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By embracing a stepped approach to laundry automation, Whistler Laundry Inc., in Whistler, B.C., increased production 90 percent in just under four years. Starting from scratch, the commercial laundry startup added equipment and automation as it grew — improving product quality, bolstering productivity, capturing new clients and lowering labor costs.“We have grown at over 30 percent year over year, with…

Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters and dirty gear is a known contributor — exposing wearers, and those they serve, to carcinogenic chemicals, particulates, toxins and biohazards. That’s why Carrollton Fire Department (Carrollton), in Carrollton, GA., takes dirty gear decontamination seriously. Over the past 3 years, the four-station department has installed Continental ExpressWash® Gear Washers and ExpressDry®…

As a college student, Craig Myatt spent the summers working as a bartender in a touristy North Carolina beach community. That’s when he noticed a need for clean linens within the vacation rental market. “I started in a garage in 2000. I’d rent sheets and towels, put them into a bedsheet package, and then I’d deliver them to rental properties,”…

Multi-store owner Art Jaeger arguably leads the industry in vended laundry firsts: He was the first to own a high-speed laundry, the first to offer ozone sanitization as a vended addition to the wash cycle, and the first to test and equip his stores with the new Continental Girbau (Continental) Genius Series soft-mount washers. He not only strives to provide…

Blue Heron Linens, in Savannah, Ga., a premier provider of commercial laundry services to the hospitality market, recently invested in Girbau Industrial (GI) ironing and folding solutions. Now with doubled production, slashed labor and elevated quality, owner Michael Wine anticipates a 12-month return on investment and a growth path to new business.The Automation AdvantageFollowing the pandemic, operational costs skyrocketed. “In…

Even before a pandemic took the world by storm, athletic programs concerned themselves with fighting and reducing the spread of potentially deadly pathogens, including HIV, Hepatitis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of staph resistant to antibiotics. MRSA in particular has been a problem for years — plaguing locker rooms, infecting and ending the athletic careers of many student-athletes…

“We want to be at the top end of outdoor hospitality,” said Jill Currier, director of accommodations for Kampgrounds of America’s (KOA) Company-Owned Properties (COPs). Of the 500 KOA campgrounds across North America, 28 are COPs and feature deluxe cabins where linen and towels are provided for guests. During 2013, KOA COPs provided clean linen for over 50,000 camper night…

After outsourcing laundry for years, Pratt Regional Medical Center (PRMC), in Pratt, Kan., developed its own off-site laundry capable of processing and sanitizing more than 1,000 laundry pounds per day. The $300,000 laundry investment — which proved considerably more efficient and cost-effective than outsourcing — paid for itself in 18 months, cut linen volume loss in half, and toppled cost…

“I wasn’t looking to get into the laundry business,” said Eddie Quispe, owner of Wonderwash, a 4,000-square-foot, high-speed laundry in Bernalillo, N.M. Rather, Quispe fell into the business while searching for land to develop apartment complexes. He noticed a laundry for sale flanked on each side by available acreage. He bought the land and the business.Quispe’s plan? To build 15-…

Since the installation of new Poseidon TextileCare System Wet Cleaning Machines and Dryers,Perfect Cleaners, in Detroit, has tripled processing throughput, lowered utility costs, and realized an 8 percent increase in sales volume. Owner Gary Heflin, a dry cleaner of 28 years, has transformed his business from predominately dry cleaning to mostly wet cleaning. Wet cleaning, he maintains, is a more…