National Clothesline

Dr. Josef Kurz, deputy director of the Hohenstein Institutes, marked his 50th anniversary last month at Hohenstein, the independent textile research center in Germany.

Over those years, he and his team have been responsible for numerous textile care industry innovations in the areas of colorimetry, textile cleaning, laundry technology, ecology, hygiene and medical textiles. New areas of research and fields of business for the textile and clothing industry have been developed, also, through interdisciplinary cooperation with other organizations in Germany and abroad.

Kurz began his career with an apprenticeship in dyeing and drycleaning in a small dyehouse near his hometown of Illertissen. Fascinated by the possibilities of industrial dyeing, he followed his vocation after two years as an apprentice and trained as a textile engineer at the Hohenstein Technical Academy.

He joined Hohenstein in April 1957 as an assistant in the chemical laboratory, working in color measurement and determining the degree of whiteness. In 1963 he took over the drycleaning operations at Schloss Hohenstein, which were carried out on the Institute ’s premises.

Following modernization of the cleaning facilities, he decided to use the available technological resources for research and teaching in the field of commercial textile cleaning from 1965 onwards. Under his guidance, the scientific core competencies and range of seminars offered by the Hohenstein Institute were consistently extended in this field, forming the basis for the transfer of the Research Center for Dry Cleaning, which was founded in 1953 and based in Krefeld, to B önnigheim.

As the scientific director of the research center, Kurz played a key role during the 1970s and 1980s in the development of alternative solvents, made necessary by the damaging effect of fluorinated hydrocarbons on the ozone and increasing regulations governing perchloroethylene.

The expertise available and the potential for innovation made Hohenstein a leading research institute for environmentally-friendly cleaning processes. At the end of the 1990s, the drycleaning of textiles in liquid CO2 was investigated with two ground-breaking projects, and a prototype machine was constructed in conjunction with the company Linde.

Kurz regularly communicates his broad knowledge in professional circles and to the young generation of researchers at lecture events and in the role of visiting professor around the world. His scientific work is documented in about 130 publications and many reference books and has been recognized through numerous awards from national and international research organizations and industrial associations.

Following the publication last year of his monograph on the “The Cultural History of Domestic Laundry Care,” Kurz is planning further publications to provide a comprehensive overview of the historical development of textile care in individual volumes dedicated to textile cleaning in solvents and commercial laundries from the early years to the current day.

In addition to his work in textile cleaning, Kurz was managing director of the Quality Mark Association for the Proper Care of Laundry between 1989 and 2006 and, as director of the department of textile care and hygiene, was responsible for research related to laundering at the Hohenstein Institutes until 2000.

By transferring the results from numerous projects into practice, the approximately 350 member companies of the Quality Mark Association now have access to efficient washing processes that provide optimal hygiene and cleaning effects while having minimum environmental impact.

Kurz is also credited with the successful export of the RAL quality label for commercial laundries abroad, where currently 20 companies in Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Japan meet the quality requirements.

Under his directorship, the Quality Mark Association also introduced its own quality label for laundry in food processing companies and concentrated more specifically on the reprocessing of medical and hospital textiles. The Institute for Hygiene and Biotechnology, which was founded in 1995, provided the basis for this new field of work.

Product innovations such as biofunctional textiles with therapeutic or cosmetic substances, the development of innovative dressings or the optimization of disinfectant washing processes and sterilization processes for hygienic reprocessing can be researched and evaluated in-depth at the Institute, for example.

Another milestone in his work at the Hohenstein Institutes is the “Centre of Expertise on Textiles and the Skin,” which he initiated in 2002 together with the Skin Clinic at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and the Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nordwest (the German Textile Research Center Northwest) in Krefeld.

At this center, textile scientists and dermatologists research new strategies for the improved diagnosis and treatment of skin complaints.

The Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN) was ranked third on the 2007 list of fastest growing new U.S. franchises by Franchise Times magazine. This is the third consecutive year CRDN was recognized; it ranked sixth in 2006 after a debut in the fourth spot in 2005.

The magazine’s annual “Fast 55” list identifies companies with the fastest unit growth for concepts that started franchising after 1997. The list is compiled by analyzing a database of information for public and private companies.

“The rapid growth of our network and the recognition of Franchise Times validate our concept and the potential of the market niche we serve, ” said Wayne Wudyka, CRDN’s CEO. “Over the past five years, we have taken CRDN from concept to reality, providing service to 94 percent of the United States population, as well as the U.K. and Canada, ” Wudyka added.

CRDN works with insurance adjusters, contractors and contents cleaning companies to help homeowners recover from accidents and disasters. On a loss site, CRDN inventories the garments and textiles affected by fire, smoke, water, mold or other contaminants, then restores the items offsite and stores them until the homeowner is ready for the items to be returned. CRDN said its success rate at restoring textiles consistently exceeds 96 percent, and the organization ’s services cost 84 percent less than replacing the items.

The Linde Group is rolling out its Fred Butler brand across Europe, offering drycleaning services based on a process that uses carbon dioxide.

Plans were announced at a March 28 press conference in Munich, Germany, by CEO Andreas Klensch.

After a market trial in Frankfurt, Fred Butler opened two outlets in Munich and a central cleaning facility in nearby Feldkirchen.

“This year, we will set up a further nine cleaning facilities — so-called areas — in major German economic centers. Six of these will be run by franchisees,” said Klensch.

The company plans to create 33 more areas Europe-wide in 2008 and aims to establish 50 per year between 2009 and 2011, bringing the total to almost 200 and providing jobs for several thousand people.

