CHICAGO — For decades, The Clean Show has been the time and place where the drycleaning community comes together to meet industry leaders and see what they have to offer, both now and in the coming months.
This gathering got pushed back a year because of the pandemic but if there’s one thing this most challenging of times has taught us, it’s that we can roll with the punches and find new methods of reaching our goals.
No Clean Show … no problem!
To fill the gap, American Drycleaner wants to bring our readers together with our display advertisers of 2021 to date and allow you to meet up within our pages.
These companies have been adapting to meet the evolving needs of their clients and finding ways to move the industry forward into better days ahead.
Any claims made in this feature are those of the participants, and not those of American Drycleaner.
Day 3 is getting underway — see you on the floor!
ROYAL WESTERN COMPUTER
With more than 28 years of experience and development, Royal Touch™, a point-of-sale software package for dry cleaners and tailoring businesses nationwide, serves more than 25% of the drycleaning industry, says Royal Western Computer. In 2019, Royal Touch joined with POS technology provider UP Solution® to improve customer support, provide access to payment integration technology for its users and further solidify customer brand loyalty.
Royal Touch features a simple and intuitive user interface that allows any level user to start using its solution with minimal training. The company also says it offers a wide variety of useful built-in features, such as SMS alerts and recurring billing settings. Built-in payment integration — including contactless payments — is also offered to allow for more efficient and seamless management, while minimizing physical contact during the current pandemic environment.
With new features such as a merchant mobile app, online delivery features, cloud backup, and other value-added upgrades, the company says it plans to further expand its coverage and make itself the go-to POS solution for the cleaning industry.
In order to support the increasing demand for its solution, Royal Touch is actively recruiting new resellers to join its network. Whether you own and operate a dry cleaner or are affiliated with the drycleaning industry, the company says it will help you grow as a POS reseller in your respective market.
IOWA TECHNIQUES
Iowa Techniques, a designer and manufacturer of unique parts and equipment for the drycleaning and laundry industry, says that its products are developed from years of experience in the garment cleaning industry. It also acts on requests for products, improving the quality and efficiency of cleaners throughout the nation.
The company produces equipment across the spectrum of the drycleaning process, including conveyors, damp boxes, ozone generators, dynafluid valves, heated collar cones, shirt scrubbing tables and more.
Iowa Techniques offers a drop box system that helps to connect dry cleaners and their customers after business hours. The company says that its convenient, 24-hour drop-off solution enables cleaners to keep their customers happy — and loyal — no matter when those customers need to conduct their drycleaning business. The company offers both free-standing and wall-mounted versions of their drop box system to fit any situation.
The company also has equipment for dry cleaners who make deliveries to their clients. Iowa Techniques says that its rail systems can fit almost any delivery van — mini, regular, stretch, Transit or Sprinter — and its easy-to-install rail kits require no welding.
PARKER BOILER
Parker Boiler says it has dependably furnished steam and hot water for dry cleaning and other types of service throughout the United States and the world.
Parker states that its tube bundles are extremely flexible and offer a long life — along with a 25-year warranty against thermal shock. Safety, the company says, is its No. 1 priority. No Parker boiler, the company points out, has ever been known to experience an internal explosion, nor has it been possible to induce an explosion under severe testing. The heavy steel, all-welded flexible construction cannot be surpassed for safety because it permits free expansion and contraction with temperature changes, it adds.
Parker Boiler produces gas, oil or combination gas/oil firing models, and low NOx is available on all models. Most models are also UL or ETL Listed.
While it is proud of its past, the company says it always has an eye on the future. Its ParkerView Lead Lag (PV-LL) panels provide a complete boiler control and monitoring system, are custom-designed for each application, and can also accommodate the control and monitoring of various equipment. Also, because the PV-LL system can be monitored remotely, the company says it has the ability to provide live online support during a start-up and make any necessary updates to the system.
To view an online brochure of Parker Boiler’s equipment, visit the website, or call or email for more information.
ASSOCIATION OF WEDDING GOWN SPECIALISTS
It’s a tough time to be a dry cleaner, but it’s a great time to be a Certified Wedding Gown Specialist™!
The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists says profits from wedding gowns made it possible for many of its members to stay open during the pandemic, and it can help others who are struggling with reduced piece count to attract more gowns. Through June 30, 2021, the Association is slashing its initial membership fee by 75%. Qualified cleaners with limited resources in market areas that do not already have Association members can take advantage of the reduced fee to benefit from trademarked logos, special training in the restoration of vintage gowns and veils, and powerful internet partnerships.
Wedding industry experts say there will be as many as 40% more weddings than normal this year. Brides will be looking for cleaners they can trust because they specialize in wedding gowns. Cleaners who join the Association set themselves apart from ordinary cleaners; members are Certified Wedding Gown Specialists™. There is a written international guarantee of the Association’s trademarked MuseumCare ZeroCarbon green gown preservations, and every Specialist™ honors the guarantee of every other Specialist. Free pressing is offered when the gown is to be worn again.
This unique guarantee, together with international marketing promotions, strongly appeals to brides, the Association says, and assures new members of immediate growth and greater profits.
Missed any day of the show? You can find them right here! Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].