MONTEBELLO, Calif. — With advances in technology and efficiency, many laundries are improving their process, throughput and energy-saving capabilities by upgrading their laundry equipment. While the capital investment can be substantial, the benefits can be substantial, as well.
Magic Laundry Services says it recently revamped its facility here, investing $4 million to renovate and expand to better serve its customers. The process wasn’t easy, but the results transformed Magic Laundry Services and its business, according to the company.
Harry Kertenian, CFO and COO of the company, and his staff toured several plants during the Textile Rental Services Association’s (TRSA) June 2015 European Laundry Tour in London. That event, coupled with the California water crisis, served as the spark for the laundry’s upgrade.
“What we saw touring laundries in London made us realize that investing in the future now was the right way to go, especially at such a crucial time with water,” Kertenian says. “Since we started the business, we’ve known that we’ve needed to steadily find ways to be more efficient.”
The process of updating Magic Laundry Services began with extensive conversations with the Kannegiesser design and engineering teams, who created CAD drawings of equipment layouts that would maximize space and achieve the facility’s production goals, the company says.
On-site visits were conducted to view the space and verify that the designs were appropriate for Magic Laundry Services’ needs. Once the layout was finalized, meetings with Magic Laundry Services’ staff, its contractors and Kannegiesser’s project management team defined responsibilities and determined the installation schedule, according to the company.
The Magic Laundry Services upgrade took a unique, phased approach, says Kannegiesser. Scheduled around the winter holiday season, Phase 1 of the upgrade-—which included one 13-compartment, 132-pound batch tunnel washer; one 56-bar press extractor; and four double-batch system dryers—was scheduled to be installed and operating before Christmas.
Phase 2—which included the second 13-compartment, 132-pound tunnel washer; 56-bar press extractor; and six additional double-batch system dryers—was scheduled to be installed immediately after New Year’s Day.
With the clock ticking, the Magic Laundry Services, Kannegiesser and construction teams needed a solid plan and good communication to get the job done. Kannegiesser provided four technicians and a project manager on-site to ensure that the upgrade process went off without a hitch, according to the company.
Each phase of installation went smoothly, the company says, and by the end of January, both tunnel washing systems were operating at full capacity.
With a tunnel system that can now wash a combined 7,200 pounds per hour, the throughput of the facility is greatly improved, says Kannegiesser. Magic Laundry Services also transformed its energy efficiency capabilities with water reuse tanks and ratiometric washing. Water and chemicals for cleaning are completely customized by batch weight, meaning that these items are conserved by the tunnel.
These efficiency gains have even resulted in an energy credit from Magic Laundry Services’ utility provider. In the competitive and eco-friendly market of Southern California, efficiency tends to draw new customers.
Thanks to its system upgrade, Magic Laundry Services says it has made vast improvements in its laundry capabilities. The facility now has equipment that is perfectly suited to its space and needs, and has made energy efficiency gains that will also result in valuable cost savings for the company.
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