On Thursday, November, 15th, more than 100 people gathered in the political center of the Netherlands. At the invitation of MKB Nederland, FTN (The Dutch Textile Service Federation) was able to receive its guests on the seventh floor of De Malietoren. Prior to the NST 2018, the well-attended autumn meeting of FTN also took place. In addition to a review of 2018, which is reported in the FTN Annual Report 2018, the main focus was also on 2019. The year in which, among other things, projects and activities will be developed in the areas of labor policies, environmental aspects, sustainability, innovation and quality management!
Board changes
Under loud applause, the speeches for new board members were approved. Mr. Lars Kamphuis (Elis Nederland) and Mr. Titus Mulder (Rentex Floron) will strengthen the board. In addition, Mr. Ruud Meijer was appointed as the new independent chairman with effect from 2019. He succeeds Mr. Stef de Win (Nedlin), who continues as a member of the board after two years of chairmanship.
Employment conditions highlighted
Mr. Meijer immediately had the honor to welcome the guests. Three specialists then shed light on all kinds of terms and conditions of employment and collective labor agreements. This, of course, within the framework of the new Collective Labor Agreement for Textile Care 2018 – 2020 and in particular the pilot projects that will start in 2019 in order to achieve a labor conditions policy that is in line with current developments and wishes of employers and employees. Erben Wennemars took the participants together in his experiences that formed him in his sports career and made him world champion!
Edelweiss Textielverzorging won the Energy Award 2018 of FTN (The Dutch Textile Service Federation) on Thursday, November 15th in Den Haag (The Netherlands).
The Award, a culmination of another successful year of energy efficiency improvement and CO2 reduction within the textile service sector, took place during the Textile Service National Symposium 2018 of FTN. With a saving of 3.9% over 2017, the Dutch PTC sector performs well above the required minimum 2% for CO2 reduction. Compared with 2005, the sector achieved savings of 29.4% (including 2017). The target is a saving of 30% in 2020. The sector is thus well on track and is expected to exceed the 30% goal.
For the Energy Award 2018, the nominated companies were Elis B.V. (location Uden), Rentex Floron (Bolsward) and Edelweiss Textielverzorging (The Hague).
You can see (below) the short movie covering the Textile Care Management National Symposium 2018
The WOPCOM – World of PTC Community is a new online platform where partners of professional textile care come together & find information on business development. WOPCOM is a digital community platform and as such not a competitor to other information services, trade fairs, associations, trade magazines or consultants. They are all invited to use WOPCOM as the digital platform of the Professional Textile Care Industry worldwide.
Which results can you expect from WOPCOM?
Professional Q&A; start discussions and get answers to problems and other pressing issues that trouble your mind today! PTC is a global profession executed everywhere in the world with similar technology developments and customer demands. Learn from other markets through the network of business experts and consultants on the WOPCOM platform.
Gain a competitive advantage in your market! Generate new ideas for business development of your own company that result in competitive advantages! WOPCOM provides the following type of info to get you going:
Marketing articles (including country reports)
Technical articles
Scientific research papers
Analysis of business cases (including the Global Awards nominees)
Expert visions from industry peers and stakeholders related to PTC
Conference presentations over the past years
Video recordings from workshops & webinars
Consultants that can provide training and / or execute assignments to aid your business
Materials to support your business strategies, sales pitches and decision making processes with references to (scientifi c) research, market studies, expert opinions and objectively analysed new technologies.
Information to benchmark your business to others in the PTC industry. Are you applying technology and service concepts that fi t best within your market? See how others perform in your (or comparable) markets and make sure you innovate to stay ahead of the competition!
Data to make sure you don’t miss out by keeping up to date on the latest industry developments and innovations! Constant content production and development of the WOPCOM platform will make sure you can let the information come to you upon your request.
Be invited for WOPCOM events, workshops and webinars; a couple of times per year the members of the community will be invited for networking events in real life where themes will be addressed that seem to be pressing within the community.
Grow the total market size of PTC services, also in your own market! A bit noble to formulate it like this but by joining this community you will be part of something bigger. Your contributions aid to speed up the pace of innovation for PTC worldwide and as a group of industry representatives we will grow the market together!
Only this month! By using the coupon code LAUNCH at the Subscription menu (by clicking “Buy Now” to the section that fits your company profile), you can have free access for 1 month in the platform.
For the coming period, we will present you week by week, the most outstanding PTC showcases that were officially nominated for The Global Best Practices Awards Program 2018. The profiles of these companies are also present in the WOPCOM platform, which you can access here.
