laundry chemicals

Formula for success

1 August 2005



Tony Vince reports on the latest developments in the UK laundry chemicals market


Laundry has to offer a greatly increased service these days. Simply washing textiles and delivering them is no longer sufficient. And if the laundries have been forced by customers to change, then so too have their chemical suppliers.

Laundries are now required to wash many more fabrics than was once the norm.

A large commercial laundry operation may have to deal with a variety of stains. These may range from dirt, grease, oil, blood, mucus or protein-based stains to food wastes and mineral oils, across a range of garment and textile types.

Operations in the health sector may stipulate stringent measures and the use of antibacterial agents for a germ-free wash.

There is increased demand for greater efficiency. Washing machines are now expected to do more with far less water and less energy. Because they use less water, efficient washers also use less detergent and reduce the sewage treatment load.

Environmental factors are now attracting much greater interest.

Where laundry detergents are discharged as waste, to either public water treatment works or to a laundry’s own installation, there are stringent requirements on detergent suppliers that the substances used must be biodegradable in the water treatment plants and that undesirable substances should be excluded.

Bob Morrish of Ecolab says that to be a successful provider of laundry process chemicals in the future, suppliers will have to become the experts in all aspects of the processing of textiles and to work with the launderers to continually reduce the total costs of their process.

Joint focus

Morrish continues: “The joint focus will be to reduce not only water and energy consumption but also the processing times to increase plant utilisation.”

According to Jack Wright, technical sales director of Powles Hunt, his company now provides a total solution to laundries by working in partnership with them, by looking at their laundry business as a whole, from product innovation through to engineering system applications.

“The laundry industry is driven by quality, reliability and cost,” he says. “We have always worked closely with our customers developing innovative products to deliver improved results.”



SUPER HANGER

Product range: Super Hanger, based in Windsor, markets products from Powles Hunt, Ideal Manufacturing and Cole & Wilson. Powles Hunt International has sold starches to the laundry industry for 73 years and began selling built laundry detergent powders in 1972. It markets an extensive range of laundry products through Super Hanger including their best selling powder specifically designed for on-premise laundries and launderettes.
Super Hanger also sells Ideal Manufacturing's Duvet Brite and Chiffon Soft Fabric Conditioner. Sales and marketing manager Meena Bedi says: “The product names almost speak for themselves. Duvet Brite is a built detergent designed for use in solution feed operations in conventional washer-extractors. It delivers excellent cleaning results for duvets and with a noticable brightness. Chiffon Soft imparts a pleasant residual smell and a soft, anti-static handle to fabrics such as linen, towels, woollens and blankets."
The Cole & Wilson range includes effective spotting agents as well as Sultrapon EU3 & EU4 which are top quality re-texturing detergents for perc systems, with EU4 also suitable for hydrocarbon solvent.
Sultrabright contains a regulated amount of water to improve water-soluble stain removal without excessive pre-spotting.
Also available from Cole & Wilson is a range of products to restore work after fire/flood odours such as Reodoriser and Smoke Soap and products to protect such as Wiltard flame retardant, which is particularly effective for curtains.



CHRISTEYNS

Product range: Majestic was originally developed as a highly phosphated, high quality detergent for use in powder dosing units with very low dosage levels. The product can be used for both flatwork and workwear and is the company’s best-selling product across Europe.
Developments: Following extensive trials in the UK, Christeyns is launching a new version of its Majestic powder. The formulation was so powerful that ordinary hotel work was being successfully washed with levels as low as 4-5g/kg.
The stain removal at these dosage levels was fully satisfactory but Christeyns has looked for a way to offer an even better result. The answer is Majestic Supabrite.
The product contains higher levels of optical brightener and has been further optimised to give even better results at very low dosage levels. The improvement is immediately obvious with higher whiteness and brightness levels on test pieces but also comments by end users, who have noticed the improvement on their linen straight away.
Christeyns has also improved its liquid detergent Osmaflux with a new generation optical brightener being incorporated in the product. Historically, it has been more difficult to incorporate brighteners in liquid formulations due to stability and mixing problems. This has often meant compromises to liquid formulations. However, improved Osmaflux is proving an instant success says the company, offering much improved whiteness levels with the same level of stain removal.
The new versions of Majestic and Osmaflux will be fully launched across Europe in the coming weeks and are further examples of the ongoing research and development programmes co-ordinated at the company’s Gent headquarters.



