where it belongs.
Note: My video, "The Caplan Method of Stain Removal," which includes my comprehensive test with handy spotting board reference, is now available. Please order from Dennis McCrory, Successful Management Group, (800) 646-5736, PIN 4615. Also, watch for my latest video on step-by-step shirt finishing using both a double-buck and single-buck unit with either one or two operators -- soon to be released along with a comprehensive text.Drycleaners are not charging enough! It's true! We don't have to look too far to see just a few apparent inequities.
First, consider the training and unusual skills that demand constant upgrading due to the so-called miracle fibers over which cleaners have no control in manufacturing.
Add the hidden and undetectable fabric problems that only reveal themselves after processing -- shrinkage, dye trim transfer and buttons or zippers that melt onto other garments or disappear.
Then add care labels that lie and mislead (as the label on a bathing suit that reads "Do Not Wash").
We go around in circles with many designer-priced and foreign-made garments that show no regard or control for fabric care standards, leaving no recourse when standard and safe procedures are adhered to.
The drycleaner soon learns to settle all claims in the customer's favor. The courts have long held the belief that "it's the cleaner's fault" since he is the professional and must assume the risk. Many times safe and cautious testing will damage the garment beyond repair, but the agreement of signing a release for testing casts a serious doubt as to non-detectable restoration.
A big investment
Without being too conservative and without being a bean counter, a conservative investment for a modern drycleaner will exceed $250,000. I say "conservative" because a quality, productive vacuum dry shirt unit with accompanied steam generation capacity exceeds $100,000, including financing, freight, rigging and installation.
What should be included is adequate space with ventilation, air compression, lighting, a computerized washing unit, (with sewage) work flow analysis, reassembly and packaging facilities.
The labor market for this semi-skilled job demands minimum-wage plus benefits, and there are virtually no takers in this difficult, high production, hot environment. Training the unskilled becomes the only labor force available, with no guarantee that they will continue on the job. The days of the Chinese hand laundry are only a distant memory.
If we go to the sophisticated drycleaning operation, we again find another sizable investment. The only unit that can be purchased and conform to today standards starts at above $50,000.
These are works of art, employing every known source of energy, with the exception of solar power. They feature pre-programmed computers with gentle cycles, automatic distillation, filtration, lint removal, multiple use temperature controls, refrigeration, water cooled, air pressure, steam, and air vapor monitoring.
The units are totally self contained and must operate virtually odor free. Beyond that, some regulations insist that the units must be encased and enclosed.
Perchloroethylene, which has been the drycleaning solvent of choice for the past 40 years, has been accused of being a carcinogen but that has never been proven. It is presently relegated to a lower Class B designation -- possible but not proven.
What has been proven is the deadliness of toxic chemicals in reach of children beneath our kitchen sinks (all without restriction).
Who does the work?
If we choose to consider the cost of skilled labor, we find that spotter and drycleaner reach the status of a chemical engineer with numerous mechanical and production skills needed to meet compulsory restrictions.
The finishing department again is plagued with hot working conditions, since there are few air-cooled operations and almost no existing air conditioned operations.
Skyrocketing labor costs include the investment in training a worker who then must remain the job if quality and production are to be maintained. But there is no contractual guarantee that the trained worker will stay.
There are two areas that the drycleaner must establish as an ongoing training program to be certain that his or her standard of excellence is maintained. The first is the counter because "up front is where it counts."
The person at the counter must be an extrovert and have the ability to deal with people. This means inspecting each garment and judging whether garments need pre-treatment prior to drycleaning or minor repairs. It must be so noted on the sales slip for a complete follow up.
Every survey conducted in our industry concludes that over 30 percent of customers changed drycleaners not for price, quality or service, but for "counter personnel indifference".
To find competent counter people with the capability to being trained first means offering above minimum wage and many attractive inducements.
Pleasant working conditions, pensions, paid vacations, hospitalization plans, bonuses, and child care allowances are just a few that are rapidly becoming expected for this vital key position.
All the above must be incorporated in fair pricing.
Machines can't do it all
Another key function that all drycleaning plants must adhere to is final inspection.
No matter how skilled the production facilities or how much modern equipment is used, it becomes useless without the watchful eye of the final inspector maintaining the standard of excellence.
Basically this individual needs the gift for keen observation of details to return for touch-up and correction to the department at fault.
This can be accomplished by a simple designation of a color for each department and maintaining a log and the recording of the exact number each department receives.
The amount should reveal itself at weekly and monthly meetings where the numbers are constantly reviewed and, we hope, reduced. No verbal confrontation should take place; the numbers and the colors should speak for themselves. This position need not be a high salaried position although it has an important aspect in the act of quality control.
Aside from the constant training and managerial duties of the owner, the question of "return on investment" (ROI) comes into play. The working conditions are the same for the owner/operator who must be compensated for 70-hour weeks.
For a long time, a return on the investment became a shocking truth when the owner chose to sell his or her "life's work" and received some startling news.
A new term came into vogue -- retroactive liability -- and an environmental release statement was virtually impossible to secure from any reputable bank or in a leasing arrangement.
Shopping centers and all multiple-use buildings began frowning on drycleaning or laundry operations. Stringent conditions were inflicted with air, and water, sewage testing with fines and penalties. Steady increases in rent made resales near impossible.
What can be done?
The facts are clear. Our garment price (a two-piece suit or plain dress) has remained the same as it was in the last 20 years. The upward inflation spiral for most service industries have increased 200 percent in the same period.
At present, in order to maintain our rightful share of offering a living wage and to compete with a similar labor market for our production, our prices have to increase by a minimal of 33 percent. Specifically, they must increase from a national average of $7.50 per garment to $10 per garment. Hopefully, with sharp management, there will be something left over for ROI.
How we can package this necessary blow to our loyal customers is another matter. But business-as-usual will certainly be a thing of the past. Smart packaging, attention to details, and courteous smiling personnel willing to accommodate the smallest request will be the order of the day.
For those who have recognized this current situation, the transition will be easy. They are perhaps now at the $10 level or higher and have adjusted to a fair wage and government compliance, also hoping for a marketable price should they chose to retire or sell their business.
