CHICAGO — Folding is a critical part of the finishing process for industrial and institutional laundries.
Clean, even folds offer customers professional-looking textiles, but achieving these folds consistently and efficiently can be challenging for an operator.
Folding technology has advanced on many fronts in recent years, and American Laundry News conferred with several providers of folding equipment to learn about those advances, how laundries can make solid folding-equipment selections, and what enhancements are to come.
OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS FOR FOLDING ADVANCES
With all the advancements that have been made in folding technology, one question must be asked: How can a laundry best decide what advances to use in its operation?
“By working with the manufacturers and local distributors, the requirements can be analyzed to see if they are the right candidates for further folding automation,” says Tom Kindy, executive sales director for Chicago Dryer Company. “This requires a consultation to understand the current operation and future needs. Production requirements; sorting methods and accuracy; item material types and sizes to be folded; maintenance standards; physical space; and more will be studied and recommendations made.
“Consulting with the laundry professionals who can offer guidance is key.”
Brennan Pollnow, national sales manager for Girbau Industrial, says the process should begin with a thorough evaluation of the laundry’s product mix and production requirements. Operators should consider the types of articles being processed, whether flatwork, terry goods, or specialty textiles, along with daily volume requirements, peak production demands, fold specifications, available labor, and facility space constraints.
“It is also important to consider future growth plans rather than focusing solely on current production levels,” he points out.
Joe Chenot, interim vice president of customer development for Foltex USA, recommends that a laundry evaluate its folding needs by looking closely at its current folding operation: the items being processed, hourly volume, required fold patterns, stack quality, labor required, and the points where production slows down.
“The first step is identifying folding-related labor pinch points,” he says. “Is the team spending too much time manually folding, sorting, stacking, correcting misfolds, or managing a wide variety of items? Those details help determine whether the operation needs a faster folder, greater flexibility for different textile types, improved automatic sorting and stacking, or a more compact solution that better fits the available space.
“It is equally important to define the expected finished product. Customers may require specific fold dimensions, stack counts, packaging presentation, or a consistent appearance across every delivery. The right folding equipment should reliably produce that result while reducing reliance on manual adjustments and individual operator technique.”
Joe Fleming, president of Yamamoto North America, suggests that before considering a folder, the laundry should document what actually reaches the folding area during a normal day and during peak production.
“Identify the pieces, dimensions, quantities and percentage of total volume represented by each product,” he says. “Then look at how many labor hours are being consumed sorting, folding, stacking and moving those products.
“From there, identify the actual constraint. Is the problem pieces per hour? Labor availability? Inconsistent fold quality? Excessive sorting? Floor space? Operator training? Jams and rework? Or is finished product simply arriving faster than the folding department can handle it?”
Ed Kirejczyk, president of Sea-lion America, says the entire finishing line should be considered: “A high-speed folder provides little value if the equipment feeding it cannot maintain the required production rate. Operators should also calculate ROI (return on investment) based on labor savings, increased capacity, reduced rework and improved consistency — not simply the equipment’s purchase price.”
Casey Lott, marketing director for Kannegiesser North America, agrees: “Many laundries discover that improving workflow between finishing, folding, and distribution has a greater impact than simply adding speed.
“The most successful investments are those that solve today’s challenges while providing the flexibility to adapt as customer demands and labor conditions continue to evolve.”
Read the conclusion Thursday with a look at future folder enhancements and final thoughts from equipment providers.
Click HERE to read part 1 for recent advancements from industrial laundry folding equipment providers.
Read part 2 about more folding equipment performance upgrades by clicking HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].