Hakuyosha Co. Ltd. (Japan) – The Sustainability Award at GBPAP18 – Retail Textile Cleaning
One of the largest dry cleaners in the world that cleaned 6.5 mln shirts and 15.8 mln dry cleaned items last year
Hakuyosha is known as a full-service cleaning company that provides textile care services, hotel line supply services, dust-control services, etc. They are continuing their efforts in being pioneers of the Japanese Professional Textile Cleaning industry in delivering customers satisfaction for more than 110 years of business. The company’s main concept: “In everything, do to others what you would wish them to do to you”. This translated into day-to-day operations performed the entire staff. The Japanese company provides total cleaning service for day-to-day life such as interior cleaning, not only textile cleaning. This includes pick up & delivery service, apart from the service in the shops, and also the reception of the items that are sent by door-to-door delivery service from all over the country so that the customers can receive the service in a convenient manner.
Hakuyosha’s headquarters
Human resources, the main driver toward exceptional quality. The management has implemented a qualification system for employees so that the skills of plants and sales personnel can be evaluated on regular basis. An examination is performed twice a year for employees. Employees receive several types of benefits, such as status and perquisite, according to the rank of qualification they achieve. In customer service, the technical and the sales department, the focus is on customer service, fabric material and cleaning knowledge. The company has defined specific examination modules for every step in the process within the plant, the staff being evaluated based on their speed, working skills and, quality output
Constant evaluation of quality,in order to maintain the highest standards
The company executes cleaning performance tests twice a year on every cleaning facility to maintain cleaning quality and working environment. The specialized section from the head office executes quality control checks once a year at every plant, as well. In each unit of Hakuyosha, the managers also take random samples and execute quality checks twice a month. The examiners, who have completed the necessary training course, check quality of all finished items one by one, and if an item that doesn’t correspond to the standards is found, it will be sent back to the plant, in order to maintain the quality levels. Apart from the quality checks, the customers’ opinions are of a critical importance, being used in order to improve the overall quality of the service.
A continuous improvement of the processes and services
Hakuyosha considers convenience for customers the pivotal characteristic while tailoring a high quality service. They study the characteristics of material, develop handling methods, and add new cleaning features continuously. And this is done by aiming to clean and finish in a more sustainable manner without affecting the textiles.
Quick service is also provided and, furthermore, considering housing condition in Japan, the company provides cleaning and storage service until next wearing season. Being inspired by the way in which women care about their skin, Hakuyosha developed a variety of textile processing technologies, such as water repellent, mothproofing etcetera, in the same way, which was received in a very favourable manner by the customers. In terms of marketing and communication, Hakuyosha hasn’t set a specific goal in promoting its services in the media in a big way. However, they continuously receive requests for interview from various media outlets, because they are already well-known in Japan.
Plant of Hakuyosha’s Tokyo Branch
An undisputed leader in Japan in terms of innovation and sustainability
The company is working on constructive introduction of energy saving facilities, co-development of new solvent with manufacturer, and recycle of plastic hangers to contribute countermeasures against global warming and CO2 reduction. Although the environment related laws and regulations keep changing, Hakuyosha meets every regulation’s requirements by innovation, such as developing and integrating new equipment. Their own laboratory continuously executes environmental measurement and assumes Hakuyosha’s environmental conservation activities. The staffs of laboratory conducts tests and researches in order to develop new cleaning methods. Aiming for eco-friendly cleaning, they examine new solvent or detergent and test optimum cleaning methods to treat various types of fabrics and designs. They also develop textile processing technologies to meet the customers’ requirements. Causes and solutions of particular problems during the cleaning processes are also pursued to be found out. Technical data from the laboratory are utilized in Hakuyosha’s plants for customers’ satisfaction. One of the largest dry cleaners in the world that cleaned 6.5 mln shirts and 15.8 mln dry cleaned items last year “Their credo is that the best promotion is continuing to meet customers’ requests.”
B. Werner, C.E.O/Chairman of The Board at G.A. Braun, Inc. recently announced the appointment of Frederick G. (Rick) Rudmann as President of the company.
Rudmann is known for his knowledge and experience, based on over thirty years of strategic planning and business analysis in various manufacturing arenas. The company states to have had a continuous focus on product quality and customer support and under Rick’s direction, one aims at adding new technological innovations and enhancements to the product portfolio. Werner:”I am confident that Rick will further strengthen our capabilities, and our ability to continue developing solutions for our dynamic customer base both domestically and internationally”.
Rudmann’s appointment is considered to be another step along the strategic path to continued growth in both domestic and international markets. Rick will operate out of Braun’s corporate headquarters in Syracuse, NY. The Braun core business is aimed at providing complete solutions to laundry business issues. Today the company has grown to a major PTC corporation with worldwide brand recognition.
Recently Huebsch introduced an innovative network and payment technology – Huebsch Command™. The technology is developed to help vended laundry owners make smarter business decisions.
The company’s North American sales manager Kathryn Rowen states: “The vended laundry business has changed and owners need a more streamlined, data-driven approach to managing their business. With this technology we are extending our already strong partnership with store owners and giving them access to advanced information, more convenience for their customers and ultimately, helping them to operate a more profitable business.”