For others the transition will have to be one of a small and gradual nature while upgrading their quality and service. While creating that classy image and appearance, it is also important to offer additional convenient services, such as an evening route service, payment by credit card, 24-hour drop boxes.
For many it will be time to clean-up, paint-up and fix-up, autographing your packaging with three-color, custom garment bags, air-conditioning your call office and pipe in stereo music, offer free coffee and the morning paper until 9:30 a.m. Dryclean at no charge the local high school cheerleaders uniforms, or the Glee Club if they will rehearse on Saturday at noon in front of your store or parking lot.
And most important join up, sign up and stand up at every trade meeting of your local or national organization.
For others who do not see the above as necessary, there will be a day of reckoning, and perhaps a realization too late!
Rayon is the oldest of the man-made fibers and is the most widely used.
Unlike most man-made fibers, rayon is not synthetic. It is made from cellulose obtained by chemically treated cotton linters and wood pulp. Rayon therefore does not have the heat sensitivity of synthetic fibers such as polyester, acrylic and nylon.
There are two major types of rayon produced today:
1. Regular Rayon. The term viscose is often applied to regular rayon. The distinguishing property of regular rayon is the weakness of the yarn when it is wet.
Regular rayon is often sized to stabilize the yarn. Contact with water can weaken the yarn as much as 50 percent and produce shrinkage as high as 10 percent.
2. High Wet Modulas. HWM is a modified rayon that has virtually the same properties as regular rayon, plus high wet strength.
HWM rayons usually can be wetcleaned and tumbled dry with a performance similar to cotton. Terms used to describe HWM rayon include polynosic rayon, high performance rayon (HP) or by the trade name Modal, Zantral and Avril.
Rayon can be made into fine fibers (micro-fibers) from either regular or HWM rayons.
Rayon can be made less than the thickness of regular silk.
Rayon can be made to look like silk in sheen, color and hand or to look like linen and cotton. Rayon can be used entirely or blended with other fibers in many weaves and fabrics including velvet, satin, matte jersey and crepe. Rayon is used in many garments including coats, jackets, suits, dresses and gowns. Rayon is also used in household items including covers and draperies.
Fabric problems
Rayon is subject to many problems due to the limitations of sizing used and weakness of the yarn. Most fabric problems occur in viscose or regular rayon.
Sizing limitations. Due to the non-permanency of the sizing, rayon fabrics are subject to loss of luster, loss of sheen, and rings. The sizing is removed by moisture used in spotting or drycleaning. Rayon matte jersey is used in expensive designer gowns and dresses.
Because it usually contains water soluble sizing it may breakdown from staining or wetside spotting resulting in rings that are often not correctable.
Weave and fiber limitations. Because rayon is extremely weak when wet, the yarn can snap and shift easily from abrasion and mechanical action. This can occur in routine spotting or from customer use during normal wear. The damage frequently occurs in underarm or seat area during normal wear. The yarn shifting may appear to be a dye or color shift.
Shrinkage and distortion. The sizing used in manufacture is often used to stabilize rayon that is not pre-shrunk. Loss of sizing causes relaxation of the yarns resulting in shrinkage and distortion. Distortion is readily observed on fabrics with a bias cut construction.
Color problems. Printed rayon may be solvent soluble and to that loss of print can occur in drycleaning.
Dyed rayon. Dye bleeding can occur on multicolored garments.
Fume fading. Rayon is often blended with acetate and will readily fade from exposure to gases in the atmosphere.
Dyed rayon, especially in the pink and red family, is subject to discoloration from routine spotting and the heat of the steam gun. The discoloration may appear as a black or bluish area that can be mistaken for a dye stain. In most cases the discoloration cannot be corrected.
Loss of pleats, fluting, embossing or wrinkled effect. Any garment pleated, fluted or wrinkled by the manufacturer for special fabric effects can never be permanent. These specialized effects can be lost in normal wear, spotting or routine drycleaning.
Inspection
Examine rayon for discolorations due to fading, perspiration, spillage of food and beverages. Black or bluish areas appearing as dye stains may be discoloration and should be pointed out to the customer at counter. Check garment for yarn shifting, especially on seat and are areas of the garment.
Drycleaning
Printed and dyed rayons should be tested before drycleaning even if labeled drycleanable. Rub an unexposed seam with a damp cloth with volatile dry solvent. Note color loss and transfer to cloth.
Spotting
Test all chemicals, including protein formulas, ammonia, tannin formulas and all acids. Do not use oily-type paint removers without testing the safety of dye first.
Do not use the steam gun too close to fabric as the heat can affect the dye.
Avoid excess mechanical action on a wet area, since rayon is extremely weak when wet.
Use a leveling agent to prevent rings. Dryclean the fabric only after the spotted area has been allowed to dry.
Fogging. This is a technique used to remove rings or light areas on viscose rayon. Hold steam gun four to five inches from the fabric and steam the affected area until the ring or light area blends in. Use air to dry. Do not over-steam the fabric during the fogging procedure.
Wetcleaning
Wetcleaning is usually safe for high wet strength rayon but not regular viscose rayon. The trade name most commonly seen is "Modal." Use warm water and mild agitation with mild detergent.
Dry at a low temperature and remove from the dryer when 90 percent dry or in a damp stage to avoid wrinkles.
Do not wetclean pleated or fluted rayon fabric.
Finishing
Avoid the use of excessive water spraying as rings and loss of luster can occur from disturbed sizings. Before using hot irons or hot-head presses, check garments in the red color category for possible discolorations by applying the hot iron to an unexposed area.
To continue with my life and education in the drycleaning industry. Before I go any further, I want to tell you some of the things I learned as an R.R. Street field technician.
I started with Streets in 1952, which was a period of the greatest growth of the industry ever. Plants were going in by the scores in my tiny market of Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County in New York State.
Every day I would get messages from various distributors who handled the Street line. They gave me the names of new plants that I was to set up.
