Guide to OPL ironers

Customers now demand a high standard of finish

1 June 2011



Customers in the OPL (on-premise laundry) sector are looking for improved efficiency and high standards of finish. Tony Vince reports


The efficient use of resources is high priority in both the UK’s industrial and on-premise laundry sectors. Manufacturers are responding to greater demands for OPL ironers that use less energy without compromising on high standards.

Manufacturers and suppliers to the OPL sector are more upbeat about ironer sales with several reporting growth.

Many agree that OPL businesses are seeking greater control over quality and say that now more medium-sized hotels are investing in flatwork finishing equipment in an effort to raise standards.

Malcolm Martin, product manager at Miele Professional, says that the company is starting to see some increases in ironer sales generally and especially in those to on-premise laundries.

He adds that the resurgence in demand is mainly being driven by small- to medium-size hospitality businesses. Faced with the rising costs of contract laundering, hotels and B&Bs are taking this service in-house to reduce costs.

Girbau UK also reports a rise in sales. Managing director Peter Marsh says that customers want to achieve high standards but with lower production costs. They are also looking for ways to save energy, “We have seen a greater take-up of more energy-efficient gas-heated ironers. Energy saving and increasing automation go hand in hand to maintain standards and provide a cost effective solution.”

Marsh points out that boutique hotels are using heavier-weight linen including super-king sized sheets and duvet covers.

“These trends are encouraging customers to look at larger OPL machines, where they have sufficient space to accommodate them,” he adds.

At Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems, the UK-based distributor for manufacturers such as GMP, Lapauw and Laco, group managing director Jeremy Lowes says that while few OPLs are committing to non-essential investment, competitive pressure in the hospitality sector is leading to demand for equipment that can produce higher standards of finish.

Expanding care sector

Long-term demographic trends also support gradual expansion in the care sector. Although a residential home may not require the same standard of finish as a five-star hotel, it is still important and improved efficiency is high priority in both the care home and hospitality sectors.

“As always, quality is paramount,” says Lowes. “It is vital that the finished linen is up to the standards of the operator.”

Lowes adds that the on premise laundry market comprises several diverse segments, which behave in different ways, but overall the market is stable and, in the main, sales are replacement.

Martin at Miele Professional expects to see opportunities in the hospitality industry, especially with the current trend for taking holidays in the UK rather than abroad and with events such as the 2012 Olympics .

He adds that the tendency to repair equipment rather than replace it is now being affected by the law of diminishing returns.

Repair costs have to be balanced with the age of the machine. Rotary ironers tend to have a longer service life than most equipment in the laundry room but there’s a limit to how long manufacturers are able to supply spare parts.

At Electrolux Laundry Systems, marketing manager Julie Fell says that OPL businesses want to be assured that their investment in equipment will provide the benefits they want and that will suit the type of work they will be processing. The company makes sure it knows all the requirements so that it can supply the right equipment.

She adds that significant savings can be made by bringing laundry services in-house. “Many businesses can benefit from having an OPL as it gives more control over standards, avoids a minimum commitment and allows linen to be processed as and when needed.”

The Electrolux range of ironers for the OPL market includes machines with return or straight feed and manual or automatic feeding or folding.

The FFS return-feed ironers are fully programmable and can be used with cottons, synthetics and blends. This feed option requires only one operator to handle the whole finishing process from feeding to folding and stacking. Ironers can handle both large flatwork – sheets, duvet covers and table cloths – and small-piece work such as napkins and pillow cases.

The thermal oil flow inside the Dubixium cylinders ensures even heat distribution throughout the ironer length avoiding lost production due to uneven temperatures.

Marsh at Girbau UK says that OPL businesses are trying to maximise the productivity and energy efficiency. Smaller OPLs may not always have an ironer but investing in a suitably-sized dryer-ironer can bring great improvements. Used in combination with high-speed washer-extractors, dryer-ironers can also reduce the need for tumble drying – one of the most energy intensive laundry processes.

Boutique hotels are using heavier linens and super-king duvet covers and sheets and, space permitting, will choose a larger ironer.

Girbau’s PS/PSP ironers have been upgraded and improvements include a higher maximum speed of 9m/minute, multiple photocells rather than the single cell used previously and tougher end-covers for greater protection and lower maintenance.

The use of multiple cells in both PSP5125 and the PSP5132 allows two operators to iron items of varying sizes simultaneously and ensures that the full roller width can be used to improve productivity and energy efficiency.

The GMP ironer range supplied by Armstrong delivers high quality results for smaller OPL installations. The laundry at the Ynyshir Hall hotel at Machynlleth, Powys, Wales includes an 1,000mm GMP rotary ironer. The Georgian manor house, once the retreat of Queen Victoria, has an impressive collection of awards and accolades including Hotel of the Year. Owners Rob and Joan Reen say an on-site laundry was needed to meet their high standards.

For its size, throughput of linen is very high, says Joan Reen. Towels are changed twice a day and the top sheet every time a room is used. The hotel’s laundry processes all towels, robes and napkins as well as the kitchen and housekeeping cloths.

