SAN FRANCISCO — Independent certification organization America’s Best Cleaners™ (ABC) has built a reputation for technical training and fashion education through its relationships with industry experts, designers and textile manufacturers. To that end, ABC representatives traveled to Italy last fall with a group of Affiliates to continue its focus on professional development.
The ABC group toured the Metalprogetti factory in Perugia. The company is known for providing fully automated order assemblers, baggers, sorters and other self-aware machines to the drycleaning industry. ABC Affiliates were the first dry cleaners to purchase and install Metalprogetti equipment when the company expanded to the U.S. market more than 10 years ago.
In Bologna, the ABC group visited the manufacturing facilities of FMB Group, makers of Union, Realstar, and Firbimatic drycleaning machines. The first-hand view of how state-of-the-art cleaning systems are designed and manufactured gave Affiliates a greater understanding of the “enormous benefits of what a major financial investment can mean in terms of lowering emissions, waste and energy usage,” ABC says.
The group spent a day at Loro Piana in Quarone, where the company offers a complete selection of ready-to-wear garments and accessories made with some of the finest raw materials available around the world. A true appreciation of what makes a couture-level cashmere and vicuna garment, for example, is the cornerstone of providing outstanding cleaning service and quality of care, ABC says.
And, of course, the group attended Milan’s Expo Detergo, a textile care exhibition similar to the United States’ Clean Show. It wrapped its time in Italy with a dinner hosted by Kreussler Chemical.
Phil Cote, The French Cleaner, West Hartford, Conn., says the value of the trip was immeasurable.
“The recent trip to Italy reinforced and added to my knowledge of fine fabrics,” says Cote. “This type of experience gives me the confidence to speak with customers on the highest level. I feel that I can easily gain the trust of the most discriminating customers with my knowledge base from the trips I have taken with ABC through the years to the finest clothing manufacturers in the world!”
“The exposure our Affiliates are provided on this trip is priceless,” says Chris White, ABC’s executive director. “Not only are these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to learn from the best makers in the world, but the knowledge and ability to share these experiences with their clients, local retailers, and in-house teams will pay dividends for many years to come.”
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