CHICAGO — The Merit Awards in the 50th Annual Plant Design Awards went to six drycleaners from every corner of the country. The second and final part of this story details three of those winners: J. Carl Cleaners, Sunset Cleaners and Weldon Cleaners.J. Carl Cleaners, Carrollton, Ga.
Since the 1930s, J. Carl has been a fixture in downtown Carrollton, but the aging plant and drop store offered little room for growth. So two years ago, Levi and Sandy Hollingsworth, its operators since 1988, brought son Josh onboard and began making plans for a freestanding plant.
Finding a location on a main road convenient to Carrollton and surrounding communities, the family built a 4,200-sq.-ft. plant that offers superior convenience, excellent workflow, and an attractive appearance.
The new plant offers a covered drive-thru and ample parking; a garage bay will allow a planned expansion into route service. Hoyt and J&T drycleaning units process the goods, and Unipress equipment finishes.Sunset Cleaners, Lutz, Fla.
Purchasing this endcap strip location from another owner and converting their original store to a drop store, operators Mark and Michele Krekorian revised its 2,800-sq.-ft. layout to suit their growing route and drive-thru business.
Featuring a pastel tropical décor and a clean call office, the plant appeals to the upscale clientele populating this suburb of North Tampa. On the production floor, a Sankosha AutoBagger handles completed work, cleaned in a Union hydrocarbon machine and pressed on a full complement of Unipress equipment.Weldon Cleaners, Overland Park, Kan.
Weldon Cleaners’ single strip location opened in August, giving owner Anil Patel a brand-new 2,650 sq. ft. of open space, and giving customers the transparency that makes them trust his service in a bright, homey location.
Weldon’s production floor employs a careful selection of equipment for consistent processing, including a Union GreenEarth machine with Tonsil filtration. Also on the floor are a Kaeser compressor, a Sankosha shirt unit, traditional Unipress equipment and White conveyors.
The plant’s Hamilton Eliminator produces hot laundry water cheaply, supplying the Unimac and Wascomat machines.Click here for the rest of the Merit Awards
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