“The results are up to our exacting standards and so is the service we receive from Armstrong,” she adds.

The care and residential home sector continues to be the largest user of OPL equipment in the UK.

The 1,000mm GMP ironer at the March Glen Care Centre in Clackmannanshire was installed after its operator, Caring Homes, specified Armstrong equipment.

The laundry processes the linen from all the home’s services including linen from the residents’ rooms. The laundry is working full time, seven days a week and “delivers superb quality results” says manager Jane Nelson, who also praised Amstrong’s support service.

The 1400ES (energy saving) ironer is a further development from GMP. It is said to use less energy than similar products because of the design of its heating elements, its roll padding and the inclusion of a patented electronic thermo-regulation system.

Market cross-over

In some manufacturers’ ranges there is an overlap between machines for industrial/commercial laundry market and those for the large hotel OPLs.

Energy efficiency is important says Lowes. He says that where steam is not available, the company advises installing gas-heated equipment rather than electrically-heated machines. Wherever possible all linen should be ironed on a single-pass and these larger, heavy-duty machines can even be used to fill this requirement on thicker duvet covers.

Armstrong is the distributor for the Belgian manufacturer Lapauw and its machines are largely used by the heavy-duty sector but there is some overlap with the larger hotel OPLs.

The Royal Marine Hotel in Dublin for uses a Lapauw 1200 ironer to deliver 200 sheets per hour, folded and stacked.

Boutique hotels

The Laco product range begins with the Laco 300 chest-heated ironer which is suitable for boutique hotels and four and five star establishments up to 400 – 500 rooms.

It has a 300mm diameter roll, an ironing width of 1.8m and is available in either pass-through or return-feed versions. It is electrically heated and the work is in contact with the roll through 210degrees to deliver high volume outputs and a high standard of finish.

Laco ironers also use polyester or meta-aramid needlefelts to cover the roll as these can handle higher temperatures so moisture evaporates rapidly. Frequency inverter drives provide variable speeds and the hydraulic rams used to maintain bed-to-roll contact and ensure high finishing standards.

Miele’s Malcolm Martin says that OPL businesses want machines that are easy to use as well as being energy efficient and providing a range of processing options.

The way that the different sections of the laundry work together is paramount here. The use of smart technology streamlines the operation and eliminates guesswork.

He says a high quality finish will depend upon the residual moisture in the linen when it leaves the tumblers and passes to the ironer line – too much will require a second pass wasting time and energy; too little will result in creasing.

Many of Miele’s dryers monitor moisture levels electronically so linen has the right level of moisture when it reaches the ironer.

Miele has several ironer models in its range with ironing lengths from 850mm to 2m to accommodate varying linen types – tea towels, napkins, tablecloths, sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers.

While Miele Professional ironers are mainly intended for pass-through operation with two staff, Miele offers an optional return-feed module for use when large pieces are being ironed in a limited space. This is switch-operated so the machine can quickly revert to pass-through operation.

Belt feed is also optional and can help to prevent laundry slip during feed-in. Clothing the roller with spring padding is another option and can be used to distribute pressure more evenly and evaporate moisture more easily.

The latest Miele Professional flatwork ironers with patented outfeed table have a design similar to the patented honeycomb drum used in the company’s washers and dryers.

Each table has a sculptured surface with perforations where the corners of hexagons meet. This allows rising warm air to pass through the linen and the thermal air flow cools the linen helping to fix the finish.

This design features on Miele Professional's three-model series of flatwork ironers, the PM1318, PM1418 and PM1421. With widths from 1,680 – 1,990mm, these flatwork ironers are suitable for OPLs in hotels and care centres as well as in commercial laundries. All models are available with gas or electric heating.

The ironer’s aluminium bed is said to conduct heat four times better than steel, says Miele. With a wraparound angle of 167degrees the distance over which laundry is in direct contact with the bed has been increased by 8%, transferring more heat to the linen. The bulk of the heat is released shortly after the linen has been fed into the ironer.

Electrically-heated models have, most of the heating elements at this point. Gas-heated models use a dual burner which also ensures rapid heat. This maximises heat distribution and lowers energy consumption by more than 10%.

These ironers can handle up to 103.6kg/hour depending on the model and the work’s residual moisture.

Danube International is one of the largest manufacturers worldwide of flatwork dryer-ironers. The DII flatwork dryer-ironer is said to be the only one with a stainless-steel framework.

It is a development of an original machine launched over a decade ago and brought up-to-date with the latest energy-saving features.

There are four models – the DII 140, 160, 200 and 320. The company says hourly productivity ranges from 10 – 20kg/hour for the DII 140 to 40 – 50kg/hour for the DII 320.

The Flatwork DII ironer comes in gas and electric-heated versions.

Danube International has developed an automatic speed adjustment system that takes into account linen and room humidity, so allowing the linen to go from washer to ironer without any manual adjustment.

The company’s “Smart system” measures the residual moisture of the linen at three separate points before it leaves the ironer.

A mini vacuum brings the moisture in contact with a sensor, which analyses the residual moisture, room humidity and temperature.




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