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.
You’ve already got your ticket, so let’s get this show started!
AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a globally integrated payments company that provides customers with access to products, insights and experiences, which the company states enrich lives and builds business success. Its integrated payments platform includes card-issuing, merchant-acquiring and card network businesses. American Express considers itself a leader in providing payment products and services to a broad range of customers, including consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies and large corporations worldwide.
American Express offers resources it says help to support drycleaning business, and offers benefits including discounted supplies, special savings and offers, insights, payment solutions and more. In 2020, American Express made more than $15,000 in discounts on business services available.1 To learn more on how to get special discounts from its partners with Amex Offers for Merchants, visit the company’s website.
1 Based on savings available to American Express Merchants as of December 31, 2020, in Amex Offers for Merchants. Total value assumes Merchants take advantage of offers for the full length of any subscription terms where relevant. Offers and value of offers are subject to change without notice to you. Not all offers are applicable to all Merchants. Visit the website to see offers that are currently available.
UNION DRYCLEANING PRODUCTS, USA
Established in the U.S. in 1984, Union Drycleaning Products says it specializes in drycleaning excellence. Union is the flagship brand of the FMB group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of professional drycleaning machines, located in Bologna, Italy.
Headquartered just south of Atlanta, Union offers the drycleaning industry a full line of machines that utilize all of the solvents now available in the U.S. Union says its machines are noted for their innovative design, cutting-edge technology, safety of operation, unmatched customer service, and full compliance with federal, state and local regulations.
class="CS-CompanyNameCleanShow"As the largest manufacturer of textile drycleaning equipment, Union states that it offers machines for use with all Class III-A alternative solvents as well as perchloroethylene. A new model, the Ideal Pro, will soon be unveiled; it will offer a dry-to-dry wetcleaning process.
During the pandemic, Union was able to remain open as an essential business, saying its top priority was to take care of its most valued asset: its employees. Union implemented new safety and health protocols to ensure that everyone remained safe and healthy. The company says it prides itself in its customer service and recognizes that, during this time, it is even more important to make sure its customers are well taken care of so that they can take care of their own customers.
GREENEARTH CLEANING
Doing business without doing harm” has been the mission statement of GreenEarth® Cleaning since its birth in 1999. The company has aspired to provide the best possible fabric care with the lowest environmental impact to its network of member partners in more than 6,000 global retail points of service.
The company states that the last 15 months have highlighted the value of its unique model that emphasizes support for individual members through technical operations and marketing expertise while providing proprietary products proven to lower the cost of running a fabricare business. In the first six months of the pandemic alone, GreenEarth initiated more than 25,000 contacts, ranging from “virtual” site visits addressing operations support to creating unique social media content to home delivery marketing and management.
While the pandemic interrupted the rollout of the SeaClear microfiber laundry filter testing, it opened the door to exploring a defensive but proactive cleansing system modification, GreenEarth says. This system is based on the World Health Organization’s determination that the lipid layer of the coronavirus could be attacked with heat of at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. GreenEarth contracted with MRIGlobal, an independent laboratory approved for testing with SARS-CoV-2. The company says that tests showed GreenEarth’s process to have a kill rate that is six times more effective than heat alone — without any additive chemicals.
GreenEarth has since filed a provisional patent covering a modified drycleaning process to allow for antiviral dry cleaning when the virus contains a protective lipid layer.
CLEANER BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Shah Corporation’s Cleaner Business Systems (CBS) says it is constantly changing to stay ahead of an endlessly shifting business climate. Its continuously evolving web-based platform gives its customers the ability and flexibility to reshape their businesses as the demands of their world change, all while providing end-to-end technology support.
CBS acts as a central hub for any drycleaning operation. Robust features such as customer management, assembly system integrations, electronic customer notification and inventory management all act to provide a world-class point-of-sale system, the company says.
CBS says its pickup and delivery system can be as simple and straightforward as any route system. The company’s Clean Route system can optimize the driver’s routes, and its text messaging system can allow customers to opt in or out of their pickups and deliveries from their phone. This allows cleaners to avoid making unwanted stops.
The company’s text-messaging integrations enable cleaners to automate curbside pickup and drop-off services, provide customer notifications for drop-offs or finished orders, and offer two-way customer communication. Cleaners are given the option to deliver receipts to their customers via text, email or print. New marketing features are also on the way!
CBS says that it designed its system to make managing your drycleaning business a breeze. You’ll know what needs to be cleaned, when it’s due and how much business has been done without ever needing to be at the store.
ROYAL BASKET TRUCKS
Royal Basket Trucks Inc.® continues to offer superior cart solutions to support dry cleaners, coin-op laundries and commercial laundries. Located in Darien, Wisconsin, Royal® has been manufacturing carts for nearly 40 years and has become a recognized brand in the industry. Royal believes that carts should be made to fit into various environments to improve your workflow and process efficiencies.
The company states that its innovative product line offers a variety of features and ergonomic benefits to keep your operations running at the highest level. Royal provides standard products as well as heavy-duty and custom solutions, and says its engineering team is dedicated to making any size cart fit your environment for optimal efficiency.
Royal’s full line of wire laundry carts are produced in Wisconsin and feature a durable, black vinyl-dipped wire basket with PVC topping mounted to a powder-coated steel base with polyurethane casters. Hangers, dividers and inserts are available.
Royal says that the ergonomic benefits of elevated carts for sorting, collecting and workstations speak for themselves. These elevated carts are available in plastic and vinyl, and both styles roll smoothly on non-marking polyurethane casters.
The Royal product line features basket trucks, poly trucks, bulk linen carts, scale carts, hampers and more for sorting, collecting, processing and transporting.
The company says it is built on a solid foundation of innovation, hard work, creativity and extraordinary quality. Its service is supported by years of experience within many industries and environments. Every cart is manufactured to order and ships in a short lead time.
Our virtual show floor opens again next Tuesday. We'll see you there!
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].