National Clothesline

Tom Zengeler, president of Zengeler Cleaners, has been invited to serve on the board of directors for the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) Foundation.

The SEDOL Foundation serves children and young adults who are physically, mentally and emotionally disabled, along with their families.

The organization was founded in 1991 to provide support services school districts cannot provide because of funding limitations.

Volunteers are asked to serve on the board to help identify and access the additional resources required to help SEDOL achieve its goals. Zengeler was chosen for the position because of his long-standing support for SEDOL.

“The SEDOL foundation provides a unique service to the greater Lake County community,” said Zengeler. “I’m lucky enough to be in a position to provide time and other resources to this worthy organization. I’m honored by this opportunity and look forward to working with the many other volunteers who work hard to provide important services to those who are less fortunate.”

“We can make a positive difference in the lives of special needs children and their families,” said Zengeler. “I look forward to helping with that during my term on the Board.”

The mission of the foundation is to generate and distribute resources that enrich educational, vocational and social opportunities for children with disabilities in Lake County. The foundation’s goals include providing enhanced services/programs for students to improve learning skills and academic achievement; develop the ability to lead more independent and productive lives; to include work-related and employability skills; learn appropriate social skills and demonstrate more social confidence; and, enrich the quality of their lives.

Zengeler Cleaners has seven locations in Illinois, including Northfield, Deerfield, Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, two Libertyville stores and its headquarters store in Northbrook. A new store is coming soon in Long Grove.

Tony Swierz has joined the Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN) as regional operations manager.

Previously, Swierz spent two years as director of sales and marketing for a regional textile restoration company, working with 14 sales representatives in 11 states while having responsibility for overall operations of the company’s multiple cleaning facilities.

“We are very pleased with the addition of Tony, who brings eight years of restoration experience and 13 years of franchising expertise to CRDN,” said CRDN President Chip Bifano.

“Tony will be a tremendous asset to our CRDN business owners in the Midwest region, as he will be responsible for Indiana, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and western Maryland,” Bifano said.

CRDN is an international organization of textile restorers who specialize in insurance restoration laundry and drycleaning services for all types of loss that offers a solution for insurance professionals seeking to reduce costs and improve margins while closing claims quickly.

CRDN currently operates in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

OXXO Care Cleaners has opened five locations to cater to the New Jersey and Washington, DC, areas.

Since the opening of its flagship store in 2003, OXXO has grown to more than 24 franchises, including 19 in South Florida. In Washington, OXXO stores are located on Northwest Park Road and Capitol Hill. In New Jersey, stores serve the communities of Matawan, Fair Lawn and Short Hills.

"We intend to become the Starbucks of environmentally safe and convenient green drycleaning,” said Salomon Mishaan, OXXO’s president and CEO.

“Our business model revolves around a lifestyle,” Mishaan added. “Our clients need to get their clothes drycleaned but also enjoy the service and environment.”

OXXO franchises use GreenEarth cleaning solvent and target low energy consumption by using independently heated equipment instead of industrial boilers with air-conditioned locations that require less space.

“The equipment used by traditional drycleaners is inherited from the garment industry, using industrial steam presses which tend to damage clothing and burn buttons,” said Mishaan in explaining why he opted for pressing systems that simulate the shape of mannequins and blow hot air from within.

Ranked twice among Entrepreneur Magazine’s 500 top franchises, OXXO’s stores present a European boutique-style setting and feature on-site hand ironing. Customers can use pre-paid cards at 24/7 ATM-style pick-up and drop-off machines.

GreenEarth Cleaning LLC announced that it is partnering with Pine Valley Polymers to offer environmentally friendly plastic bags to drycleaners in its affiliate network.

Degradable poly bags made by Pine Valley Polymers look and feel like traditional plastic garment bags but with the help of patented resin break down in less than two years without need of a landfill. Unlike plastic in landfills, the degradation process does not give off methane gas.

Pine Valley Polymers is an exclusive manufacturer of degradable poly film products and poly garment bags, PTO bags, tubing and sheeting.

More information is available by visiting the Pine Valley Polymers web site at www.pvpolymers.com/degradable.html.

GreenEarth, in conjunction with the Hanger Network, is also offering its affiliates EcoHangers made from 100-percent recycled and recyclable paperboard and plastic.

Hanger Network In-Home Media provides national and regional marketers with advertising, promotion and sampling programs delivered directly into the home, including a marketing platform through its patented EcoHangers.

The Hanger Network website at www.hangernetwork.com has more information on the recyclable hangers.

“GreenEarth has long worked to offer a truly sustainable solution for dry cleaning,” said Green
Earth president Tim Maxwell. “This is one more step in our journey. We are very pleased to offer an end-to-end alternative for drycleaning customers who care about the environment.”

GreenEarth’s process is licensed by more than 1,300 drycleaners in the United States and abroad.

Diamond Chemical has announced two staff additions. Dan Beaton will be in charge of selling and servicing laundry accounts in the New England area and Bill Carboneri will be in charge of drycleaning and wetcleaning in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.

Beaton has more than 25 years of laundry industry experience as a chemical technical representative in the commercial and institutional laundry industry.

Carboneri has more than 30 years of chemical industry experience as a technical specialist in drycleaning and wetcleaning technology.

Both are knowledgeable in the areas of washing technology, laundry processing equipment, production techniques and washing technology.

Diamond Chemical of East Rutherford, NJ, is a developer, manufacturer and supplier of products, systems and services to meet the needs of textile rental, institutional and hospitality laundries.

Suede Products, LLC, a leading suede and leather cleaner, has acquired Bishop Fur Services which was founded in 1995 by Ben Bishop to provide after care for leather and fur garments.

In 1995, Bishop developed a process for cleaning and glazing fur garments with pumice as a cleaning medium. A light volcanic rock produced by the frothing action of expanding gases during the solidification of lava, pumice is actually a kind of glass and not a mixture of minerals.

In the process, the pumice is ground into a fine powder, then the surfactants and glazing agents are added. Ground into a powder, the pumice is an effective but gentle abrasive while the surfactants attract the dirt and the glaze adds luster and sheen. The process is environmentally friendly and more cost effective than traditional fur cleaning, according to John Conway, president of Suede Products.

For more information, contact Suede Products, (877) 710-8200, or visit the company’s web site, www.suedeproducts.com.