The folks opening these plants had no experience in drycleaning and my job was to show them how to operate their cleaning machines, spot and how to do what we called "wetcleaning." You see, "wetcleaning" is not a new process and has been part of the drycleaning vernacular for a very long time. It was considered good business not to refer to "washing" clothes and it was different from washing in that we mostly used limited mechanical action and often hand brushed the items.
The new breed of drycleaners knew nothing except that they qualified for a loan to open a package drycleaning plant. Most were GIs who had started a family, saved a few bucks and were ready to start their dream of owning their own business.
The cleaning units at the time were small Detrex units, Prosperity units that could clean 18 pounds and other units that could clean a load of 30 pounds.
And there were lots of Mercury and Sec cleaning machines. The Sec machines could only hold 9 pounds of cleaning and were a top-loader perc washing machine.
They did not come with a reclaimer but had a drying cabinet where the extracted garments were air dried and the fumes were carried away by an exhaust fan that blew the perc fumes out a stack into the atmosphere.
Where were the EPA and OSHA? At this point, neither existed. I now wonder how all these operators, and men like me who serviced these ultra-hazardous plants, were able to survive all these years. This must prove something.
There were also large wholesale plants and many chain stores in all markets. Most of these were in the business prior to the massive growth and they serviced the huge tailor shop market.
They mostly used what we called belly washers that ran anywhere from a 30-pound washer to 350-pound machines that could dryclean that many pounds at one time.
To unload the wet garments, you would have to stop the washer, put in drain boards and rotate the wheel so the solvent could drain back to the washer. The washers always contained about a third level of solvent.
After allowing most of the solvent to drain back to the washer, we hooked up huge metal slides that would allow the cleaner to slide the wet garments into the centrifugal extractors. There was no reclamation other than the extracted solvent that went to gravity drain tanks. Those who had above-ground small tanks would have to pump the solvent back to the washers or to above ground tanks.
The amount of solvent left in the garments was four gallons per 100 pounds of cleaning and this had to be replaced with new solvent. In those days, a plant that cleaned 10,000 pounds of garments a week would need 400 gallons of solvent to replace the amount that was exhausted to the atmosphere.
Some say the industry hasn't changed much over the years. Well, take another look. This was the way things were done just 50 years ago.
There was no such thing as an air press. The pants topper was yet to be invented.
Up air finishing, now known as cold finishing, was virtually a dream on the part of some engineer. Cleaning machines now have computer controls so every load can be set to a desired formula. We found detergents that could carry moisture without shrinking garments.
And who ever thought that some day we would be able to clean in CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other exotic solvents as a substitute for all the other known and accepted solvents?
The distributors delivered the opening supplies and that was what I faced when I went to show these plants what to do next. In my case, they also had a drum of 886, Street's charge solvent detergent, waiting to be opened. This was a soap that could charge the solvent that had come on the market shortly before I went to work for Street's.
It was called a charge system of cleaning because we added the detergent to the solvent and it stayed there at a preset percent of the solvent. This type of product actually revolutionized the industry. It almost eliminated the wetcleaning of pants, which was a nasty job. It also cut down on spotting as moisture was carried by the detergent and this formula removed a lot of sweet stains.
After a while, I started taking an interest in those plants that appeared to be profitable and also tried to define why some were losers. There were plenty of both. It was easy to spot the losers, because the plants were sloppy and dirty and there were hangers all over the floor or hanging on the racks every which way.
Most of the quality left a lot to be desired, but these new cleaners would think they were experts when I came back a few months later to check them out.
When I first called on them, they would hang on my every word, but later I came to realize that many of them felt they had become "experts." Now they were telling me how smart they were and how they found they could save money by not distilling their solvent or running their filters to the point where the flow was just a trickle.
There were others who did everything right. They were the ones I knew had a good chance for long-term success.
It was at this point I became interested in quality that was consistent and above average.
I would smell the wool after cleaning to see if there was a solvent or soap odor left in the garments. If they left too much soap, I would smell a musty odor. If they failed to clean their tanks, they would develop a rancid odor.
And then there were the spotting and pressing parts of the job. I would go through about 20 garments on the finished racks and would almost always find about 12 that could be improved. Mostly it was spots that could be removed, but half of the poor quality came from bad pressing.
If a jacket collar was out of shape, I knew it had not been pressed properly as the collar should have been shrunk in with three separate lays on the utility press.
This is still a problem today as most cleaners don't do the collar part of a suit coat properly unless they have the right equipment or are willing to shrink in the collar on a press. I know I'm going to get some heat on this comment from machinery people, but I'm willing to debate the issue.
I knew what it took to turn out a quality job and rarely found a plant that was doing everything right.
I carefully evaluated the store front and call office and when I saw old signs that were yellowed with age and dead flies lying inside the front window, I was on guard about the business. I mentally wrote off the cleaner who would come to the front counter in a dirty and sometimes torn T-shirt to meet the customer.
I started to ask myself, what would a cleaner have to do to be financially successful?
When Street's transferred me to Chicago, I started to evaluate plants that were successful and I took a strong interest in packaging and advertising.
It was during this period I came to realize that making money in a business was more than just knowing how to do a respectable job.
I'll never forget a cleaner I called on in Rock Island, Illinois. This guy prided himself on unusual quality and made a pressing table that was tapered and slimmed down to half the width of a normal silk finishing board.
He proudly showed me how he turned each pair of pants inside out and then, with a steam iron, pressed the inseam of each and every pair of pants that came through his plant. He went broke. There is a limit to quality and he spent too much time hoping that his customers would appreciate his fine workmanship.
Also, he wasn't very good at removing spots and didn't charge enough to do the quality he professed to do.
And then there was the president of the Peoria Drycleaners Association.
After cleaning, he would take each garment, run it over to the spotting board and steam the entire garment with his steam gun. I pulled the line from his spotting gun and he was able to increase his spotting time. But a month later, when I called on him again, he had the line reconnected. He, too, went broke.
I became a sort of expert on what it took to be successful and this was part of my education.
Now fast-forward to 1972, when I went broke. I felt paralyzed when I saw my income disappear and I had no idea what I would do next.
This is when Bob Viner, a friend who knew what I was going through, called me to meet him for lunch.
