National Clothesline

The 2006 International SPOT Users Group Conference will be held at the Cliff Lodge and Spa at the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah on August 10-12.

All current SPOT users and those who are considering using SPOT are tinvited. Participants will explore the future of SPOT, preview SPOT 5.0 and learn the what, how and why of SPOT. A live SPOT Users Lab with fully functional PCs in a training environment will be provided with beginner and advanced learning tracks.

Participants will also be able to learn about the use of SPOT and its features from industry consultants and some of the industry’s best operators who will cover current underutilized features, configuration options, implementation techniques and new technologies. Users will also have a chance to give their input on current and future SPOT features and development efforts.

“For those now using SPOT hosting services or those considering using our hosting services, Westgate Software will, again this year, provide bus transportation from our office in Draper, UT, to the $40 million commercial data center that houses our SPOT-hosted server farm in Lindon, UT,” said Mark Jones, director of Advanced Technology.

“The Cliff Lodge has absolutely breathtaking views from your room and conference facilities,” he added, noting that parctipants can enjoy world-class food, lodging, hiking, tennis, biking, and horseback riding or just relaxing in the mountains.

Snowbird is 40 minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport. The 2005 User Group Conference was completely sold out. Space and rooms are limited so early reservations are advised. The deadline is July 17.

For updated information and to download sign-up forms, visit www.PoweredBySPOT.com.

Alliance Laundry Holdings LLC, parent company of Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, announced last month that it will not move its Ajax laundry pressing and finishing equipment manufacturing to its Ripon, WI facility. Last October, Alliance Laundry Systems announced the decision to close its Marianna, FL, facility and relocate operations to Ripon.

“Over the past months, we have analyzed the cost and future benefits of relocating the production of the Ajax product line and have made the difficult decision not to relocate the production of these products,” said Tom L’Esperance, CEO, of Alliance Laundry Systems. “However, we do plan on continuing the availability of Ajax service parts for the foreseeable future.”

The transition of the washer-extractor product lines to the Wisconsin facility will continue, according to Patti Andresen-Shew, a company spokesperson. “The decision not to move the pressing and finishing equipment will not change the anticipated addition of over 200 employees to our Ripon, WI, facility or our timeline of completing the move of our washers by the end of the third quarter of this year,” she said.

Methods for Management will hold its biennial “Success Meeting” in Australia in early October.

Attendees will visit the “plant of the future” in Adelaide and see the results of a comprehensive approach to an operational design, exploring the steps that went into planning the plant and how the results are achieved. The plant was designed with the objectives of doubling productivity and cutting utility costs in half. Early results from the plant reflect achievement of these goals.

MFM members will learn how to set objectives, design measurable goals and achieve desired results, even if they are not able to make as many major changes as the host plant made.

“While there are individual pieces of this operation that have been used successfully elsewhere, there are very few plants, if any, in the U.S that have taken such a comprehensive approach to an operational redesign,” said Deborah Rechnitz, managing director of MFM. “We believe this will occur more frequently in '06 and '07 in the U.S. and want to help our clients have the tools to accomplish this goal as efficiently and successfully as possible.”

Attendees will also have the option of visiting a drycleaning business in Melbourne to see the results of rebranding and updating an established family business. Some meeting participants will travel to New Zealand for that country’s annual laundry and drycleaning convention.

Irving Weber Associates, Inc. (IWA) has released the payment of its 55th consecutive Workers’ Compensation Safety Group Dividend to eligible policyholders in their program.

“We are very proud to continue our tradition of consistent dividend payments to the participants of our National Workers’ Compensation insurance safety group, said Adam Weber, president of IWA. “In addition to the 10 percent cash dividend payable to plan participants, eligible policyholders enjoy rate deviations of as much as 15 percent, and in some cases premium discounts of up to 20 percent. ”

For more information contact Keith Camacho, vice president sales, by phone (800) 243-1811 or (888) 622-0414.

Founded in 1946, IWA is a third-generation specialty insurance agency and consulting firm that designs, markets and underwrites niche industry insurance programs.