Fred Butler is a brand of Cleaning Enterprises GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Linde Group. Cleaning Enterprises GmbH is headquartered in Pullach, near Munich, and employs about 100 people. The Linde Group is an industrial gases and engineering company with more than 51,000 employees working in around 70 countries worldwide.

“Fred Butler is a prime example of the many applications for industrial gases,” said Wolfgang Reitzle, chief executive officer of Linde AG, “We are committed to developing this business model, investing around 50 million euros in outlets and cleaning facilities by 2011. ”

Because the Fred Butler cleaning technique is based on recycled carbon dioxide, the company was awarded Blue Angel environmental certification by Matthias Machnig, State Secretary of the Federal German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

Fred Butler also offers innovative added-value services, including setting up collection points at companies such as banks, insurance firms, publishing houses, etc., and cleaning and returning clothes within 48 hours. The Fred Butler web site is www.fredbutler.com. The Linde Group is on line at www.linde.com.

Clay Jackson of Richmond, VA, will be the next Maytag Repairman and will play a major role in revitalizing the 100-year-old Maytag brand.

More than 1,500 people, including professional actors, construction workers, salesmen and stockbrokers, participated in the audition process.

Jackson said he decided to try out “on a whim” and attended the open audition in New York, focusing on bringing “something humorous and unexpected” to the character.

“The opportunity to combine my love of acting with being a spokesperson for the Maytag brand was something I couldn ’t ignore,” explained Jackson, who had been selling real estate for his family’s agency for the last several years.

Jackson will be the fourth person to portray the Maytag Repairman since Jesse White originated the character on American TV screens in 1967. When White retired from the role in 1988, he was replaced by actor Gordon Jump whose 15-year run ended when Hardy Rawls took over in 2003.

Jackson will be a new generation of Maytag Repairmen, sporting a new uniform and a new attitude. Although portrayed on television as having nothing to do, the new Maytag Repairman role is a full-time position that includes multiple national television, radio, print and public appearances. Starting this month, the Maytag Repairman will appear in the new Maytag brand advertising campaign and will begin making appearances across North America.

“Clay is perfect for our new take on the role. He’s energetic, young-at-heart and outgoing while still being dependable and reliable, ” said Jeff Davidoff, vice president, brand marketing and communications for Maytag.

“The new Maytag Repairman will help revitalize the Maytag brand and its heritage by keeping one foot in our past while putting the other in our future, ” said Jeff Davidoff, vice president, brand marketing and communications, Maytag. “Clay is perfect for our new take on the role. He’s energetic, young-at-heart and outgoing while still being dependable and reliable. ”

Dry Cleaning Computer Systems (DCCS) has appointed Bob Gray as eastern regional sales manager. In his 17 year career, he has provided technology solutions to everyday problems and helped many drycleaners better manage their operations and achieve their specific business goals.

In his position with DCCS, he will be responsible for the sales management of the eastern United States, giving DCCS a local presence in the New York tri-state area. His focus will be to nurture and enhance the existing DCCS relationships and develop new ones by maximizing the strengths of DCCS in the marketplace

“Bob has been a worthy competitor for many years. What has always stood out in my personal encounters with Bob has been his exceptional honesty and integrity along with an insatiable desire to help people, ” said Lenny Gershater, vice president for sales for DCCS.

DCCS is a software development company that has served the drycleaning industry since 1983. The company can be contacted by phone at (800) 451- 8431 or on the web at www.dccs.com.

At its general assembly and conference in Berlin, Germany, CINET, the European Association for Professional Textile Care, nominated Dirk Vanmeirhaeghe as chairman of the Belgium Federation of Textile Care (FBT).

Then nomination followed the withdrawal of Theo Lagrange who was not available for re-election because of his health. Lagrange served as president for the last 10 years.

In his acceptance speech, Vanmeirhaeghe said he is honored and privileged to be offered the appointment and expressed his gratitude for the trust and confidence of the CINET members. CINET is committed to its mission in becoming a well structured European Association, he said.

CINET is working that goal and demonstrated its commitment during the conference by introducing Action Plan 2007, which includes participation in the European Leonardo programme, lobbying on care labeling and the introduction of a new industrial care symbol and soil contamination.

CINET will also organize a professional textile conference in Shanghai in cooperation with Messe Frankfurt Germany/Shanghai and the Chinese National Light Industry Machinery Association (CNLIMA) and will conduct a project on the European Environmental Legislation.

National Fire and Indemnity Exchange, commonly known as NIE Insurance, reported a 2006 profit of $983,662. One-half of NIE’s 2006 profit is being returned to its policyholders. The other half will be kept in the Exchange to support its future growth.

The profit return equals 9 percent of premiums for policyholders who have been with NIE for more than two years. Policyholders with less than two years of continuous coverage are receiving smaller returns.

“We have two methods of profit return, explained Bob Aikin, president of NIE.

“First, dividends which are paid in March; second, credits to subscriber savings accounts, also known as SSAs. SSA balances earn interest, but aren ’t dispersed until after the policyholder leaves the Exchange. The 2006 profit return is being split evenly between these two methods, ” he said.

As a reciprocal exchange, NIE has no stockholders. NIE’s Advisory Committee, elected by policyholders, determines how NIE’s profit is distributed.

NIE was organized in 1915 as the National Association of Dyers and Cleaners Inter-Insurance Exchange. In serving the industry exclusively for over 90 years, it has returned profit to its policyholders in all but two of those years. For more information, call 800-325-9522 or visit www.NIE.biz.