He told me not to do anything hasty because I would probably make a bad decision. And he said he was hiring me as a consultant for his business and putting me on his payroll for a weekly check. However, he didn't want me to do anything specific, but said that if I came up with some ideas to improve his business, that would be fine. Also, the checks would keep coming until I got settled. That's what I call a friend. Even today, Bob Viner, now retired, still helps me as a friend and advisor.
My wife took a job after seven years working as a housewife and we were able to stay afloat until I could start a new career.
A former employee and friend of mine, Bob Gross, had gone into the new steam carpet cleaning business and suggested that I do this, too. I had some cash and with Bob's help, I bought a carpet cleaning machine and a used van and started a carpet cleaning company.
I was quickly able to build five carpet cleaning routes and, from a dead start, became the second largest carpet cleaner in the Chicagoland area within six months. And I never cleaned a carpet myself.
I hired a young friend, Bert Brewer, and he and I went store to store soliciting for carpet cleaning. Within hours, we sold over $2,000 worth of work. And that same day, we made a deal with a real estate company who owned a bunch of apartments to clean empty apartments when a tenant moved. We got more business in one day than Bert could do in a week.
It was then that I put a deal together for about $5,000 to sell some other young men on becoming entrepreneurs and running their own carpet cleaning business and I would do the selling.
The deal was that I would provide them with all the work they could handle and pay them 40 percent of sales. I would pay all selling costs and keep 60 percent for my operating costs.
Within six months, I had five full-time crews out doing four or five jobs a day. In 1972, my operators could clear about $350 a week; that was big money back then, especially for young men with no special skills.
I tried every method to get sales from newspaper ads to direct mail to cold-call selling. I hired a woman to handle the phones. I wrote a script to make cold phone calls and sell carpet cleaning and this turned out to be very successful.
I realized that phone selling was the quickest, most reliable and least costly way to generate orders, so I hired a total of 10 people and set up a phone room.
We booked over 100 jobs a week, in advance, and locked in over $6,000 a week in sales. We only ran the phones five hours a day, 20 hours a week and had no trouble booking all the work we could handle.
We got the phone room down to a science. I had a big blackboard with all the phone solicitors' names and the dates of the jobs they booked.
Every time one of the operators got a job, a bell would go off and that person would win a $5 bill or a box of candy. We tried to make this boring job interesting for the phone operators, but even with that, we had constant turnover.
We would normally book five jobs an hour with all the phone operators working.
This gave us at least 20 jobs a day and that added up to 100 jobs a week. Our jobs averaged about $60 so we were doing $6,000 a week. This was back in 1972 and it was pretty good money.
This article sort of backtracks my story, but I thought it was something that should be covered.
Now I'm planning to take a break in my life story and write some articles on marketing. Then the Saga will return.
President Clinton wants to increase the NLRB's budget by $26 million. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that federal agency, the National Labor Relations Board runs elections for employees seeking to unionize their company and processes unfair labor practices.
While the NLRB is by law a "neutral" in matters involving unions and employers, you would have a difficult time convincing anyone who has dealt with the agency that it is not prounion.
Union activity has been way down for years, so one has to wonder why the NLRB needs more money. A cynic, like me, would say: "To make trouble for employers on behalf of unions." There is evidence that this is precisely what the NLRB intends to do with that $26 million.
In recent years, the NLRB has spent a great deal of time processing unfair labor practice charges involving "salting." Salting occurs when a union sends its members to non-union companies to get hired, cause trouble, and possibly convince employees to petition for unionization. The courts have rejected arguments that these union members are not "employees" because they are beholden to the union, not the employer.
If the company recognizes that salting is taking place, it runs the risk of unfair labor practice charges no matter what it does. If the company refuses to hire the union plants, that can be an unfair labor practice. The NLRB might order the union "salt" hired and paid back pay for any time he was out of work.
If the company hires the "salt," subsequent decisions to fire that person can be an unfair labor practice. And you can be sure that the union "salt" will make some sort of trouble for the employer.
My experience has been that these people work poorly, try to get fired, and otherwise take great pains to disrupt the employer's operation. Even in cases where the employer wins the unfair labor practice, it can cost a great deal of money to defend.
Who pays the union's legal fees? Actually, the NLRB prosecutes on behalf of the union. That means the union pays nothing; our tax dollars support the NLRB's efforts. Sound fair?
So, it appears that this recent budget increase is designed to give the NLRB more money to be the instrument of organized labor. Given the pro-union Clinton administration, this is hardly a surprise.
If you are concerned that your business is being "salted" by a labor union, you need to be meticulous in how you process applications, determine who to hire, and so forth. Once someone in the union's back pocket is hired, you need to be meticulous in how you evaluate his or her employment, stop unionizing during working time, and discipline that employee as he causes problems in the work place.
Even if you are not being "salted" by a union, there are still chances you could have dealings with the NLRB.
The National Labor Relations Act not only protects union activities, but also protects what the NLRB calls "concerted activities." Concerted activities are those actions taken by two or more employees for their mutual benefit or protection. If a group of non-union employees protests wages, benefits, or other working conditions, that is concerted activity, and the employees cannot be discriminated against or discharged for their conduct.
The NLRB used to take the position that individual employee conduct could be considered concerted if other employees had an interest in the outcome of the individual employee's activities.
For example, if any employee complained about a safety issue, it was considered concerted activity because all employees were concerned with safety.
The NLRB has taken a more restrictive view lately, and it requires evidence that the employee was acting on behalf of others with their authorization.
As a non-union company, you have to be aware of this prohibition against disciplining an employee engaged in "concerted activity." If two or more of your employees get involved in a workplace dispute with a supervisor, you must be very careful not to take action that would result in the NLRB becoming involved. Because the law is very complex, a phone call to your lawyer would be a good idea.
Twenty-six million dollars? I hope not.
Closed hems and cuffs that are sewn to the lining of the coat are more difficult to glue than open hems.
One way to reglue closed hems is to open the seam of the sewn-in lining so that the squeeze bottle may be used.
This approach requires that the lining be resewn after the hem is reglued.
