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Pala Tub Laundry

Thinking out of the Box—Modular 'Doublewide' Becomes Home to New High-speed Laundry.

May 2009 | Download case study as a PDF

pala tub laundromat Smart business planning resulted in the cost-effective development of The Pala Tub—a new high-speed laundry serving the Pala Band of Mission Indians in Pala, Calif. Housed inside a doublewide modular building, The Pala Tub is a smartly outfitted card-operated laundry boasting an express 60-minute wash and dry.

The Pala Tub is fully attended, handicapped accessible, and features high-speed Continental washer-extractors engineered to save loads of water, propane and electricity.

Modular vs. New Construction

Robert Smith, tribal chairman for the Pala Band, located the new laundry onto a section of land he had owned for years. He and his business partner, Merrill Everett, worked closely with John Mandella of JSM Laundries in Capitola, Calif., to develop a laundry to fit the needs of the reservation and surrounding area, while simultaneously, containing start-up costs.

Rather than invest in new construction, Smith and Everett chose to lease a 24x60-foot modular building to house the new laundry. “We leased the modular building with an option to buy,” says Everett. “We got the laundry up and running for just 10 percent down, avoiding a huge outlay of cash, and will own the building in just seven years.” In the end, Smith and Everett believe they saved 20-30 percent over new construction—a significant business advantage.

Unique to the Pala Band of Mission Indians

And, because the laundry is located on the Pala reservation, its owners avoided the typical red tape associated with city regulations and ordinances. “The Pala Tribe has its own sovereignty,” explains Smith, “so we didn't have to deal with city regulations. The Pala offers a business-friendly atmosphere that reminds people of how business used to be conducted,” he adds.

pala tub laundromat As the sole laundry within 16 miles, The Pala Tub stands as a boon to the reservation and surrounding communities. The card-operated laundry features a flat-screen television, Continental high-speed E-Series Washer-Extractors, stack drying tumblers, tables, chairs, air conditioning, restrooms and vending machines. The Pala Tub also offers wash-dry-fold services—key to serving the reservation's nearby casinos and hotels.

Laundry Development

To pull the laundry project together Smith and Everett turned to Mandella to properly design and equip their new business. Mandella has helped build hundreds of coin laundries through the years and holds extensive expertise in the industry.

“We ended up buying the modular building and then modifying it for the laundry,” says Everett. At The Pala Tub, an outdoor tank stores propane, which is used as the energy source for the store's 11 stack drying tumblers.

“We wanted state-of-the-art, energy-efficient equipment and liked the idea that our customers would be able to wash and dry their laundry in 60 minutes,” adds Smith.

Freestanding High-speed vs. Hard-mount Washers

To achieve this, along with ease of installation, Mandella recommended that Smith and Everett install freestanding Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors instead of traditional hard-mount machines. The modular laundry lacked the foundation necessary to install hard-mount washers, which must be bolted to a reinforced concrete foundation. The Continental washers, on the other hand, slid into place without need for bolts or special foundations—making their freestanding design a true fit for the new laundry. And because the E-Series Washers generate extract speeds of up to 354 G-force, laundry takes less time to dry, The Pala Tub uses less propane, and customers are onto better things sooner since their total wash and dry is complete in less than one hour.

pala tub laundromat The washers provide better wash quality and remove considerably more water from each load than the hard-mount or top-load washers at other stores, according to Mandella. “This cuts dry time and resulting propane usage by at least 30 percent.”

The result, according to Smith and Everett, is reduced utility costs, improved customer turnover and bigger profits in a relatively small space.

In the end, The Pala Tub was equipped with 11 20-pound capacity, four 30-pound capacity and four 40-pound capacity Continental E-Series high-speed washers; and 11 30-pound capacity stack dryers. “People use all of the machines,” says Everett. The big washers are very popular for large family loads, quilts, comforters and tents.

Card System Simplifies Management

Everything in The Pala Tub runs off a card system, including vending machines and bathrooms. That's right. The owners charge $.30 per restroom visit. They believe that people who pay to use the toilet treat the bathrooms with respect—keeping them clean and orderly.

“I felt the card system was state-of-the-art,” says Smith. “Quarters don't get jammed, it's easy to see which machines are used most and when, and it simplifies management of the store.”

With the card system, Smith and Everett not only avoid the hassles of coin collection, they can monitor the laundry and control vend price based on machine, time of day, and day of the week. But card technology is reassuring to customers as well, they agree, because it offers touch-screen directions and cards are easily replaced if they are lost.

The Pala Tub, which opened in the Fall of 2008, is growing at a rate of 10 percent per month thanks to “60-minute wash and dry” advertisements in local newspaper and church flyers, according to Smith. Located on a major highway near hotels and a casino, visibility of the store is excellent, as well. “There's a lot of traffic, migrant workers and apartments,” says Merrill. “The demographics are perfect.”

If all goes as expected, Smith and Merrill expect to own the laundry in seven years. “I think we have a good shot,” says Smith. “I always wanted to start a laundry and thought it would be a lot more work than it is. The card system makes it easier.”

The idea of providing similar laundries—wrapped up in modular buildings—to other Native American reservations appeals to Smith and Everett. “All we would need is a propane tank and a generator and we could easily erect more laundries at other reservations around the country,” Smith says. “We'd like to do that.”