National Clothesline

The Chicagoland Cleaners Association and the Land of Lincoln Drycleaners have merged with the Illinois State Fabricare Association.

In announcing the merger in the state association’s newsletter Press Ahead, Peter Valessares, president of ISFA, said the merger will “allow for the consolidation of talent that each association has to offer. The result is an IFI/ISFA association that provides resources, benefits and programs necessary for a drycleaner hoping to survive the current difficult business climate.”

Valessares, who also serves as the District 5 representative on IFI’s board of directors, added that there is “renewed energy at ISFA.”

“With the support of IFI, we have developed a new member campaign that will be implemented with the assistance of our allied trade members. It will be a wonderful opportunity for new plant owners, as well as existing non-member plant owners, including Chicagoland and Land of Lincoln drycleaner members, to realize the benefit of being an IFI/ISFA member for 90 days free.”

In addition to Valessares, other association officers are Tom Ustanik, vice president, John Hanson, secretary-treasurer, and Jim Rusciolelli, chairman.

Barbara Boden, ISFA’s executive director, is responsible for management and administrative support. Sue Kratz, who had served as executive director of the Land of Lincoln group, has accepted a position with S&ECC to administer the Star Compliance Program.

Boden, along with John Spomar, a leader in the Land of Lincoln group and now a board member and education chairman of the merged group, are developing education programs. In addition to dinner meetings and workshops, plans are being made for the annual fall conference which will be held Sept. 17-18 at the Eaglewood Conference Center and Spa in Itasca, IL. The conference will mark ISFA’s 90th anniversary.

This year’s conference will include a golf tournament on Saturday morning, table-top exhibits and seminar sessions on Saturday afternoon and the State of the Industry reception and dinner in the evening. An open board meeting will be held on Sunday morning followed by a two-hour seminar for Continuing Educational Unit (CEU) credits.

ISFA will institute changes in the CEU requirements. All seminars, including non-EPA topics, will qualify for education credits, although two of the four required credits must be EPA-related. That requirement could be covered, for example, by an inspection or attendance at Trust Council meetings. The other two credits could be earned at any seminar that provides training on a topic that helps drycleaners improve operations.

Also, the Trust Council has approved a pilot program of self-taught topics that use a video of an approved seminar. Each video has a corresponding test that would be administered by the Trust Council. The council is also reviewing IFI home study certification programs that could provide from two to four education credits.

Upcoming Trust Council meetings are planned for July 20 and September 14, both in Naperville, IL.

Other plans include a South Suburban regional picnic and seminar in July, with details to be announced, and a Washburn demonstration seminar on Sept. 28.

Also, preliminary discussions among ISFA, the Korean American Drycleaners Association and American Drycleaner magazine have taken place on holding a Midwest regional convention in the Chicago area next year.

For more information on ISFA and its programs, contact Barbara Boden at (312) 360-0389 or visit the ISFA web site, www.isfa.net.

Lansing Cleaners was one of only five companies featured on an environmental tour of the Chicago area during the National Environmental Partnership Summit held in Chicago Hotel.

The tour is designed to give participants the chance to see how various pollution procedures and environment friendly products can be successfully implemented in the business world.

Lansing Cleaners was singled out for the tour for many reasons, including: installing a carbon dioxide (CO2) machine that uses 40 percent less energy and decreases hazardous waste generation by 75 percent; replacing perchloroethylene solvent cleaning with alternative solvents to reduce used on traditional cleaning machines; implementing “energy smart” power controllers that resulted in an energy reduction of 18 to 21 percent; using heat-insulating paint on equipment, roof, boiler and plates to reduce heat loss; and maintaining a fleet of trucks that are fueled by natural gas.

Lansing Cleaners was the only drycleaners to be selected for the tour.

Plant owner Tom Ustanik hopes that his plant will inspire other businesses to use environment friendly products and procedures.

“Many people don’t understand how any of this stuff works and can be hesitant to use it,” he said. “But once they see it in action, they say, ‘It worked for them. Let’s try it.’ The more people that get involved, the more positive impact it has on the environment.”

“Many people don’t realize that you can be mindful of the environment and still remain profitable,” he added. “It can work. Many of the processes and procedures we use actually save us money.”

In fact, since it first started utilizing ts environmentally friendly methods, Lansing has managed to maintain the same level of energy consumption that it had in 1982 while doubling its business production.

Lansing Cleaners was established in 1946 and has seven locations in Illinois and northwest Indiana.

A drycleaning plant manager assisted police in the capture of an armed robbery suspect who was close to getting away in Florissant, MO.

According to police, the suspect initially held a woman up at gunpoint in the parking lot of Schnucks grocery store. He fled in his SUV only to be spotted soon by a police vehicle — thanks largely in part to a description provided by a witness at the crime scene.

Following an ensuing car chase, the suspect reportedly crashed his SUV and proceeded to run on foot before struggling with a St. Louis County police officer in an attempt to gain control of his firearm. At the point, a shot was fired and the suspect had been grazed by a bullet in the head. He fled once again.

He may have gotten away if not for the efforts of Tim Johnson, manager of a nearby American Cleaners store, who tackled the suspect.

When local news team KSDK-TV asked Johnson if he thought his actions were heroic, he responded by saying, “Maybe pretty stupid act, too. I’m not a hero. Just did what I thought was right.”

When a reporter wondered if he was afraid during the incident, Johnson simply replied, “Yes I was. Very much so.”

Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt during the incident. The woman who was robbed received no injuries. However, the same cannot be said of the police officer who struggled with the suspect and the suspect himself.

St. Louis County Police Lt. Ken Schmelig told the Associated Press, “There was a scuffle. They struggled for the officer’s gun, it was discharged. It struck the suspect. And the officer was injured also but not by a gunshot."

Both were reported to be in fine condition. Police also noted that both the suspect’s gun and the woman’s purse were recovered in the suspect’s SUV.

American Cleaners’ employee Lisa Robinson witnessed the incident and was worried that the suspect was going to enter the plant.

“We had a customer at that point lock the front door and one of the other employees locked the side door. We thought he was coming in there,” Robinson said.

Thanks to manager Johnson, he didn’t. “I just heard my manager say, ‘Oh my God, look at this guy’ and he just ran out the door,” Robinson added.