National Clothesline

For cleaners looking to improve their overall skills in various areas, the National Cleaners Association has several upcoming opportunities at its New York School of Dry Cleaning.

The schol is located at 254 W. 29th St. in New York City.

A ten-week course covering the “Principles and Practices of Drycleaning” will meet every Monday and Wednesday evening from 7 to 11 p.m. between March 20 and May 29.

The course will log 80 hours of class time covering everything from the chemistry of stain removal, to garment construction, fiber identification and machinery operation and maintenance.

There will also be a Comprehensive Drycleaning course taught in Korean for a ten-week period between March 14 and May 18.

Class meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 11 p.m.

The cost for either course is $970 for NCA members and $1,170 for non-members.

Those looking for more specialized training may want to consider an eight-hour wetcleaning course planned on Sunday, March 12. It will run from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Also coming up is an eight-hour course on Technical Training at the Counter for Customer Service Representatives. It will meet from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.

The cost for either one-day course is is $250 for members and $275 for non-members.

Korean cleaners in need of meeting or updating their D.E.C. certification requirements may want to take NCA’s two-day course on the subject.

A special Korean offering is planned on March 19 and 26 from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The cost is $509 for members and $975 for non-members.

While all of the aforementioned courses require students to be present at NCA’s school, there will also be many upcoming opportunities for cleaners to attend educational seminars even if they are unable to leave their office.

NCA now offers “webinars” which allow for cleaners to attend via a telephone or a web browser when they might be otherwise detained.

There are three webinars coming up in March and April.

The first will cover the topic of “E-mail Marketing for Drycleaners” and will be held on Wednesday, March 15.

On March 29, NCA will present a webinar on “Leather Cleaning.” Finally, a “Finishing Faux Pas” offering by Alan Spielvogel is planned for Saturday, April 19.

All of the webinars will begin at 3 p.m. EST and cost $69 for telephone and web-based participation.

The price includes an audio tape of the seminar for everyone and Power Point files for web-based participants. There is limited participation available, so all cleaners will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Further into the year, NCA will be offer more sessions. Already, the association has planned to cover a variety of other topics, including “Insurance,” “Pricing for Profits,” “Surviving a Regulatory Inspection,” and “Tips for Helping Your Employees to Get It.”

For more information, call NCA,(800) 888-1622

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The Federation of Korean Drycleaners Association is making plans for its CleanExpo USA 2006 from June 16-18.

The New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center will house the event. According to FKDA President David Shin, the Expo will offer the newest high-tech items in the drycleaning and laundry industry, along with educational seminars, business upgrades and market analysis. It will also be an opportunity for plant owners to connect with each other and share ideas.

Other highlights of the conference include giveaways for over $20,000 in raffles plus exhibitors can take advantage of free high tech lead retrieval and a free customer database report after the show.

For more information or to register, visit the Expo site at www.cleanexpousa.com or contact Steve Pyro, show organizer, at (718) 729-8825; or send e-mail to steve@cleanexpousa.com.

FKDA was established in 1984 as a non-profit organization representing 30,000 Korean-American drycleaners throughout the United States. It now has 33 local branches coast to coast in the U.S. and Canada.