An introduction to tensioning
It was the mid ’50s when I was
introduced to tension-style finishing.
The first unit I remember was called a
Paris form finisher, which was the forerunner of the Suzy. What
a time saver! Now we could do all kinds of dresses and full
long coats, and it was a real time saver on jackets,
men’s or women’s. It had a front clamp, a rear and
side paddle clamp and two sleeve expanders. Now all a good
presser had to do was touch up and press both lapels.
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The biggest problem was getting the
turn-around fast enough. The rental outfit contracted with a
group of cab drivers who would expedite the pick-ups, so we
could process and deliver fast enough to be assembled and ready
for the next school prom.
Imagine, if you will, pressing 60 to 75
white jackets an hour, without working all night long! —
especially in the busiest time of the year!
It was all possible with this type of
finishing and the use of tandem motion study. One operator
would dress a jacket on the form finisher. When the cycle
ended, he placed that jacket on a utility, then placed another
jacket on the form finisher while doing the lapels and touch up
on the last jacket. The second jacket was being steamed and
processed. This ended the time wasted and idle ceiling gazing.
This was before the day of miracle
fibers, such as Dacron and wool plus polyester combinations and
that innovation, permanent press. And this was the forerunner
of the latest tensioning equipment.
I had learned this method of advance
production while maintaining excellent quality from my days at
Hoffman/New Yorker while calling on the many national garment
factories. I was able to introduce pants finishing with the
same technique — one operator working on two presses
— to the drycleaning industry. We witnessed such a
production phenomenon in shirt finishing production!
I'm sure that for many drycleaners pants
finishing accounts for 50 percent of their volume and is the
reason for labor cost and energy waste. The forerunner to the
pants topper came from Hoffman, complete with pleat paddles and
a waist expander, and it even included a cuff lift at the
completion of the cycle, which later develop into the tension
device.
Again it evolved into the double large
legger press, where front/back creases plus double creases were
reduced or eliminated. Production now soared to 50 or more
pants per hour and, most important, high quality was
maintained, all with inexperienced personnel.
Progress has continued with the addition
of an electric eye, bringing finishing closer to robotics.
There has always been the problem of pressing the collar of a
man’s suit jacket to keep it from rolling. Pressing on
the narrow end of a utility press simply enlarged the problem
because it took more than three adjustments and stretched the
collar further.
The solution and correction came also
came from Hoffman and garment makers with a unit called the
Collar Master, which molded and shrunk the collar to its
original shape while steaming the jacket from the inside out,
with front clamp and sleeve shaper.
This unit was later introduced to the
drycleaner and named the Coat-O-Matic. It solved the collar
problem and brought jacket finishing closer to the standard for
newly manufactured garments.
We are all aware of the effectiveness of
wetcleaning and how it can avoid solvent usage with its
environmental consequences. But along with the advantages of
wetcleaning, we still have the tedious problem of higher
finishing cost of pants that have been wetcleaned.
Fortunately tensioning finishing and the
popularity of the new miracle fibers has made this chore no
longer a constant problem. Our hats are off to the research
chemist and the creative engineers. Thanks to progress! Have we
all taken advantage of these new and revolutionary benefits?
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