Engineering for quality, innovation and reliability

17 January 2014



Pellerin Milnor has a well-earned international reputation for well-engineered reliable machines with innovative technology Janet Taylor visited the company


Now in its 67th year, family-owned Pellerin Milnor Corporation is recognised worldwide for its washing technology. It is the quality of the company's engineering that has helped it to grow and develop into a truly international company.
"Milnor's original CBW® tunnel washer has earned it global leadership in this field," says James Pellerin CEO and chairman.
Many of the original CBW features, such as true top transfer, are still incorporated in the next generation with PulseFlow® technology. He says that PulseFlow was a response to a survey that took an overview of the market.
The main difference between PulseFlow (PBWTM) tunnel washers and the previous generation machines lies in the weir box, which has been engineered to maintain a high-velocity pulsed counterflow. This intermittent counterflow operates for the last quarter of the cycle, while the traditional CBW used a continuous counterflow throughout. The benefits of the new technology include significantly reduced water use and more efficient use of chemicals.
"PulseFlow Technology took about two-and-a-half years to develop," says James Pellerin. It was launched at ExpoDetergo 2010 and by then had been awarded the Hohenstein Institutes's Certificate for Innovative Technology. Hohenstein's extensive testing had confirmed low water consumption of 2.5 - 3.5 litre/kg for lightly soiled linen.
At the time of writing, the company says it has 141 PulseFlow tunnels in operation throughout the world. The list of countries includes Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, India, the Philippines,
Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Vietnam.
Just as important as the number of countries is the variety of applications benefiting from PulseFlow technology: Hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage linen rental, correctional establishments, dust control and industrial laundries.
Asked if PulseFlow has taken over completely from the CBW, the answer is: "We would want customers to research the proposed investment but given
ever-rising water rates, it can give a very good return on investment - in certain conditions 3.5 - 4 years."
Underlining this point, James Pellerin says that?Orleans Parish Council recently announced that water costs would rise by 10% a year for the next five years.
Although the PBW was certainly much to the fore at this year's Clean Show in New Orleans, Pellerin Milnor technology has a wider reach. In preparation the company had reviewed its entire portfolio. The show introduced three additional washer-extractors, including a 77kg suspended machine and a 45kg rigid-mount design, both featuring MilTouch® control. The company also drew attention to energy and water-saving features such as
Exact-Extract extraction optimiser and RinSave® water saver.
Before the show, the company had also hosted an open-day attended by over 500 visitors who were able to learn both about developments and its production during a guided factory tour.
Still it was PulseFlow that was the main attraction for many.
The exact impact of the event is hard to gauge but James Pellerin comments: "Our fiscal third quarter was the best in my memory for incoming orders by a wide margin.
"How much of it is directly attributable to the Clean Show is hard to gauge, but certainly the response to our product line (especially PulseFlow) was very gratifying and one can safely assume that our experience at the Clean Show very favourably influenced this record flow of incoming orders."
The company's commitment to investing heavily in developing innovation has also contributed to its growing success in international markets. Much credit too goes to the network of dealers, which has helped consolidate this success.
Pellerin Milnor clearly keeps a watch for further opportunities in international markets.
The company has had a longstanding relationship with Castic-SMP, based in Shenzen but in December 2012 the two companies took this relationship a stage further by signing a joint-venture partnership and two Pellerin Milnor personnel joined the Castic Board:
Russ Poy, vice president, product development and Jim Moran, vice president and general counsel member.
Russ Poy comments: "Our partnership with Castic-SMP is important to Milnor for our mutual growth in China and throughout Asia.
"Strategic products manufactured in China at Castic-SMP will bring affordable high technology to the Asian marketplace.
"There is a lot of interest in Chinese central laundries in saving energy, reducing labour costs, and using tunnel technology. We will exhibit our
eight-module 76039 PBW (hospitality configuration) at Texcare Asia. Attendees will also see E-Tech's loading system with the PulseFlow tunnel. Our DataFusion protocol will also be exhibited, showing seamless communication between
E-Tech, Milnor, and Chicago Dryer.
"James Pellerin will visit the Castic factory as well as several Chinese laundries employing PulseFlow Technology. We expect to see numerous healthcare and hotel project customers at the show. Within the last two years, we have installed four PulseFlow tunnel systems in resort and hospitality central laundries. The exhibition will also be attended by real estate and commercial developers that are building large hotel resorts and casinos throughout Asia. These developers are intrigued with the inherent savings PulseFlow Technology provides."
The company is in a good position for even more international growth. Giving his personal vision for the company's future James Pellerin says that the technical innovation and reliability have been the mainstays of Pellerin Milnor.
He adds: "We are trading all round the world. We have a dealer network and a product that can satisfy customers. We will participate in the market, wherever demand is to be found."



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