National Clothesline

The Clean show will soon be upon us once again. I sure hope that you will be there.

I love the Clean Show. I really do. I started out as an attendee 18 years ago in Dallas. Over the years, my role in the industry has changed in such a way that I am now on the other side.

Once again, I will be a guest at the Cleaner’s Supply booth to participate in their “Consultant’s Corner” feature. I will also be a daily guest at the MBH Rope Ties booth and I am honored to be participating in two of the IFI ’s educational seminars.

However, there will be many other exhibitors at Clean. It is my job to keep you informed about equipment and products that serve the shirt laundering industry.

In July, for the post-Clean issue, I will feature the new and improved shirt pressing equipment that the Clean Show invariably showcases and in August I will feature the new products unveiled to make shirt processing better.

But for now, I think that it is important that you know who these vendors are that are offering you the latest and greatest in shirt laundering and pressing. Who are the players? And what is their story? What makes them the company that deserves your hard-earned dollars?

I contacted all the manufacturers of shirt pressing equipment, asking for information on their current lines and what they plan for the Clean Show. Most of them responded, so this month we ’ll take a look at a few of those companies; next month we’ll look at the others who provided information.

After 15 years of manufacturing quality equipment in Tokyo, Sankosha Engineering Co., eyed the U.S. market in 1993 and set up headquarters in Chicago. Bill Odorizzi is the new vice president of sales and the main U.S. contact. He can be reached at (847) 427-9120. The Sankosha web site can be found at www.sankosha-inc.com.

Sankosha has a corporate website located at www.sankosha-inc.com.

Sankosha’s general goal is to continue as an industry-leading company and create a new industrial culture in the fabric care industry. Sankosha ’s task is to make this industry fascinating.

To achieve this task, Sankosha must develop, produce and supply machines which will continue to provide profit and operational satisfaction to all businesses of all sizes. Sankosha ’s advantage is to be able to see the customer’s face.

Their goal is to permeate this industry and be the best machinery company in the world by following its group policy.

Sankosha has a history of producing quality products. In fact, the company slogans are “Customers First” and “Supreme Quality.” I am excited to hear that they will be introducing a number of new products at the Clean Show. I can hardly wait to see what they are offering! Sankosha has done a remarkable job of building a formidable distributorship network throughout North America. There is a Sankosha dealer near you.

Unipress Corp. is dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality shirt units, drycleaning and laundry finishing equipment. Unipress is able to devote its entire management, engineering, sales, and parts and service departments to specializing in finishing equipment.

Unipress has consistently developed new and innovative models for both shirt and drycleaning finishing. The recent introduction of the Lightning and Thunder Series of shirt units have redefined shirt quality.

The Lightning units press the front and back of the shirt completely while finishing the sleeves with steam injection, super-heated air, and have pleat and gusset enhancers. These are available in three models: an all-in-one single buck which has a built-in collar and cuff (model NT1), a single-buck (model NT) requiring a separate collar and cuff press and a double-buck (model NT 2) unit.

The Thunder Series is a conventional style shirt unit that features a body press (model DB 2 double buck), a sleever (model ABS), and a collar and cuff press (model 3TZ). The Thunder has two contoured chests that beautifully press the front and back of the shirt without leave-off marks.

Both the Lightning and Thunder double-buck units will be demonstrated live for the first time at the Clean Show.

The Unipress phone number is (813) 623-3731 and the company’s web site is www.unipresscorp.com.

Trevil SRL is one of Italy’s leading manufacturers of pressing equipment. The company recently celebrated its 30th anniversary since beginning operations.

Over the years, Trevil has grown and expanded its product line, which includes equipment for garment manufacturing facilities and for drycleaning shops worldwide.

Trevil has been a leader in quality equipment since its inception and continues today to be one of the world ’s leading manufacturers of tensioning and other types of pressing equipment.

Trevil has been making automatic shirt finishing equipment for more than 10 years. The company ’s early focus was on the European market where high quality shirt finishing was required because most finishing on the Continent had been (and continues to be) done by hand. Trevil had to face the challenge of how to automate shirt finishing while providing a result that both the drycleaner and the customer would accept.

In 1999 Trevil America began offering Trevil’s shirt finishing equipment in the United States. The focus in the U.S. market highlights productivity. The challenge that Trevil faced was how to increase the productivity of the machine while maintaining a high quality finish. That is how the Trevistar tensioning shirt finisher was born.

The Trevistar is capable of finishing approximately 50 shirts per hour at an outstanding level of quality. Over the years, this model has been constantly refined and improved. At this year ’s Clean Show, Trevil America will reveal new features and benefits that will move the Trevistar to the forefront of shirt finishing technology.

Anyone who is looking for a high quality finished shirt without the usual problems caused by cabinet shirt units (uneven box pleat, broken buttons, “crows feet” impressions under the armhole, etc.) will be impressed by the quality of the shirts coming off the Trevistar.

In addition, Trevil America will be demonstrating the most recent version of the Princess Deluxe, which is a combination blouse and shirt finisher. This tensioning unit has the capability of handling blouses as small as size 0 and shirts as large as 5XL.

