JULY 2017
Late News
Clean ’17 hits the jackpot in Las Vegas BY MATT POE, EDITOR
Prestige sells assets in federal bankruptcy court auction NEW YORK — Prestige Industries LLC, a provider of commercial laundry services to the hospitality industry in the area, has sold its assets to an affiliate of Sunrise Capital Partners, reports SSG Capital Advisors LLC, the company’s investment banker. Sunrise is a New Yorkbased private equity group actively focused on investments in small- and medium-sized businesses in the technology, healthcare and business services industries. The sale took place through a Chapter 11 Section 363 process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The transaction closed in May. Prestige, which is headquartered in North Bergen, N.J., operates two laundry facilities and provides a full suite of laundry services to a wide-ranging customer base. SSG says the company filed for bankruptcy protection in January. According to SSG, higher than expected costs and completion delays from the construction of a greenfield facility, coupled with certain operational difficulties, suppressed Prestige’s profitability for several years. The result was an unsustainable capital structure. ALN
Volume 43, Number 7
LAS VEGAS — The Clean Show returned to Las Vegas … and the laundry and linen service industry hit the jackpot. The nonstop energy and glamour of the host city transferred to the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center, June 5-8. Both attendees and exhibitors expressed positive results during the 40th year of what is formally known as the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning. “I think everyone who’s been on the show floor will tell you it is amazing,” says Mary Scalco, Clean 2017 chairman and CEO of the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI). “There is quite the excitement on the floor. “We sold out (our exhibit space), and we are more than thrilled with the quality of vendors and how the show floor looks. Every year, I’m more and more impressed with how the show floor looks.”
Mary Scalco, Clean 2017 chairman and CEO of Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI), cuts the ribbon to open Clean ’17. (Photo: Nathan Frerichs)
The exhibit space sellout included 481 vendors across all textile care segments. Exhibitors covered 227,006 square feet of space in the
Dust/lint control moves for ward More laundries being proactive to curb dangerous situation BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — Michael Reilly, president of Clean Cycle Systems in Seguin, Texas, got into the laundry and linen service industry about 30 years ago. Reilly’s company manufactures lint collection and exhaust air systems for all types of laundries. Back then, he called on many laundry plants, and he didn’t see a lot in the way of dust and lint control. “They would have lint collectors or lint filters on large dryers, big industrial commercial dryers,” he says. “That was common, but that would be the extent of it.” Secondary lint collectors and fans to optimize airflow weren’t normal
features. And smaller on-premises laundries (OPL) didn’t have systems in place to deal with lint.
“THE LINT BUILDS UP IN THE DRYER DUCT, AND IT SLOWS THE PERFORMANCE ... AND IT’S A FIRE RISK.” —MICHAEL REILLY, CLEAN CYCLE SYSTEMS The result? Dust and lint buildup in and on equipment, and up in the ceiling and rafters. Besides up above, the common
areas in a laundry where Reilly sees dust and lint buildup include dryers, ironer lines (feeder-ironersheet folder), small-piece folders and garment rail systems. This buildup creates a dangerous situation. “The lint builds up in the dryer duct, and it slows the performance, there’s more resistance in the dryer, and it’s a fire risk,” says Reilly. “It can overheat the dryer, and, obviously, lint will combust very easily.” Steve Marcq, director of business development for General Linen Service LLC, with corporate headquarters in Somersworth, N.H., and locations in the Northeast, has seen the results of dust/lint
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INSIDE Reducing Lint Accumulation In this issue’s OPL 101, learn what can be done to help reduce lint.
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Convention Center. According to show management company Riddle & Associates, Clean ’17 boasted the event’s larg-
est booth space sales since the show was held in Las Vegas 10 years ago. See CLEAN on Page 6
buildup firsthand. “I’ve seen an ironer burn up from lint and grease catching on fire years ago at a company I used to work for,” he says. “Needless to say, preventative maintenance became more of a priority afterward.” “Lint in the dryer/finishing area of a laundry is generated from the drying process in a dryer, as well as lint created in handling linens when processed for use,” says Bryant Dunivan, vice president of sales and marketing for Energenics Corp. in Naples, Fla., which provides dust and lint solutions to the industry. “Typically, the lint that is visible comes from ironer/folder operation.” The threat of fire and loss of efficiency is real when it comes to dust and lint in a laundry. Fortunately, the industry has embraced systems to help reduce this dangerous situation. See DUST on Page 8
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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Automating Washers When is it time to move from openpocket washers to a batch tunnel?
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Panel of Experts
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Discover tools and strategies to help with the endless “to-do” list.
6/19/17 9:39 AM