National Clothesline

The first Solvair owners and operators meeting took place during the Clean Show in New Orleans, hosted by STARC Cleaners, a Solvair plant in nearby Slidell.

The meeting provided an opportunity for Solvair owners and operators to share experiences and ideas and shape the future for the Solvair Owners Group.

Owner shared successful experiences as well as ideas for capitalizing on the opportunities Solvair provides to help differentiate a cleaner’s business. They also celebrated Solvair being awarded the DLI Technology Trailblazer Award, which sparked further discussions about the future direction of the industry.

“Solvair owners are the kind of forward-thinking entrepreneurs who recognized early on the value of an industry-changing, new technology and its potential to help them grow their businesses and market shares,” commented L. Ross Beard, Solvair LLC President and CEO. “Naturally, these individuals are also on the forefront for ideas when it comes to discussions of technology, marketing and business solutions, so there is considerable value in the exchange of ideas between them.”

The company also presented a new consumer marketing program, which is offered to all cleaners as a benefit of Solvair ownership.

The marketing kit, which is free as a benefit of Solvair ownership, includes printed materials such as posters, brochures, electronic loop presentations, counter area educational booklets and other materials to reach out to customers at the front call area and beyond.

The program is professionally designed to support an easy-to-understand consumer message that is consistent with the message of the Solvair consumer website, www.greenclothingcare.com, and Solvair’s communications to the consumer media.

In addition to printed materials, the Solvair marketing team is focused on providing owners with press opportunities in trade media, local and national consumer media, and with assistance in leveraging social media networking.

The introduction of this strategy and materials led to discussion on the power of the Solvair technology, which allows cleaners to not only market a business as green with superior cleaning, but also to be able to factually support those claims to consumers.

“As users of a new cleaning technology, Solvair owners and operators have uncovered new and unique benefits to the system, as well as innovative ways to market those benefits to the consumer,” said Sheldon Bray, chief operating officer of Chesley the Cleaner in Nashville, TN. “This meeting provided a forum to build upon the experiences of each operation. This group will play a significant role in molding the future of our industry and I’m looking forward to ongoing interaction.”

Solvair owners and operators will continue to collaborate in the future. For information on Solvair, call (866) SOLVAIR or e-mail info@solvairllc.com.

Robert (Bob) Scalice has joined RAF Equipment Co. and will be handling sales, technical in-house seminars, on-site instruction and general support to the company’s customer base.

Scalice has more than 40 years of experience in the industry. He is a graduate of the New York School of Dry Cleaning and spent several years there as an instructor. He also has considerable experience in selling drycleaning and wetcleaning chemicals and in finishing applications, including garment and shirt finishing, wetcleaning and spotting.

He also has experience with EPA and NJDEP regulatory requirements and will be able to support RAF customers in this regard and keep them updated.

He can be reached at RAF at (800) 287-6434 or (973) 661-9500. The company’s web site is www.rafequipment.com.

The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists has partnered with Carbonfund.org to offer brides the option of carbon-neutral gown cleaning and preservation.

“More brides than ever are concerned about their carbon footprints,” said Kermit Engh, AWGS president. “Brides now can ensure the beauty of their wedding gowns and help safeguard the planet’s future, too.”

Carbonfund.org, a non-profit carbon offset and climate solutions organization, calculated the carbon dioxide emissions generated by cleaning and preserving wedding gowns. Brides can make a corresponding donation through AWGS members.

“We asked Carbonfund.org to estimate everything from the bride’s trip to and from the cleaner to the cleaning procedures to the wedding chest’s manufacture. Then we increased the total still more to be certain the bride’s donation will account for the carbon footprint no matter what solvent our association member uses or how far the bride has to travel. The donation included in the price of our ZeroCarbon wedding gown preservations assures the bride her preservation will be truly carbon-neutral, and 100 percent of her donation goes to Carbonfund.org.”

Brides can determine the entire wedding’s carbon footprint using a carbon calculator at www.carbonfund.org/weddings or at WeddingWire.com, a wedding planning website.

Donations to Carbonfund.org support global renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. All Carbonfund.org projects are independently verified. The non-profit organization provides individual and business offsetting options.

AWGS is a not-for-profit trade group with members in the United States, Canada, Australia, and South America. Each member honors the preservation guarantee of other members, which includes taking the gown out of the container and pressing it at no charge when the gown is to be worn again. The association’s web site www.WeddingGownSpecialists.com.

The Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN) has added Leah Krohn and Andrew Mengason as national operations managers.

Krohn previously served as a market representation specialist in the franchising department of Ford Motor Company.

Mengason brings experience in the textile restoration business, having spent two years as chief operating officer with a regional organization.

In their new positions, Krohn and Mengason are responsible for assisting and managing CRDN’s franchised businesses in dedicated regions, providing support for local sales and operations while monitoring key performance indicators to ensure service level requirements.

“With the increasing needs of the insurance industry and the requirements of direct repair programs, CRDN’s Operations department is increasingly important for the continued growth and success of our organization overall and of our local businesses,” said Chip Bifano, CRDN’s president.

“Leah and Andrew understand both franchising and insurance restoration, along with the importance of relationships at multiple levels,” Bifano added.

CRDN is an organization of textile restorers who specialize in insurance restoration laundry and drycleaning services for all types of loss that operates in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The organization’s web site is www.CRDN.com.