This machine can be used on both the laundry side and the drycleaning side. There is a patented dual, rotating front clamp system (no need to remove and store the unused clamp). One clamp is electrically heated for wet garment finishing and the other is unheated for drycleaned garment finishing. Ten cycles on the electronic control panel can be set for all types of shirts and blouses; wet or dry, short sleeve or long sleeve, spandex, and more.

Trevil products are distributed in the United States by Trevil America of Mamaroneck, New York. For information, contact Stuart Ilkowitz at (973) 535-8305.

Trevil America’s web site is www.trevil.com.

Clean Concepts is the sole importer of the Fimas line of European finishing equipment. Fimas S.R.L. is located about 30 miles south of Milan, Italy, and is owned by the Macpi Group, one of the largest manufacturers of industrial laundry finishing equipment in the world. Fimas is a medium-sized company employing fewer than 40 people, so quality of materials and workmanship is easily controlled and maintained.

Clean Concepts opened in 1998 and is owned by John Tipps, who has been in the drycleaning equipment business for over 40 years. He offers over 20 models of Fimas finishing and tensioning equipment to meet every need of the quality-conscious drycleaner.

The machine that frequently receives the most attention at trade shows is the tensioning, blown shirt unit. Clean Concepts will be presenting the new model 389 shirt unit in Las Vegas at Clean ’07.

Clean Concepts has made many improvements to an already great machine. It is lower than the previous model, has a new computer board for easier control, better cuff clamps for long sleeves and a completely redesigned clamping system for short sleeves.

The 389 can be used for laundered garments that are damp or dry as well as drycleaned shirts and blouses of all fabrics.

Clean Concepts claims that in 30 minutes you can train someone with no experience on how to process a beautiful, high quality garment, with the speed of production increasing with use.

The 389 shirt unit produces a high quality garment. While it is true that the production of laundered shirts is not that of a cabinet unit, in order for the cabinet to produce the same quality shirt it must be touched up, so the total production is about the same. Therefore, the quality of the shirt coming directly off the unit is unmatched.

Clean Concepts is located in Dallas, TX, and, along with Jim DuBach in the Chicago area, the company sells throughout the entire United States, Canada and the Caribbean islands. On-site training is available for all models.

Tipps can be reached at (972) 406-8107; Dubach’s number is (847) 921-0366.
Clean Concepts web site is www.cleanconcepts.net.

Forenta has been manufacturing and selling equipment to the drycleaning and laundry industry since about 1970. The company goes back farther than that, however. This company was formed in Morristown, TN, in 1961 to manufacture pressing equipment for the Forse Corporation, sometimes known as Forse/Cleanamation, and Cleanamation.

Forse went out of business about 1970, and Forenta entered the arena selling the same equipment as it had already been producing.

The Forenta line of products goes back many years with the original developers being W.H. Forse and his son, Don. The earliest record of their manufacture of presses goes back to 1936. The Forse Red Head presses were featured in the Tessler Brothers catalog in 1946.

Forse made many innovations that were really ahead of the time. In the late 1960s, Forse developed the first all-in-one shirt unit, called the “Swinger.” The collar was pressed in one part of the press and the cuffs were pressed while the sleeves were being stretched for an air-blowing process to finish and dry the sleeves. The body was being finished at the same time as the sleeves and cuffs. The body was partially pressed and partially blown dry with heated air. Unfortunately, this was developed just as the market for many drycleaners was going away.

Many innovations were introduced by Forse with the aid of innovators such as Cecil Elrod and Helen Deranian: The fastback press, lightweight fabricated frames and timesaving systems, just to name a few. Forse had conceived back in the 1960s the concept of the 24-hour drop-off/pick-up system. Although it never got past the drawing stage, it goes to show that the forerunner of Forenta was an innovator. Forenta today tries to carry on this tradition.

Forenta has over the years continued to develop new products and make improvements to existing products. They have also made significant strides in entering new markets such as garment, institutional, government, and export. They continue to introduce new products into our line such as conveyors, chillers, and many more.

Forenta has a complete line of equipment for drycleaners and laundries. They offer two series of drycleaning presses. The “F” series fastback press is one where the head clearly falls out of the way so the press can be used as an ironing board without the head obstructing the view of the operator and throwing heat into the operator ’s face.

The “C” series press, which is somewhat more economical and preferred by many customers, has a scissor-type head-closing action.

Forenta offers a complete line of laundry press on the “V” style frame. These presses are steam heated. However, most of the laundry presses can be obtained with electric heating for use where steam may not be desired or available. The “V” press design provides superior pressure while utilizing small air cylinders for less air consumption. These presses are offered with the guard rail/bar control for safe and efficient operation. They are also available with dual button two-hand operating controls.

Their products include a complete line of shirt finishing equipment; a new one will be introduced at the Clean Show.

Forenta sells through a worldwide network of distributors. The company chooses to sell products in this manner because the distributors know the local market and can establish a close working relationship with the end user. Forenta supports its network of distributors with sales, service and parts backup. The contact person for sales is Stan King or Ruth Laico. Call (423) 586-5370. The Forenta web site is www.forentausa.com.