Back in 1949, Richard K. “Stubby” Newman formed Richard K. Newman & Associates, Inc., to pool together investments from close friends to start Sparkle Cleaners in Bakersfield, CA, in late 1950.
Previously, he had worked at and then owned another cleaning business in Taft, CA, named Sanitex Cleaners where he met his wife, Ruth. The two were eventually married in 1942 and went on to enjoy 56 years of marriage until Stubby passed away in 1998.
Registration has begun for this year’s Cleaners Showcase that will be hosted by the Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA). The event is scheduled to take place from April 28 to 30 at the Westin Irving Convention Center in Irving, TX. It will be free for all members of SDA, the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI) or the Coin Laundry Association (CLA).
Last month drycleaners traveled to the Dominican Republic to participate in the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI) and National Cleaners Association’s (NCA) joint Five Star/Brainstorming Conference. The first speaker was Peggy Fitzpatrick (photo on right), who shared her insights on the changes in the marketing landscape in 2023.
It was approximately a century ago when Omaha Lace Cleaners of Nebraska first opened its doors and it has been the benchmark of high end textile cleaning ever since.
In fact, the business still carries on its tradition of quality textile cleaning and care in its original location in the heart of Omaha. Throughout its long history, the company has changed ownership numerous times, but it has always focused on producing the highest possible quality.
John Harris, owner of Royalty Cleaners in Royal Oak, MI, recently launched revenue and profits thanks to a single piece of equipment — a 20-inch flatwork ironer.
Since investing in the ironer, the residential bed and table linen business has become Royalty Cleaners’ most profitable revenue stream. Even better? The ironer’s return on investment was less than a year. “In the past, we pressed sheets by hand using a hot-head utility press, just like everyone else,” said Harris. “But, it took 5 to 15 minutes to finish one sheet and 20 minutes to press a duvet.”
Often we talk about things we must do in order to please our customers. This is important dialogue because without such thoughts, we become complacent and our business growth, stagnant, at best. Interestingly though, we are sometimes focused on certain things, perhaps our own personal pet annoyances, all the while oblivious to things that cause us to irritate our customers or even lose them all together. It hasn’t always been easy for me to think like a customer. I’ve been immersed in the cleaning industry since I was very young. My mother had six more children after I was born so she jumped at the opportunity to have me hang out with my dad at the laundry.
In my lengthy career of troubleshooting and maintaining drycleaning and laundry equipment, by far the most significant cause of machine failure has been the condition of the compressed air reaching the machinery. Valves and regulators directing the flow of compressed air are wonders of modern manufacturing technology, with close tolerances requiring the compressed air to be as free from particulates and moisture as possible.
Many of the business owners I work with come to me exhausted, discouraged and at the end of their ropes. “There’s not enough time in a day,” they tell me. “I’m working harder than ever just to keep my head above water. I know I need to spend more time focusing on strategic growth, but how will I ever find it?” This feeling was really exaggerated during the past two plus years and now these folks are having a hard time getting out of this routine. Or, this issue is focused on the needed tasks, resulting in the day done and you cannot seem to think of anything that was accomplished.
A ring can be a bothersome occurrence for any cleaner and customer. There are many reasons why rings occur, and the solution depends upon what caused the rings and the nature of the fabric. Rings can fall into three categories. 1) Wetside. This occurs when moisture contacts a fabric and shifts the impurities in the fabric, and thus forms a ring upon drying. 2) Dryside. The same condition occurs with dryside agents as with wetside agents.
It has been said: “If you are young and you are not liberal, you do not have a heart. If you are older and you are not conservative, you do not have a head.” I do not believe that getting older automatically makes you conservative, but taking on responsibility and obligations does. If you have children, own or manage a business, or supervise others, you understand the need for rules, which makes you conservative. Rules, unfortunately, are necessary, and laws are just rules put down in statutes or court opinions. I once had a sign on my office wall that said: In the absence of a rule, use commonsense. In the absence of commonsense, ask someone to create a rule.
As the Earth keeps growing older, the world population continues to expand and, as that happens, the pace of life continues to speed up. Looking back at just 100 years ago — about the same time that Omaha Lace Cleaners started (read about the company reaching its centennial celebration on page 14) — the United Nations (UN) had estimated that the world population was between 1.86 and 2 billion people. Last November, the UN noted that the world had reached the 8 billion mark — only about eleven years after it was estimated to have reached 7 billion.
Jan’s Professional Dry Cleaners, based in Clio, MI, started this year by receiving notification of its official national certification as an affiliate of America’s Best Cleaners (ABC). The business was founded in 1982 by owner Jan Barlow, who is a certified Garment Care Professional.
In March, the Illinois Professional Drycleaners and Launderers (IPDL) will host a new event — “Education Extravaganza 2023” — at Sankosha’s facilities located in Elk Grove Village, IL. It will be the first educational event presented by the association since 2019.
