National Clothesline
Aubin wins Route Pro award
 | |
TCATA’s Cotter elected to two posts
David Cotter, CEO of the Textile Care Allied Trades Association, was elected to leadership positions last month in the Cleaning and Laundry
Executives Association and the National Association of Wholesalers.
He will serve as vice chairman of NAW’s Associations Executive Council and assume the position of chairman next year. The council is a group within NAW composed of approximately 50 trade
associations that represent distributors from various industries.
In that position, he will also serve on the board of directors of NAW, a
national association comprised of direct member companies and a federation of national, regional,
state and local associations and their member firms which collectively total
approximately 40,000 employers, with locations in every state in the United
States.
TCATA has worked closely with NAW for many years, and they are widely recognized
as one of the most effective voices for business in Washington, DC.
Cotter was also elected president of the Cleaning and Laundry Association
Executives, a group comprised of the national, state and regional association
executives in the laundry and drycleaning industry. The group meets annually to
share information and discuss mutual challenges faced by the associations and
their members. Through this discussion, CLAE members are able to combine their
resources to best meet these challenges and serve their respective members more
effectively.
Martinizing ranks among top franchises
Martinizing Dry Cleaning was ranked among the top 500 franchise systems in the
United States, according to the January 2010 issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
Martinizing was ranked 319 overall in this year’s Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 and was number-one in the field of franchised drycleaning and
laundry services. This is the fifth consecutive year the company has been
recognized.
During 2009, Martinizing experienced growth while some of its competitors were
either curbing development or shuttering altogether. During the year, 19
exclusive multi-unit development agreements were signed in areas such as South
Florida, Joliet, IL, New Jersey, Salt Lake City, UT and Rochester, NY, totaling
more than 120 new stores that have opened or will open within the next five
years. The company has nearly 550 locations worldwide.
“We’re honored and proud to be recognized in this year’s ranking,” said Jerry Laesser, Martinizing’s vice president of marketing and franchise development. “We’ve seen so many strong brands go under recently and it shows the dedication we
have to our franchisees and the continued growth and success of this brand
through both good times and more challenging ones.”
Since its inception in 1949 by New York chemist Henry Martin, Martinizing has
been an innovator in the on-site drycleaning industry. In 2003, the brand began
offering silicone-based GreenEarth cleaning solvent as an environmentally safe
alternative to perc and since that time, no new locations have opened using
perc.
Powell to manage Evans’ account in Atlanta
 | ||
Powell has more than 15 years of experience in corporate environments and
non-profit organizations and has been in sales and marketing specifically in
the restoration/insurance business since 2005. She recently completed a
training program at Evans’ Corporate Headquarters in Springfield, IL.
She will be working with adjusters, restoration contractors and commercial
accounts that utilize Evans for garment and soft goods restoration.
“I’m very excited about working with Evans’ customers because it’s easy to see that Evans can really help adjusters save time, reduce costs and
have happier policyholders. It’s also great to represent a company that is so different and offers so much more
value than the competition at the same price,” Powell said.
Powell holds a masters in business management with a specialty in transportation
management/logistics, a masters of divinity, and a bachelors of political
science.
Third generation start at Pariser
Pariser Industries is entering its third generation with Brett Michael Pariser joining the
organization. The recent graduate of the University of Arizona is the son of
company president Andrew Pariser. He will be training in sales and service in the Northeast for the company, according to Art
Fatica, marketing manager for the firm.
Founded in 1969 by Brett's grandfather, Albert, Pariser Industries manufactures
and provides technical service for specialty chemical applications to the drycleaners, wetcleaners, and laundries in all industrial, commercial and
institutional sectors.
New CLA board members begin terms
The Coin Laundry Association board of directors has two new directors and one continuing director who began
their terms of office on January 1.
The elected officers are Karl Keefer, Bryan Maxwell and Jeff Gardner. The
association’s governing body also recognized the contributions of two dedicated leaders who
recently retired from the board — Ron Lane of The Oasis Laundry and Jefferson Hooper of Salem Laundry Company
Inc.
