National Clothesline

Jane Zellers, owner of JCZ Training and Consulting, and Eddie Mannis, president of Prestige Cleaners headquartered in Knoxville, TN, have formed Strategic Fabricare Solutions (SFS), a consulting and training company designed to share expertise with industry operators and management personnel.

The company will provide consulting and training seminars in areas such as: operational management and production efficiencies; goal setting, accountability and monitoring results; customer relations; route development; budgeting and financial forecasting; corporate imaging and branding; equipment layout and workflow; and a variety of operational procedures.

Prestige Headquarters in Knoxville will be the on-site training facility for the company.

Prestige Cleaners is one of the largest independently-owned drycleaners in the country. Since Mannis started the company in 1985 with three employees, it has grown to include ten stores, five pickup and delivery routes and approximately 145 employees.

Prestige has been recognized by Varsity International as one of the 20 leading cleaners in the world. Mannis was elected the first chairman of the National Board of the Alliance of Professional Restoration Drycleaners, is a past president of the Tennessee Fabricare Association and a member of the International Dry-cleaner’s Congress.

As a result of his business success, he received the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce 2008 Pinnacle award for Business Excellence. Mannis has also conducted numerous business assessments for US Drycleaning Corp. on topics ranging from operational efficiencies to community relations.

Zellers, a former owner of drycleaning establishments, is well known in the industry for her training seminars on a variety of topics ranging from customer service to plant startups. She has held the position of chief instructor for the Texas Research Center for Laundry and Drycleaning at Texas Woman’s University and is currently instructing their courses at the International Textile Center at Texas Tech University.

She also is a member of the International Drycleaner's Congress, and is the allied trades director for the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners Association.

She is the past president of the International Fabricare Alumni Society and past president of the Central Pennsylvania Dry-cleaner’s Association.

Mannis will continue in his position as president of Prestige Cleaners and Zellers will continue to operate JCZ Training and Consulting.

For information about the new partnership visit their website at www.strategicfabricaresolutions.com.

America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) has a new executive director. After filling two roles over the past five years as technical director and director of business development, Christopher White is easing into the role of executive director.

He joined ABC as an affiliate representing Madame Paulette where he was director of operations for 10 years. During his tenure, Madame Paulette was named the Best of New York on four occasions and listed in the Robb Report as the Best of the Best, worldwide, the only time a drycleaner was listed.

Upon leaving Madame Paulette in early 2005, White joined America’s Best Cleaners and has been instrumental in developing relationships with the Hohenstein Institutes and EFIT, Brooks Brothers, Brioni, Hugo Boss, Swarovski, international affiliates and a number of other retail partners.

“Chris has the vision, the energy and commitment of purpose to take ABC to the next level,” said Ed D’Elicio, founder of ABC.

After 10 years as executive director, D’Elicio will be devoting his time to administration, consulting ABC affiliates and working with manufacturers and retailers.

“I’m not going anywhere,” said D’Elicio. “I’ve been working with Chris, first as an affiliate and then as a partner, to know he has what it takes to bring this organization into the future.”

The two have worked very closely together over the past five years and will continue to do so.

While striking new partnerships with the FashionCare brand of Europe, the Green Business Bureau and a number of manufacturers and retailers, ABC is focusing on its mission of certifying the best drycleaners in major metropolitan areas in the US and Canada.

For more information on ABC, visit www.americasbestcleaners.com.

Cleaver-Brooks, Inc., a North American manufacturer of industrial and commercial boilers, announced that E&N Equipment in Troy, MI, is its first laundry and drycleaning group distributor of boiler room products and systems.

Available in a range of types and sizes, Cleaver-Brooks’ energy-efficient boiler room systems have been engineered to decrease energy consumption, thus lowering operating costs.

Cleaver-Brooks launched its ClearFire line of boiler systems for the laundry and drycleaning market at the 2009 Clean Show.

E&N Equipment is a full-service distributor that supplies drycleaning and laundry equipment to operations throughout Michigan, northern Ohio and parts of Arkansas, Arizona, Mississippi and Tennessee.

E&N Equipment also generates architectural drawings for drycleaning and laundry plants between 1,200 and 12,000 square feet. The company is committed to building “green,” and has built seven wetcleaning plants to date.

E&N Equipment was founded in 1991 and acquired by current president and owner Susie Chon Casalou in 1994.

“We saw the Cleaver-Brooks ClearFire boiler at the Clean Show and instantly knew the design was a winner,” said Steve Casalou, vice president of E&N Equipment. “In addition to the design, we were attracted by the fact that their boilers are the most fuel-efficient units in the industry by a significant amount. At 85 percent, the ClearFire boiler is about 10% more efficient than any other boiler out there today.”

For more information, call (248) 813-0003 or visit www.enequipment.com.

Susan Goddard Jean, who is opening Sue’s Cleaners in Mansfield, MA, will be the first cleaner in the area to have earned all three professional certifications from the Drycleaning & Laundry Industry (DLI) to bear the designation Certified Garment Care Professional.

Jean has earned DLI’s Certified Environmental Drycleaner (CED), Certified Professional Drycleaner (CPD), and Certified Professional Wetcleaner (CPW) designations by passing three examinations that verified her expertise in those areas.

She has been in the drycleaning industry her entire life. Ray’s of Wrentham was opened by her parents, Ray and Ellie Goddard, when she was a toddler. After graduating from Bryant College, she joined the family business as president until selling in 2000.

She continued employment with Ray’s Dry Cleaners in Wrentham as part of the production and management team and has remained active in the industry.

Sue’s Cleaners, next to Tedeschi’s on Rt. 106, will feature GreenEarth Cleaning solvent and state-of-the-art cleaning technology. The company will also offer the “GreenGarmento,” a reusable garment bag.