The ‘smart’ technology wirelessly networks washer-extractors and tumble dryers and makes all operations data accessible from the cloud. Such as: see store (and multiple stores) performance data, receive error alerts, configure machines, set time-of-day pricing, adjust water levels, offer refunds remotely, see comprehensive revenue and machine error reports. In addition, the payment system enables owners to provide mobile payments, machine cycle notifications and store loyalty incentives. The system, which is configurable for the brand’s Galaxy 600 controls, enables owners to set key performance indicator (KPI) goals and track their progress. The system is developed to provide tailored information to business owners giving them access to data whenever they want from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
At the recent EXPODETERGO the Girbau company’main focus was demonstrating how innovations are changing the PTC industry. Various corners and thematic areas were created with specialised solutions for different laundry sectors (wet cleaning, self-service, etc.), demonstrations of remote connectivity solution to control laundry equipment remotely, as well as areas set aside for multimedia interaction.
The virtual reality platform attracted visitors who were taken on a virtual reality tour through future laundry projects. As to equipment some main innovations were presented for industrial – , OPL laundry, as wel as wet cleaning – and the self-service segments.
Girbau’s CEO – Mercè Girbau – explained how the new Girbau LAB disruptive innovation project is based on the group’s strategic plan for 2020: growth, adapting to the market, and promoting the detection and retention of talent. In order to follow these strategy Girbau invited laundry business-owners to share ideas with Girbau in order to be able to respond to what customers desire and thus stimulate innovation.
In 1930, during the Great Depression, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that we would all have a 15-hour work week “within a hundred years.”
The four-day work week has become a hot topic, as technology has introduced new methods to increase productivity. Certain industries don’t require as many working hours anymore, and the global trend—especially in Europe—is leading to a four-day work week. Does it work? Could it work for the PTC industry?
In February 2017 the 90-year-old Dutch family-owned laundry company Lavans was in the news on Dutch television, because of their unorthodox vision on Human Resources Management and how they changed their working processes. Owing to continuing automation, jobs, tasks and processes change or disappear. At Lavans they claimed to anticipate on these developments instead of defying them. Piet Heerkens –co-owner – stated that according to Lavans the solution to new working strategies can be found in ‘a life-long learning policy’. Not as a sole responsibility of employees, but also as an employers’goal. Heerkens: “In order to keep our workforce, we have determined new requirements as to jobs, tasks, ambitions and roles. We offer education when needed and thus we have a perfect match between personal talents and tasks required”.
Apparently, actively working on work-life balance combined with the power of automation led to enthusiasm and motivation in this company with apparent positive influence on business. Wouldn’t that work for every laundry?
Professional textile care is playing an increasingly important role in the growth markets of the world and Texcare International is the event where international manufacturers and regional buyers are brought together.
Every four years this event brings you future-oriented innovations for all stages along the modern textile-care chain. Here you can not only find a concentrated overview of all the trends and themes in the sector, but also discuss solutions for your company with experts and manufacturers. Texcare is the ultimate forum for a diversity of sectors, such as textile cleaning, laundrettes, pressers and colourers rugs, carpets and upholstery cleaning, the professional, working and protective clothing trade, the hotel and catering trade, the health and hygiene market the specialist retail trade.
The coming Texcare International will take place from 20 to 24 June 2020 in the German city Frankfurt am Main. We are proud to inform you that CINET – The International Committee of Textile Care – will also be present to host a special program. More information about the CINET program will follow soon.
Recently U.S. electric truck maker Nikola Motor presented the third version of its hydrogen-powered electric semitrailer truck.
The Nikola Tre — tre meaning “three” in Norwegian — will be the “first European zero-emission commercial truck,” according to Trevor Milton, the firm’s founder and chief executive. Milton: “The truck will come with “redundant braking, redundant steering, redundant 800Vdc batteries and a redundant 120 Kw hydrogen fuel cell, all necessary for true level 5 autonomy”.
Redundancy in engineering means the duplication of vital components of a system in order to increase its reliability and performance. “Level 5 autonomy” refers to a level of autonomy in self-driving vehicles that means they can be operated without a human driver under any environmental conditions. The company did not reveal a price for the new truck of which a prototype will be displayed in April 2019. Nikola – founded in 2014 – also said it would be targeting other international markets including Asia and Australia with this new truck. European testing of the truck is slated to begin in Norway by around 2020, Nikola said, and the firm is in “preliminary planning stages” to decide a location for its European manufacturing plant.
As for Industrial Textile Services companies this new truck may present a cost-cutting opportunity in the future, since their transportation costs play a considerable role in overall business expenditure. It could also may well influence their sustainability efforts which are an emerging theme of interest throughout overall modern business.