Keefer, a store owner representative, has been involved with CLA for more than
14 years and has served as president of the Illinois Coin Laundry Association
since 2008. During his short tenure as president, he has improved meeting
attendance, expanded the utility savings program, and initiated the use of
webinars to broadcast local meetings.
“To serve on the CLA's Board of Directors is a great personal honor,” said Keefer. “I have always felt a calling to serve others and, as a member of the board, I am
especially passionate in advocating on behalf of fellow self-service-laundry
owners.”
The newest distributor member is Maxwell of Western State Design. Maxwell has
been an active volunteer with the Golden State Coin Laundry Association and
served on the GSCLA board for more than seven years.
“The Coin Laundry Association is great for our industry. To be able to contribute
to its success is truly a privilege,” Maxwell said.
Gardner has been re-elected to serve on the board. During his first appointment,
he revitalized the membership committee as its chairperson and made significant
contributions toward the mission of the Coin Laundry Association.
The CLA board of directors is comprised of 10 store owner members, four
distributors and four manufacturers.
Headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, CLA’s mission is to ensure a profitable and growing retail, self-service laundry
industry by providing superior education, products and services to laundry
owners.
Bibbentuckers, Speedy join FRSTeam network
Two drycleaning firms — Bibbentuckers of Dallas, TX, and Speedy’s Cleaners of Rochester, NY — have joined the FRSTeam national fabric restoration franchise.
In business since 1996 with six retail locations featuring separate facilities
and staging, hand cleaning, and wetcleaning areas, Bibbentuckers has extensive
experience in retail drycleaning including expertise in leathers, a shoe
service and higher-end processing capabilities for handling sophisticated
tailoring, intricate beading, or other fragile handwork associated with couture
garments and fine or delicate fabrics.
The company will use a portion of a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility in a downtown Dallas
location near Baylor Hospital. FRSTeam by Bibbentuckers coverage area will
include Dallas-Fort Worth and down through Austin.
FRSTeam by Bibbentuckers new fabric restoration facility will be located at 502
South Second Avenue, Dallas, TX.
“We have a very similar customer service philosophy and want to leverage the
existing FRSTeam brand to apply to the restoration side,” said John M. Palms Jr., Bibbentuckers owner. “Diversification is important in an unstable economic climate and the restoration
business is more recession-resistant.”
Jim Nicholas, president of FRSTeam said Bibbentuckers’ “commitment to excellent customer service is a hallmark of our FRSTeam operators
and demonstrates why Bibbentuckers is such a wonderful fit for our team.”
The owners of Speedy’s Cleaners, James Deaton and Neil Hellman, have over 50 years combined
experience in the drycleaning industry.
Deaton grew up in the cleaning business, working as a plant manager and becoming
a plant owner in 1968. He eventually became western division manager for R.R.
Street & Co., Inc., in Chicago.
Active in the electrical industry before moving into drycleaning, Hellman loved
to clean, liked machinery and, because he knew how to run a business from prior
experience, when an opportunity arose to buy Speedy’s Cleaners, which has been in operation since 1924, he took it. In the last 11
years he has purchased three of his competitors.
Hellman bought product from Deaton, connecting the two of them to an unforeseen
future as partners in the restoration drycleaning business.
“James was a resource, instrumental in getting me to where I am,” said Hellman. “We got along from the start; I couldn’t have been here without him.”
Adding to his background, Deaton also was a member of Disaster Kleenup
International for a number of years.
With a staff of 50 and a 12,000-sq.-ft. facility with 11 drop stores, Speedy’s Cleaners has built a reputation as a quality and environmentally-friendly
drycleaner.
Deaton and Hellman feel it’s an opportune time to grow to the next level by adding the fabric restoration
aspect, offering standard textile cleaning, hand cleaning, and specialty
cleaning of shoes, belts, purses, stuffed animals, and other household items.
“We are already established on the retail side; expanding into the fabric
restoration market allows us to use our existing equipment and personnel more
completely,” said Deaton.
“James and Neil bring a wealth of industry experience,” FRSTeam president Nicholas said. “Speedy’s Cleaners has been a name associated with quality and service in Rochester for
over 85 years and we are very pleased to now have them represent FRSTeam in the
Western New York marketplace.”
|
|