Paul “Oz” Osterhage, co-founder of Fabritec International, passed away at the age of 71 on Jan. 1, 2023, following a seven-month battle with esophageal cancer. “Paul started with my dad, Al Jordan, in founding Fabritec in 1977,” noted John “J.J.” Jordan, president of Fabritec International. “For over 45 years, he served as chief accountant and office leader. Paul was a key part of the success of Fabritec and the Sanitone division.”
Joel Hardy Dampier of Fayetteville, GA, passed away on Nov. 22, 2022, at the age of 86. Early in life, he attended Riverdale First Baptist Church and then Harps Crossing Baptist Church of Fayetteville. He was also a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the Riverdale Masonic Lodge #709.
Glyndon Lord Baltimore Cleaners has received notification of its official national certification as an affiliate of America’s Best Cleaners. The company is a third-generation family owned and operated business that has served the Baltimore area for over a century. Originally named Glyndon Cleaners, the business was founded by the Merrick family in 1921 and later sold to Robert Mathias in the 1940s. In the late 1990s, Glyndon Cleaners merged with Lord Baltimore Cleaners to become Glyndon Lord Baltimore Cleaners.
Born in 1947 to Tommy and Betty Watkins, Mark Watkins hailed from the city of Birmingham, AL.
He went on to start Mark’s Quality Cleaners there in 1981 and serve as a long-time board member of the South Eastern Fabricare Association (SEFA) and the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI).
Seitz — The Fresher Company (North America) and parent company, Seitz GmbH recently noted some changes and additions to some of its positions. Matt Bizzack of Phoenix, AZ – who joined Seitz Chemical in late 2021 – will be the technical representative for Arizona, lower Nevada including Las Vegas and southern California. Matt and his wife Kim own Legend Cleaners and New Wave Equipment, both in Phoenix. Matt will be spending the majority of his time in sales and service of Seitz accounts in these southwestern states. He brings nearly 25 years of industry knowledge and understands best practices of drycleaning, wetcleaning and equipment operation and maintenance.
Recently, an international jury of independent Professional Textile Care (PTC) experts, chaired by Geert Boettger, determined the winners of CINET’s Global Best Practices Awards for 2022. Overall, 46 finalist companies competed in three categories: Industrial Textile Services (ITS); Retail Textile Cleaning (Small); and Retail Textile Cleaning (Big).
The 2022 offering of EXPOdetergo International, the international exhibition dedicated to machinery, services and products for laundry, ironing and textile cleaning, closed with 17,144 operators, 40% from 106 countries. The event attracted the presence of companies from all over the world. Of the 250 exhibitors, one-third of them were foreign coming from 22 countries, and all of the leading associations of the Italian market – Assofornitori, Assosistema, Assosecco, CNA and Confartigianato – who chose to bring their know-how to the fair.
UNX-Christeyns welcomed James Basier to its team as a new territory manager. Like many, he started his career learning what it meant to work hard. He spent years serving others doing social work before entering this industry.
Since 1998, the city of Modesto, California, has engaged in a series of lawsuits against Dow Chemical and PPG Industries for selling tetrachloroethylene (perc) to drycleaners across the city – a product attributed to causing the contamination of the soil and groundwater at 23 former plant locations. In mid-October, the 24-year-old case took a step forward when a 12-member jury hit Dow Chemicals and PPG Industries with a $4 million verdict in damages to Modesto for cleanup costs of one site at 409 Seventh St.
Exhibitors still have until the end of the year to reserve a booth price at 20% off for the Southwest Drycleaners Association’s (SDA) Cleaners Showcase, which will take place at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, TX, from April 28 to 30, 2023.
The third quarter of the year has proven to be a busy one for the consulting firm Methods for Management (MfM). The group recently hosted August meetings in Ft. Worth, TX, and Omaha, NE, as well as a meeting last month in Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada.
Drycleaning & Laundry Institute officials swore in DLI’s 2022-2023 Board of Directors at its Summer 2022 Board Meeting in Atlanta. DLI’s Board is comprised of fabricare business owners and operators from eight regions around the U.S., an Executive Committee, and Allied Trades representatives. All Board members volunteer their time and energy to guide the Institute toward providing the best benefit to DLI member cleaning professionals.
During Clean ’22, Poseidon Textile Care Systems® (Poseidon) showcased its complete product offering of textile care equipment and solutions. Drawing crowds were live demonstrations of the new Poseidon Genius Series Wet Cleaning Machines – touting the largest touchscreen user interface in the industry; Poseidon new-technology dryers, which safely dry even the most delicate fabrics; and Poseidon Flatwork Ironers, which quickly iron bed and table linens. Several end-user promotions, new and innovative custom finance options, and extended factory Platinum Warranties were also introduced.
The Western States Drycleaners and Launderers Association (WSDLA) will join forces and merge with the Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA).
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