A more practical and ingenious approach is to use a syringe and hypodermic needle to apply the bead of glue without taking the sewn-in lining loose.
With this method, the glue is placed in the syringe and the hypodermic needle is inserted through the cloth lining where it is sewn to the leather or suede hem flap.
The glue can then be pushed from the syringe through the needle and deposited under the flap on the hem in a 1Ž16 inch wide bead all along the hem flap approximately 3Ž8 of an inch above the hem crease.
The needle is then removed and the hem flap is squeezed back in to place by hand and allowed to dry. This technique eliminates the need to loosen the lining and then resew it.
Preparing the syringe and needle to apply glue
The syringe should have a capacity of several ounces of glue.
The needle should be large enough to permit a Number 2 safety pin or a paper clip wire to fit into the bore of the needle.
This will keep the glue from solidifying in the needle between uses. It is wise to glue the needle to the syringe to insure that it will not slip off. The needle should be 1 to 1 1Ž2 inches long. The point should be dulled by rubbing it with the abrasive strip so that the needle will not hang up when it is moved inside the hem line.
Before loading the syringe with your glue, it is wise to smear a film of Vaseline on the rubber-like plunger.
This will prevent the glue from gluing the plunger to the wall of the syringe housing when the glue is left in the syringe overnight.
Fill the syringe housing with the glue up to one half inch of its capacity.
Then insert the Vaseline coated plunger into the housing and turn the syringe up so the needle is on top
Let the air bubble in the syringe rise to the top and push the plunger in until the air is gone from the syringe.
Author's Note: Do not attempt to use products that are not specifically formulated for use on Suede and Leather. Royaltone suede and leather products are specially formulated to process suedes, leathers, furs and trimmed cloth. Other brands may not give the same results when used as described in this article.
Pleasing and keeping your most profitable customers will be an even tougher challenge in the 21st century. Increased competition and increasingly demanding customers will mean that everyone has to work harder.
Make no mistake about it: with 75 percent of most cleaners' profits coming from just 40 percent of their customers, hanging on to the folks who count the most is a matter of survival. And now that customer loyalty is pretty much a thing of the past, developing a long-term relationship with even your best customers can be trickier than ever.
Because customers have so many drycleaners to choose from today, they have control. Plus, they compare your service with how they're treated by all kinds of other businesses.
It's time for us to rethink how we treat our top customers. Here are a few class moves that can help your cleaners stand out in an increasingly crowded field.
Evaluate your customers annually so that you can allocate your resources accordingly.
Before you can wow your best customers you have to know who they are. This means developing a ranking system that determines how valuable a customer is to your company. Sure, each and every customer is valuable to your company, but let's face it, a $1,200 a year customer is worth more to your business's well being than a $12 a year customer.
If your front counter is computerized, it's an easy matter of punching a few keys to segregate your best customers from the infrequent visitors. But many plant owners neglect this essential task. Most cleaners spend too much time selling and servicing low-revenue customers who represent very little profit potential but are just as demanding as more lucrative accounts.
Don't waste time with the wrong customers."Customers will often come to you and make incessant and sometimes unreasonable demands," says Christopher Samuels, president of the Center for Strategy Research, a Boston consulting firm that specializes in customer needs.
"By clearly delineating what services your cleaners can profitably provide, you should be able to establish limits and control the work flow. Remember, you're in business to make money. So you have to define which specific customers' needs you are best able to meet."
Many one-priced and discount cleaners have learned that they cannot handle things like wedding dresses and household items (draperies, bedspreads, etc.) at a profit and within their work-flow restrictions, so they do not accept these items.
Other cleaners should also learn "to not always try to be the hero" by accepting every challenge that comes along. Sure it's self-gratifying to clean something that other cleaners have refused or failed to do. But can you do it at a profit? If your answer is "no," then don't do it.
Make sure you have a logical rationale for dispensing different levels of service.
All of your customers and your employees should know what it takes to qualify for royal treatment.
"If you don't allocate your resources fairly," says Sybil Stersnic, former chairperson of the American Marketing Association and the daughter of parents who were professional drycleaners, "some of your customers may think, 'What am I, chopped liver?' People who feel unappreciated will go elsewhere."
Texas A&M marketing professor Leonard Berry, author of "On Great Service," agrees. He recommends that you either attach price tags to your various services or make it clear to all of your customers that a certain volume of business will qualify them for extra benefits.
Give customers what they want.
Be on the lookout for ways to make life easier for your customers. "You've got to mold your company around the ideal customer," says Jerry Fritz, a director of the Management Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For instance, you could let them choose which day of the month they would like to their monthly billing (if you I already carry house charges). This would be of benefit to the customer and would make money management easier for you, by giving you a more even cash flow.
Another suggestion would be to offer extended store hours, such as limited Sunday hour or, maybe 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Remember to solicit customer input.
Don't assume that you already know what your customers want. The wants and needs of your customers are rapidly changing, and unless we stay attuned to what these desires are, someone else will fulfill them.
It is as simple as it seems. Ask your customers what you could do better and what additional services you might be able to provide. Then please them and watch the dollars stream in.
Dennis McCrory offers several programs and products to assist drycleaners. For more information or to place an order (credit cards accepted), call (800) 646 5736, PIN 4615. Identify the package you are interested in as follows:
Package A: Pre-employment Screening Kit, $18.
Package B: "The Caplan Method of Stain Removal," video tape and handbook. Produced by Stan Caplan and Dennis McCrory, $174.
McCrory writes for several industry publications, both here and abroad. He also speaks and does consulting on marketing and management. In addition to the phone number above, he can be reached through The Successful Management Group, 3925 Lake Trail Dr., Kenner, LA 70065.
On April 1, 1999 my local newspaper carried an Associated Press article entitled, "Profits Decline Despite High-Flying Economy."
Mark Zandi, an economist with the Regional Financial Association in West Chester, PA, is quoted as saying, "Businesses can't raise prices. Competition is too severe."
He was talking about manufacturing not drycleaning.
While the stock market continues to dance with the 10,000 mark, on March 31, 1999 the Commerce Department reported that corporate profits slipped 1 percent in the fourth quarter of 1998.
