National Clothesline

To run a successful drycleaning plant, owners need to be knowledgeable in many areas, which is precisely why the Michigan Institute of Launderers and Drycleaners will present a comprehensive four-part management training series during the first half of 2007.

All sessions will take place at the MILD Office located at 3225 W. St. Joseph, Lansing in Michigan. The programs will take place approximately a month apart, beginning with the first segment scheduled for Friday, February 2.

It will cover several topics: goal setting and planning, time management, and account/financial management, which includes budgeting. Attendees will learn about percentages to aim for on profit-and-loss statements and the cost efficiency of adding routes and stores, among other things.

Next up will be a program on Friday, March 9 that will focus on internal operations such as the plant and equipment system, procedures and technology. Topics such as employee training, plant layout and progressive workflow will be examined and plant owners will gain a better understanding of how to figure numbers for pieces per hour operator.

On Friday, April 6, MILD will conduct the third part of the series which emphasizes legal regulations and ethical practices.

Some of the topics slated for discussion will include: employee handbook and job descriptions, wages and incentives, employee retention, benefits, employee safety and environmental issues.

Lastly, the final segment will take place on Friday, May 4 and will cover sales and marketing, client and vendor relationships and diversification of sales.

By the conclusion of the session, plant owners will be well-versed on a variety of subjects, including different marketing and advertising plans, advertising philosophy, customer surveys, and ad presentation.

Each session will begin at 9 a.m. and run until about 3:30 p.m. Both breakfast and lunch will be provided to attendees.

The cost is $600 each for admittance to all four sessions or $200 per person per session.

A registration form is available on MILD’s web site, located at www.mildmi.org in the “Education” section.

Those who attend any of the sessions for MILD’s Management Education series may qualify to be in the association’s 2006-2007 “Clean Academy” program which rewards attendees of MILD-organized seminars.

Anyone who attends three or more programs will receive a Certification of Training Completion award to showcase their educational achievements in the industry. In order to be eligible for the certificate, cleaners must complete their third class prior to Dec. 31, 2007.

As an added bonus, cleaners who pay full price to attend their first seminar will receive a $10 discount on all subsequent sessions they attend until the end of 2007.

There is still one more educational opportunity from MILD this year for cleaners who want to get an early jump on earning credits for the Clean Academy program. R.R. Street & Co. Inc. and MILD are co-sponsoring a seminar on customer service on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m.

It will take place at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce office at 850 W. Ann Arbor Trail in Plymouth, MI.

The cost is $30 for MILD members and $40 for non-members.

For more information on any of MILD’s upcoming programs, call (517) 327-9207.

At its annual Fall Conference & Golf Outing in late September, the Wisconsin Fabricate Institute installed the association’s new president, Richard Klinke, owner of Klinke Cleaners in Madison, WI.

“We struggle like many other cleaners in the state with the increase in costs such as utilities, supplies, labor and changing regulations,” Klinke said as he began his two-year term.

“My goals for the future of WFI as its president include greater support and to help in some of these areas I mentioned above through educational sessions, seminars and behind-the-scenes support, both locally and nationally to control our regulations.”

Klinke, who has served on WFI’s board of directors for four years, has been a member of the Governor’s Drycleaners Environmental Response Fund/Program Council for the past seven years.

He has also been a professional drycleaner for over a decade and currently holds the designations of Certified Environmental Drycleaner (CED) and Certified Professional Drycleaner (CPD).

Klinke Cleaners is a family run organization with 15 locations throughout the Madison area and four in Waukesha County.