National Clothesline

Among the many Expo Detergo visitors was a group from America’s Best Cleaners (ABC), who represented the largest contingent of American operators at the exhibit. But for the ABC cleaners, Detergo was the last stop on an 11-day trip throughout the Italian peninsula, which included tours of the some of the most eminent garment manufacturing plants in the world, where garments and textiles are created for names like Brioni, Zegna, Barberis, Canali, and Agnona.

The ABC tour began in Penne, Abruzzo, home of the Brioni factory, where every Brioni suit is made by hand in a plant with more than 1,000 people working two shifts, six days a week. Gianfranco DeMatteis, director of production, organized the tour, in what he called was “the largest tour of the Brioni factory by any industry.” This fact was repeated by Sebastian Crosa of Ermenegildo Zegna and Francesco Novaretti of Vitale Barberis Canonico, makers of fine cashmere, wool, and silk for some of the finest garment manufacturers in the world.

The benefit for both industries was apparent. “It was literally a miracle to see, at close range, greasy sheared wool being turned step by step into the finest wool fabric in the world,” said Mark Gadue of ABC affiliate Gadue’s Cleaners of Burlington, VT. “It was a revelation to then see that fabric fashioned into an exquisite, hand-made Brioni suit, station after station after station, by some of the finest craftsmen in the world. Their methods were unlike any I had ever seen. The access we were given revealed secrets of fabric care I had not even imagined.”

Added Angel Suarez of Rey’s Cleaners, “Working as we do with the top fashion houses in Miami, many of which are from Italian firms, experiences like this trip only add to our reputation as the most respected couture drycleaner in the city. We can go into these boutiques, and we can talk the same language.”

All three manufacturing plants, aware that ABC is the American and Canadian representative for Hohenstein Institutes, have begun to establish ties with ABC to assure quality control at the service end in an intercontinental and cross-industrial network.

“It is precisely our affiliation with the Hohenstein Institutes, and the use of their 50-year-old RAL RG 990 standards as the bedrock for our Quality Management Certification Process, that has allowed for these types of inroads with the fashion industry, which is traditionally suspect of our industry,” explained Ed D’Elicio, founder and executive director of ABC.

“No other organization can claim this level of internationally recognized independent and objective analysis in the determination of affiliate qualification.”

The Italy tour was the brainchild of D’Elicio and Christopher White, ABC’s technical director and director of business development, based on their experiences as consultants to the European market and their existing relationships with the fashion industry. “We decided to schedule a trip to the Italian designers, manufactures and high-end mills to better develop our relationships with them as well as exposing our affiliates to the level of expertise inherent in the construction of these garments,” said D’Elicio. “It’s a win-win relationship.”

Added White, “There is not a better way to learn about the details of the high-end garments that our affiliates deal with on a daily basis then directly from the source. Our continual educational programs are constantly developed in cooperation with the designers and manufacturers, and are an invaluable component of our long-term goals. The appreciation for what truly constitutes the best can only be realized by being at the facility and working side by side with the skilled artisan who creates these remarkable products every day.”

At Expo Detergo, the final stop on the tour, ABC shared a booth with the Italian conveyor firm Metalprogetti; ABC has the largest group of Metalprogetti users. Metalprogetti had opened up a production facility in Perugia, Italy, and celebrated ABC’s arrival with a wine tasting in the medieval city of Spello. ABC affiliates were also treated to a dinner of Milanese cuisine by host and Platinum Sponsor Kreussler Chemical GmbH, compliments of Rich Fitzpatrick and Dr. Manfred Seiter, and attended by several high-end international operators.

The ABC group also met with affiliates of their sister organization, World’s Best Cleaners: Michael Schleich of Munich affiliate Textilreinigung Stark, Signora Bruna of Florence affiliate 2M, and soon-to-be announced affiliates in Moscow and Milan.

The ABC affiliates were enthusiastic about the experience. “I felt like I was in a dream and I didn’t want to wake up,” said Phil Cote of French Cleaners of West Hartford, CT.

Gadue had mixed feelings about seeing the trip end. “I dreaded leaving but I couldn't wait to come home to bring some of Italy back into my own business, something I have already begun to do.”