The Commerce Department also reported that corporate profits dropped 2.2 percent for all of 1998.
This was the first annual drop in profits since 1989 when they fell 4.8 percent. The 4.8 percent drop in profits in 1989 was the precursor to the 1990-91 recession.
Don't panic. This time the drop in profits was brought on by different economic conditions.
This decline came in a year when our gross national product, the sum of all goods and services produced within US borders, grew 3.9 percent. Historically, low unemployment drives up wages, which in turn drives up prices. When wages and prices increase at the same time we have inflation which means the economy is "heating up."
To prevent the economy from overheating, the federal government, through the Federal Reserve, increases interest rates.
The reasoning behind increasing interest rates is that higher interest rates will drive down demand and consumers will slow their spending and companies will stop expanding.
Today we are operating under different economic conditions and the old rules no longer apply. The current drop in profits is being fueled by two diametrically opposed economic conditions:
How can this be?
The United States is becoming a "service" economy. The manufacturing sector of our economy has been hard hit by the deflation in Asia and South America. The deflation in other parts of the world is holding prices down while low unemployment is driving wages up.
Thus, there is a squeeze on profits for American manufacturing firms. Manufacturers are competing in the global economy -- drycleaners are not.
What does all this mean for the drycleaning industry?
As everyone knows, it is getting harder and harder to find and keep good help. Today there are more jobs looking for good people than there are good people to fill them. The competition for employees is driving up wages and benefits.
To make matters worse, this is happening when the demand for drycleaning services is flat.
What's an owner to do?
Working with drycleaners throughout the United States and Canada gives me an opportunity to learn what can realistically be achieved in terms of productivity, quality and sales growth.
When I report that your finishers should average 30 quality pieces per hour per operator, I am reporting on what the average drycleaning plant should be producing. I am not reporting on some Super Star operations.
I don't know how many times owners have told me they need more employees to get the work done, when in fact what they need is more productive people. If you have four employees producing at 60 percent to 70 percent then you have one employee too many. Look at my last month's column and check your productivity.
What about your fixed labor costs?
Does a drop store pay?
If you have drop stores, your counter people in those stores are a fixed cost.
Five years ago the rule of thumb for a drop store was that counter labor should cost 10 percent of store sales (without FICA, FUTA and benefits) and that the break-even point was $2,500 in weekly sales.
That has changed. Today, the standard for counter labor wages is 14 percent of weekly sales and the break-even point is weekly sales of $3,000.
Let's do the math. Your drop store is open 70 hours a week. It does less than $3,500 weekly in sales.
At this sales volume, you do not need more than one person on the counter at any given time. This means that your counter payroll hours should not exceed the number of hours your store is open by more than 5 percent.
To figure out what your counter labor costs are as a percentage of store sales, divide payroll by sales.
Example: the store is open 70 hours per week. Your pay your counter people $6 per hour (70 x 6 = $420 in counter labor costs).
Sales at that store are $2,100 a week (420 divided by 2,100 = 20 percent). Your labor costs in a drop store are not driven by productivity, they are driven by sales volume. Someone has to be on the counter when the store is open, thus the hours are fixed. Your must pay at least minimum wage, therefore, wages are fixed.
To take the same information and calculate what sales need to be in order to achieve a 14 percent counter labor cost at your drop store, divide weekly counter wages by .14. ($420 divided by .14 = $3,000).
If your labor costs are $420 per week, then you must generate $3,000 per week in sales to achieve a 14 percent labor cost. If your labor costs are higher than $420, then obviously your sales must be higher.
If you have a drop store that is generating less than $3,000 in weekly sales, you are doing that work for free. It is not free to the customers, and your employees and landlord are making money, but you are donating your time and effort for the benefit of others.
Get rid of the loser
If your drop store is a loser, how hard is it to make the decision to close it?
You have at least a million reasons why you should not close it. Of those million reasons, there might be one that is legitimate. If you can't close it because you are in the middle of an airtight lease, that might be a legitimate reason.
Those other reasons don't count -- I need the work in the plant; a competitor might get that spot; it will grow someday; what happens to my employees at that location, etc.
To be successful in business you must make decisions with your head, not your heart. You are not competing in a global economy and your profits should not be shrinking.
By working smarter and managing your business by the numbers you eliminate those areas of your business that are black holes and your profits will grow.
Remember, in the game of business, the more you know the better you can play the game.Exxon Chemical Co. has named Sherman Hampton the lead marketing contact for its petroleum-based DF-2000 drycleaning fluid. Hampton was a member of the original DF-2000 development team and served in both technology and marketing capacities.
Replacing Jim Schreiner, another original team member, Hampton will focus energies on providing awareness and growth of DF-2000 throughout the industry. Before joining Exxon Chemical Co., a division of Exxon Corp., in 1991, Hampton earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science from the University of Houston. He has worked in Exxon chemical Co.'s intermediates market development since he joined the DF-2000 start-up team.
Sam Choi, vice president Asian Affairs for the International Fabricare Institute, received a proclamation from Prince George's (Maryland) County recognizing the 20th anniversary of his business, Neil's Cleaners in Beltsville, MD.
"Neil's Cleaners has been providing friendly and quality service to its patrons in Beltsville and surrounding areas for the past two decades," the proclamation said. It also noted Choi's additional roles as president of the Beltsville Rotary and as a vice president of IFI.
The proclamation also noted that Neil's Cleaners is the first in the state of Maryland "to install a new, state-of-the-art hydrocarbon drycleaning which is environmentally friendly and safe for all fabrics" and as such, the solvent in use there is "virtually free of hazardous air pollutants as defined in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and is not Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous waste."
In his role as vice president at IFI, Choi presented a drycleaning management seminar sponsored by the Korean Drycleaners Association of New England in Boston, MA, on April 3. Choi discussed the "Rationalization of Drycleaning Management and the Importance of Education and Training," emphasizing that cleaners can survive and to be competitive in today's market by using information about management practices, technology and customer service offered by IFI. After the seminar, 11 drycleaners joined as new IFI members.
