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Industrial Laundry Market Case Study

Commercial Laundry Doubles Production; Cuts Labor with New Equipment

January 2006  |  Download article as a PDF

By carefully investing in new industrial laundry equipment, Resorts Laundry and Linen Services, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., developed a semi-automated laundry operation that slashed labor, improved quality and doubled production. Today, Resorts Laundry successfully handles a 4 million pound per year influx of sheets, towels and linens generated by area resorts. The 10,000- square-foot facility, however, is equipped to handle even more volume—up to 7 million pounds of linen annually.

A commercial laundry that caters to resorts and hotels, Resorts Laundry guarantees 24-hour service with convenient pick up and delivery. Twenty-seven employees help process 15,000 pounds of laundry per day during an extended, 10-hour shift.

Just three years ago, however, it took more labor and overtime to accomplish less, according to David Petrowski, vice president-laundry services. In order to expand business, Petrowski sought new, highly efficient laundry equipment. “When we looked to upgrade, we looked at service and reliability,” says Petrowski.

An Investment of Equipment

Owned by the Sands Resorts, the laundry is the first in North America to install two Continental Girbau ST-100 Dryers, which handle 220 pounds of linen per cycle, each. Additionally, the facility added two Continental Ironers and a 255-pound capacity, soft-mount washerextractor. Critical to that mix was the integration of automated devices that lesson the laundry's dependence on staff. The Continental Washer-Extractor offers automatic tilt for easy loading and unloading. The conveyor-loaded ST-100 Dryers feature automatic unloading; and one ironer is equipped with an automatic folder/stacker.

The laundry now integrates new and old equipment. Along with the new Continental products, the facility features three 125-pound Washex washers, a 400-pound capacity Norman dryer and a 400-pound capacity Challenge dryer.

The industrial design of the Continental Girbau machines are constructed to work together, commencing with the wash process.

A 255-Pound Soft-mount Washer-Extractor

“Laundry comes in the door and is separated by account and classification,” says Petrowski. “We wash everything using different formulas; terry cloth goes in the dryer, sheets are hand-fed into the ironers and most towels are automatically folded.”

Thus, control over the wash process is critical to properly serving clientele. Petrowski maintains linens vary in color and thread count, and as a result, require their own specific combination of water temperature, chemicals, baths and extract speeds. “Wash quality and high extract are important,” he adds. “It's also good to have a freestanding machine in an old building because there's little to no vibration.” Unlike a hard-mount washer, which must be bolted to a concrete foundation, soft-mount washers are freestanding, simplifying installation and future laundry room changes, according to Walter Vess of CVC Equipment Co., a laundry equipment distributor in Cherryville, N.C. Vess worked closely with Petrowski to select and install the new equipment.

Soft-mount Washers vs. Hard-mount Washers

At Resorts Laundry and Linen, the Continental washer-extractor is programmed for 14 different wash combinations, although it can accommodate up to 79, and offers extract speeds reaching 387 G-force. Compared with hardmount washers, soft mounts reach considerably higher extract speeds, which in turn, improve production by cutting dry-time, according to Vess.

“With the extract on the washer, laundry takes less time to dry and we don't need to pre-dry table linens heading for the ironer,” adds Petrowski. Rather, linens are fed directly from the washer into the Continental ironers thanks to the exclusive AutoSpeed feature. “It's really improved the quality of our finished table linens,” he maintains.

Finishing Straight from the Washer

The new Continental ironers, which automatically dry and finish linens directly from the washer, are credited with also improving production and reducing labor. Nine sheets per minute pass through the Continental F32 heated-chest, double-roll ironer—a 30 percent bump in production over the laundry's old ironer, which only handled six sheets per minute. By offering one-, two- or three-roll operation, the F32 is designed to meet the production needs of growing laundries, says Vess. As rolls are added to the ironer, fabric moves across the heated bed of the machine at greater speeds—drying and finishing linens faster, he says. “Since rolls can be added at any time, growing laundries can meet future demand without reinvesting in a new machine.”

A second Continental Pro-Series flatwork ironer is also used exclusively to finish table linens and napkins, according to Petrowski.

The ironers are major contributors to increased production at Resorts Laundry and Linen. But, Petrowski admits the laundry's biggest boon comes in the form of labor. “We went from five people on an ironer to three,” he says. “It's less labor intensive. And, any time you have fewer hands involved you have a better looking product.”

The First North American Install—ST100 Drying Tumblers

For items such as towels, which are not ironed, dryer conditioning is a must. That's why the towels are automatically conveyor—loaded into the ST100 dryers—new products to the North American market. “Now we can dry 200 pounds of terry in 25 minutes,” says Petrowski. The tumblers unbind, condition and completely dry the towels before they're dropped out the back of the dryers and conveyed into an automatic towel folder. The ST-100 features 16 different drying programs, according to Vess, which makes it simple to carefully control the drying process.

Turning Out Quality & Service

By investing in new equipment, Resorts Laundry & Linen can turn laundry around in 24 hours—a service designed to benefit clients beyond convenience. “It allows them to minimize linen inventory and better control costs,” says Petrowski. By outsourcing laundry, customers also avoid the hassles and costs associated with managing labor, equipment and space, he adds.

Simultaneously, Resorts Laundry & Linen maximizes profit potential. The laundry's new equipment investment not only requires less labor than the previous equipment mix, it's credited with doubling production and boosting quality.

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