National Clothesline

It will be a good year to brush up or acquire leather cleaning skills as the Royaltone Academy will be hosting four different two-day courses on the subject.

The training school is located in Tulsa, OK.

First up, the school has planned a session on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 8 and 9.

Other upcoming course dates include: May 10 and 11, Sept. 13 and 14, and Nov. 8 and 9.

Each of the Thursday morning sessions will run from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and focus on a variety of topics, including: characteristics of suede and leather, identifying skins, acceptance techniques made easy, invoice ticket preparation, spotting techniques, machine configuration, pressing and forming, and gluing and sewing.

After lunch, class will resume for three-and-a-half hours exploring topics such as wetcleaning, spray finishing, restoring luster, and water repelling and sizing.

A final exam will be given at the end of the day.

On Fridays, class will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cleaners will take part in an in-plant hands-on session putting to use skills they studied on the previous day.

By the end of the course, students will be able to profitably dryclean and wetclean suede, leather, fur and fabric with any new or existing equipment that uses perc, petroleum, Exxon 2000 or water.

All cleaners should possess a knowledge of how to spot, clean and press cloth garments prior to enrollment.

Tuition for the two-day program is $400 per attendee with up to 50% discounts available for multiple attendees from the same plant.

Enrollment is limited to seven plant owners/managers and is filled on a first-come basis so early registration is highly recommended.

Once cleaners are signed up, Royaltone representatives will help them make reservations at a local hotel that provides free courtesy car service from and to the airport and is located near the Suedemate Plant.

For more information, or to register, contact the Royaltone Academy at (918) 662-6677 or visit their web site located at www.royaltone.com.

This year, the Southwest Drycleaners Association plans to reach for the stars during its annual convention, scheduled to take place from April 13-15 in Clear Lake, Texas.

Rooms will be made available at the Hilton NASA Clear Lake Hotel, which is located across the entrance from the Space Center Houston, the official visitor center of NASA ’s Johnson Space Center (a.k.a. NASA’s Mission Control Center).

The center has actual spacecraft, spacesuits and other space flight stuff. and visitors can see astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a space shuttle and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA.

For those who prefer to stay Earth-bound, the area is located near the Gulf of Mexico so fishing and sailing are options, as well.

Throughout the weekend, SDA will host a program of seminars, tours and social events. More information will be released in the near future.