Choi conducted a drycleaning management seminar in Baltimore, MD, in March which was attended by about 80 Korean cleaners from the area.
The National Fire & Indemnity Exchange (NIE) governing board has voted to return 75 percent of the 1998 profits to policyholders. The balance of the profits will be kept within the Exchange to support future growth.
The NIE governing board is made up of seven fabric care business owners.
The board also instituted a new feature to reward long-term loyalty.
Policyholders who have been with the Exchange for less than one year are receiving a total return of 7 percent of the 1998 earned premium.
Policyholders who have been with the Exchange for one to two years will receive 14 percent.
Policyholders who have been with the Exchange for more than two years will receive 21 percent.
There are two components to the profit return: cash dividends paid in March 1999; and credits to subscriber savings accounts.
Bob Aikin, president of the Exchange, noted that "Other insurers seldom return any premium on package overage. Since 1915, the Exchange has returned profits every year but one, and the one exception was directed by the insurance department who thought we returned too much profit the year before.
More information on the Exchange is available by contacting the St. Louis headquarters, (314) 832-1118.
John Tipps, former president of Böwe Permac, has announced the opening of Clean Concepts Technology Inc. in Dallas, TX. The company will market European finishing equipment made by Fimas, an Italian firm, throughout the United States and Canada. Tipps has been a leader in introducing European finishing equipment in the Untied States and he will continue to promote the concept with his new company.
The company will also sell "ready to open" drycleaning stores equipped with the Fimas equipment with full training on all methods of operation, the stores will offer lower utility and labor costs, faster training and high quality, hand finished garments at a lower total price than conventional stores, Tipps said.
The address of the company is 11129 Shady Trail, Dallas, TX; phone (972) 406 8107; fax (972) 406-8057; e-mail jgt@ concentric.net.
Larry Smith has been appointed northeast regional sales manager forFirbimatic/Eco Dry of America. Smith has 12 years experience in sales in the drycleaning industry, including five years of direct sales with an equipment distributor in the New York area and seven years with Böwe Permac as a regional sales manager.
Firbimatic has a perc and hydrocarbon drycleaning machines with capacities ranging from 15 to 180 pounds. U.S. headquarters are in Grayslake, IL, near Chicago.
The Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration inducted a new board of directors during the association's annual convention and exhibition in Palm Springs, CA, in March.
Armen "Buzz" Dohanian Jr., of Bon Ton Rug Cleansers in Watertown, MA, will serve as the 1999 president. A third generation business owner, he specializes in Oriental and hand-made rug cleaning and restoration.
Reed Dow of Dow Columbia, Portland, OR, is the new senior vice president. He specializes in cleaning and restoring structure and contents.
Cliff Zlotnick of Unsmoke/Microban, Braddock, PA, is the vice president. He manufactures restoration products and specializes in remediating water damaged environments, restoring structures and contents and rug, carpet and upholstery cleaning.
Richard Dix of D.A. Burns & Sons Inc., Seattle WA, is the treasurer/secretary. He specializes in cleaning and restoring Oriental runs, carpet and upholstery.
Guy Culbertson, the immediate past president and owner of Culbertson's Inc. of Salem, OR, will continue to serve on the board of directors. Franklin Beach of Groom Industries, Rockford, IL, will chair the associate member advisory committee.
ASCR reported that it now has more than 1,200 members, more than at any point in its 54-year history, and that convention attendance of 650 was the largest turnout ever for the organization. Association members are specialists in the cleaning, repair and restoration industries.
Information on the association is available by calling (800) 272-7012 or visiting its web site at www.ascr.org.
Hoyt Corp. held meetings with master dealers in Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Chicago, IL and Newark, NJ, to officially roll out the new product line that includes hydrocarbon dry-to-dry and transfer systems, perchloroethylene dry-to-dry systems, distillation systems and filtration systems.
Hoyt also offers commercial laundry tumblers and washer/extractors.
At the meetings, John Olinger, president, gave an overview of the past and the company's future goals, emphasizing "The Hoyt Makeover," which includes a new marketing and advertising plan, new machines and new faces.
Pat King, vice president of marketing, introduced the new marketing and advertising programs and Cary Becknell, vice president of sales, outlined the new sales programs and explained the new product line.
A technical overview and features of the new units was presented by Tom Bruce, vice president of engineering. Bill Carter, manager of the customer service department, discussed the present and future goals of his department.
Hoyt recently received approval from New York City for its HM-III series hydrocarbon dry-to-dry machines to be operated in mixed-use buildings there.
The company's headquarters are at 251 Forge Rd., Westport, MA 02790; phone (800) 3433-9411.
Thirty-nine distributors of Seitz products from around North America met recently in Atlanta, GA, at the company's first national conference and award ceremony. Delegates attended from Toronto, Tampa, Detroit, Denver, Columbus and Chicago, indicative of the company's rapid expansion in North America over the past two years. Seitz Chemicals is active in 56 countries.
Alexander Seitz, chief executive officer and fifth generation of the family to head the corporation, still considers it "very much a family business."
"We may be a large operation," he said, "but we enjoy a very close relationship with our agents around the world and it is really only through their support and constant feedback that we have grown to where we are now."
John Phillips, vice president of Seitz Inc. in Tampa FL, presented key distributor awards to Regal Sales Co., Phoenix Supply Co,. Cleaners Sales & Equipment Corp., Katzson Brothers, Southwest Laundry & Cleaning and Tri Supply Co.
Stephan Kaplan of Cleaners Sales & Equipment Corp. in New York was honored as the top sales person and received an expenses-paid trip to the Seitz headquarters in Kriftel, Germany.
Alliance Laundry Systems recognized sales achievement by personnel in its UniMac, Speed Queen and Huebsch divisions at its recent annual sales meeting.
In the UniMac division, Kim Shady won the President's Award of Excellence as the top performing national sales manager in all sales divisions. Tom Searl earned the title of Salesman of the Year for outperforming all regional sales managers in all divisions.
Searl and other regional sales managers John Bruening and Sam Murphy, were awarded the Quota Achievement Award of Excellence for attaining 100 percent or more of their established quotas.
