NEW YORK — Manufacturers of laundry machinery, textiles and chemicals introduced new and improved cost-saving products at HX: The Hotel Experience—Rooms to Restaurants, a three-day event here at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in mid-November.
Many of the new products are designed to reduce energy and water consumption for cost-conscious managers of hotel laundries.
Exhibitors also networked and forged new relationships with laundry managers and hotel owners and executives at HX, formerly The International Hotel Motel & Restaurant Show (IHMRS).
HX, North America’s largest trade event for the hospitality industry, drew more than 12,000 people this year, according to Missy Stearns, marketing manager for ST Media Group, the show’s management company.
Among machinery manufacturers, UniMac featured its OPTispray Rinsing Technology, available on all UniLinc cycles, which is designed to minimize the water required to rinse a load and to reduce cycle time with more effective rinsing. OPTispray uses spray-rinsing power to leave 22% less wash chemical residuals behind, according to Scott Peregoy, regional sales manager for UniMac, a brand of Alliance Laundry Systems, based in Ripon, Wis.
The company also offered its TotalVue management reporting system, which enables laundry and hotel managers to remotely monitor the performance of specific machines and multiple laundry locations from any Internet-enabled device by logging into the system website. Managers can track utility expenses, labor usage, efficiency, equipment utilization and productivity—how much laundry is being processed through a facility in a given period of time.
Pellerin Milnor Corp., which shared exhibit space with Chicago Dryer Co. at HX, has also enhanced its washing technology to reduce laundry costs for hotels, according to Joseph Leo, vice president of sales and marketing for PAC Industries Inc., a Milnor distributor.
Milnor’s RinSave water-saving feature allows for the washer-extractor basket to reach a precise G-force, which slings the wash liquor—including water, chemicals and soil—out of the goods after a wash step. Standard on all rigid-mount washer-extractors from 40 to 165 pounds in capacity, the feature is designed to save up to two rinses per load and reduce fill-rinse time.
Floor traffic was slow on Sunday, the opener of the three-day show, according to Mats Bruce, executive vice president of B&C Technologies, manufacturer of commercial laundry machinery for hospitals, hotels and prisons, based in Panama City, Fla. B&C’s washer-extractors range in capacity from 30 pounds all the way up to 475 pounds and are well-suited for on-premises hotel laundries.
However, traffic at the B&C exhibit more than doubled the next day, says Bruce.
Electrolux promoted its high-spin 450 G-force washers, designed to achieve faster drying times and lower gas consumption.
“Hotel managers want to save money on energy and gas by using more efficient equipment,” says Bianca Beres, customer care sales specialist for Laundrylux, distributor of the Electrolux and Wascomat brands, and based in Inwood, N.Y.
It was a productive show for Hamilton Engineering Inc., manufacturers of boilers and hot water heaters, according to Josh Reasoner, south central regional sales manager for the company, based in Livonia, Mich. It was the first time exhibiting at the hotel show for Hamilton, which is seeking to expand into the hotel market.
“We’ve gotten some very good quality leads and feedback at the show,” says Reasoner.
The same could be said for Xeros Inc., makers of the Xeros washing machine, which uses specially designed polymer beads in place of large volumes of hot water to remove stains from linen and fabrics. Its first-generation system was designed to reduce water consumption in the wash process by up to 80% and energy use by up to 50%.
“We had a good quality of leads at the show,” says David Kaupp, vice president of marketing for Xeros, whose U.S. offices are located in Manchester, N.H. “Many hotel managers are interested in reducing their laundry costs and extending linen life.”
Xeros now has more than 150 laundry installations in the U.S.
Manufacturers of laundry chemicals and related systems also highlighted recent innovations in cost savings for the hotel industry.
Ecolab exhibited its Aquanomic low-temperature chemistry laundry program, which combines with a pre-programmed Smart Wash process to reduce water and energy usage by up to 40%.
The company also exhibited its StainBlaster Stain Management Program, which is formulated to eliminate extra-tough stains, such as makeup, blood and grease, and to minimize linen replacement costs by extending the life of the linen. The stain management program includes a variety of pre-spotter sprays and Power Pak formulas.
“It was a great show and an opportunity for us to highlight some of Ecolab’s key innovations,” says Nicole Goodman, marketing communications manager for lodging at Ecolab, based in St. Paul, Minn. “The outcome was great.”
Similarly, Proctor and Gamble offered its Tide Professional Coldwater System, designed to reduce the energy used to heat water in washers by up to 75% and the water used in washers by up to 40%.
“Energy and water savings are a key in the hotel market,” says Greg Elmore, Northeast region manager for P&G Professional, based in Cincinnati.
Manufacturers of institutional textiles also introduced innovations and new support services for hotel laundries.
For instance, Harbor Linen introduced Dry IQ, a new line of bath towels, hand towels and washcloths, a 70-30 blend of cotton and polyester fabric engineered for faster drying, maximum durability and minimum shrinkage. The company also introduced its Laundry IQ program, a new service and “value-add proposition,” designed to make staff experts or consultants available to visit laundries and diagnose problems or to provide “full-blown throughput analysis,” according to Jason Quint, vice president of finance for Harbor, based in Gibbsboro, N.J.
Interestingly, Harbor repurposed racking materials from one of its warehouses to create a nautical theme for its exhibit. The company used the symbol of an anchor to demonstrate that its products are always in stock for its customers.
“Everyone tends to have the same type of exhibits at the show,” says Quint. “We wanted to do something different to stand out from the crowd.”
Welspun, a manufacturer of sheets and towels, used the HX show to introduce its Hygro cotton sheets and towels, made from a proprietary spinning technology, which produces hollow-core cotton yarn for advanced airflow and absorbency. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Welspun has manufacturing plants in Anjar and Vapi, in Gujarat state, India.
Although hospitality represents only 5% of Welspun’s total business worldwide, “hotels are a growth area for us,” says David Dee, senior vice president of product development and sales for Welspun Hospitality Solutions, based in New York.
Commercial laundries also had a footprint at the show, in the hopes of offering their services to hotel management.
Olympic Linen Service, which serves institutions in New York, New Jersey and Delaware, took booth space to offer its services to hotel managers “who are interested in subbing out their linen work,” says Nick Nakos, account specialist for Olympic, who described booth traffic at the show as “good.”
A far larger, national player in the hospitality market is the new PureStar Linen Group, recently formed from the merger of Atlantic City Linen; Brady Linen Services in North Las Vegas; and Royal Hospitality Services in Somerville, Mass., outside of Boston. PureStar exhibited at the HX show for the first time as part of an effort to launch its new brand in the hotel market and to offer its services to hotel management and large hotel groups seeking expertise in outsourced linen services, according to Terry Satchwell, executive vice president.
PureStar’s 15 laundries employ more than 3,000 people and process some 1.7 million pounds of linen per day for more than 200 leading hospitality clients across the U.S. and in the Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico.
The PureStar family of companies will seek growth opportunities in the hospitality industry in different U.S. cities, according to Eric Goldberg, co-CEO of PureStar. Its goal is to double in size within the next five years, he says.
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