Speed Queen salesman John Smith received the Quota Achievement Award of excellence and earned the President's Award of Excellence for being the regional sales manager within his sales division who achieved the highest level of sales.
Huebsch regional sales managers Ed Murray, Joe Purbaugh and Rueben Peppler received the Quota Achievement Award of Excellence.
Murray also earned the Presidents Award of Excellence for being the regional sales manager with his sales division who achieved the highest level of sales over 100 percent.
Speed Queen, Huebsch and UniMac branded commercial laundry products are manufactured by Alliance Laundry Systems. Alliance manufacturers its products in Ripon, WI, Marianna, FL, and Madisonville, KY.
PONY S.p.A. chairman Angelo Fumagalli has announced the appointment of Consulting Solutions Ltd. (CSL) of Atlanta, GA, as the PONY factory representative for the Americas. CSL is a consulting and sales management firm that specializes in pressing and finishing applications.
PONY S.p.A. is a manufacturer of pressing machines, form finishers, cabinets, irons and related pressing products.
Fumagalli said this is the first time that PONY will have factory sales and technical information and assistance available on a local basis.
Phil Harber, manager of CSL, has more than 30 years of experience in pressing and finishing sales and application concepts in both the garment and drycleaning industries.
Harber said PONY will work with selected regional companies that will directly import from the factory and sell directly to the trade.
This will eliminate one level in the distribution channel and give the end user a higher quality product and at a lower price, he said.
CHICAGO, IL -- BUFA/S-L has announced the introduction of BUFA Detaprofi pre-spotting system, available in kit form or as components. The system's products are designed for treating stains and residue from tannin, rust inks, food and typical oily or greasy sources.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 101.
SPARTANBURG, NC -- NAFCO is introducing its Space Saver Poly. The Space Saver is a standard roll of poly that has been reduced in size by 40 percent while providing the same size bag, same weight roll and same number of bags per roll.
The company noted that the bags not only save space but they also are designed so that as they are torn at the perforation the next bag unfolds, which speeds the bagging process. Two rolls can be mounted side by side to save downtime needed to change rolls.
Space Saver Poly is available in any size and in clear, tinted or printed film. To introduce the product, NAFCO is offering bags with the words "A Great Big Thank You" printed in red at no charge for 40-inch bags sold through distributors during the month of May.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 107.
WAYNE, NJ -- Caled Chemical is introducing Pacemaker 2000, a detergent concentrate for use in DF-2000 and other petroleum solvents. The company said the product provides superior cleaning and anti-redeposition properties, anti-static performance and lint elimination while giving a soft fell to garments. It is formulated with anti-microbial properties to kill odors.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 105.
EAST POINT, GA -- Union Drycleaning Products USA has announced a new look in the design of its U-200 L770 Series and Hydro-C HL hydrocarbon systems. The "techno-millennium" appearance will be unveiled at Clean '99 in Orlando, FL.
The new design incorporates improved ergonomics and new technical operating features that were introduced this year, including a new computer technology.
The on-board system,called Dialog 700, offers an easy access call-up menu, factory pre-programmed cycles to handle any fabric cleaning requirement, simplified on-site reprogramming band a larger back-lit display with detailed information and improved readability.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 103.
TULSA, OK -- Royaltone says its Suede Magic neutral spray is available in gallon size with an improved formula for rejuvenating soft sheepskin suede articles safely and effectively.
Suede Magic can improve the color and feel of sheepskin and naked skin leathers and serves as a carrying agent for the company's Brit-N suede dyes.
Sheepskin suede or naked leather garments are placed on a hanger and sprayed evenly and liberally using a hand sprayer from a distance of approximately six inches. To restore brightness, one or more ounces of Brit-N suede dye is added to the Spray Magic.
After spraying, the sheepskin suedes are air dried or tumble dried in a cool tumbler using tumbling blocks to brush up the nap. After pressing, block finishing brushes can used to raise the nap and enhance the feel of the sheepskin suede. A suede mitt can be used to brush up the nap when finishing on a form finisher.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 102.
SKOKIE, IL -- Foster-Stephens is offering colorful posters to help sell drycleaners' services and bring in customers. The posters, available in paper or cardboard, measure 21 inches by 28 inches. They can be purchased individually or in sets; a free box of hanger tags is provided with each set purchased.
Also available are different styles of frames to fit the posters.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 106.
It can also be used for local treatment of grease bound stains and pigment soiling or as a wash booster for any kind of wash bath. Dye to its liquid consistency, it can be dosed by pumps.
The company said that Wetset Prespot is strongly moistening, resistant to hard water, low foaming and free of hazardous solvents.
For use in pre-treatment it is applied undiluted on the stain or, according to the extent of soiling, diluted in water.
For use in the wash bath it is added at the ration of .25 to .4 ounces per gallon of wash bath. As the sole washing agent it is applied at .5 ounces per gallon of water or 1 to 1.5 ounces per pound of drywashing goods.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 108.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA -- The Shirt Scrubbing Table from Iowa Techniques is designed to minimize frustration and maximize customer satisfaction by assisting in removing soils from collars.
The table has two stainless steel containers for spotting agents and is grooved to catch run-off which is drained to a bucket. The table has a heavy-duty stain-resistant top and a sturdy, rugged base.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 104.
DALLAS, TX -- Clean Concepts has introduced its Model 311.01 from Fimas, a versatile piece of equipment capable of finishing extracted shirts on the laundry side or blouses and shirts, regardless of fabric, on the drycleaning side.
The company said the unit is particularly suited to a smaller cleaner who wants to process up to 280 high-quality, wrinkle-free shirts per day with no clamp marks and a softer feel than if processed on a cabinet-type shirt unit.
On the dry-cleaning side, up to 60 blouses and shirts can be finished per hour. A typical hard-to-finish blouse that could take five to seven minutes to finish can be finished with better quality and in 45 seconds, the company said.
For more information, send email to ncled@aol.com and request Product MY 109.
Date created: April 29 1999 Copyright © 1999, BPS Communications Inc. National Clothesline ncled@aol.com
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