POWLES HUNT
MAX POWER: Garments before and after treatment with 40 Max from Powles Hunt

Product range: The largest independent manufacturers and suppliers of laundry powders, starches and high performance quality detergents in the UK, Powles Hunt International, is now supported by the technical and engineering expertise of the Quill International Group.
This cohesive fit of businesses is dedicated to delivering solutions to the every day running of a professional laundry, from start to finish.
Powles Hunt International has products which work across the complete range of laundry sectors: work wear, flatwork and on premise laundry with technical support including engineering expertise
Developments: 40 Max is described as a revolutionary laundry powder which washes all classifications in cold water in half the time of conventional powders, even in hard water areas.
The comp[any says 40 Max delivers cost savings across the whole process from 40% less water being required, a 25% energy saving in less fuel being used, a reduction of process time by 50% and a doubling textile life 40 Max is simple to use and highly effective.



ECOLAB

Product range: Ecolab has recently introduced several additions to complement the existing range of powder, liquid and paste detergents and auxiliaries supplied by Ecolab alongside its dosage and management information systems, which can also provide the process validation increasingly required by the food and healthcare sectors.
Developments: The Turbo Range from Ecolab contains 11 specially formulated liquid products that enable the use of the most appropriate chemistry to achieve a cost-effective result in a range of applications including clean room, healthcare and catering/hotels.
Building on more than 40 years experience of supplying laundry products to semi-professional users throughout Europe, Ecolab’s Taxat range has been reformulated and launched in the UK.
The seven products in the range provide the optimal solution for the textile washing demands in this market. The Taxat range is available exclusively from Alliance Disposables.
The Aquacycler is the latest addition to the hugely successful water and energy recovery programme. This provides an opportunity for a professional laundry to recover up to 60% of its wastewater for re-use within the wash process. When added to the existing Energy Optimiser and Aquamiser ranges the potential for significant savings on utility bills has been expanded.
Silex Extra is a fast-dissolving, perfumed granular detergent used to achieve high whiteness results and is now available in 12.5kg bags.
Oxybright Perfect is a low-temperature oxygen-based liquid bleach for use on flatwork.



REXODAN LAUNDRY CHEMICALS
BALANCING ACT: Rexodan has extended its range of Balance laundry products (pictured) as well as introducing its Lo-Temp free-flowing laundry powder

Product range: The Balance range of laundry chemicals has been extended by Rexodan International.
Manufactured by this British company with 25 years experience in the laundry industry, Balance products are widely used in on-premise laundries, as well as health care establishments, hotels, leisure centres and schools.
The range of products includes Balance Automatic high performance, free flowing, fully built, perfumed alkali laundry powder. Suitable for use in all types of automatic washing machines, Balance Automatic is supplied in 10kg UN-approved, stackable, re-sealable poly buckets and 10kg and 25kg polypropylene sacks.
Other chemicals iin the range include Balance Non-Bio, Economat, handwash, industrial biological and non-biological laundry powders, powdered starch, optical brightener, emulsifier and fabric softener.
Developments: The new Balance OPL liquid is a powerful, white, free flowing, opaque liquid detergent.
It can be hand dosed by measure beaker or used through the Rexodan Automatic Detergent Dispensing System and is supplied in cases of four 5L bottles and 20L poly drums.
Rexodan also recently introduced its Lo-Temp free-flowing laundry powder. This product is said to significantly reduce the costs of chemicals, energy, water and time.
Lo-Temp has undergone extensive, proven commercial laundry trials throughout the UK and is becoming well established in the industry.
The product has a fresh citrus odour and is made up of a blend of high quality detergents formulated to launder efficiently at only 40C. Lo-Temp is a complete wash system which rapidly disperses particulates and emulsifies fats and greases.
Originally formulated for additional use with Rexodan’s Powder Dosing Unit, Lo-Temp is suitable for use in tunnel washers and washer extractors. It also launders a broad range of workwear and flatwork.



P&G PROFESSIONAL

Product range: P&G Professional’s autodosing solution offers great benefits through the use of its leading brands, Professional Ariel and Lenor.
The system automatically measures the dosage of laundry chemicals, and the quantities of detergents, bleaches and softeners can be pre-tailored to suit the requirements of each laundry load. The precision of the dosing system ensures that there is no wastage, allowing laundry cleaning ingredients to be used more efficiently, therefore giving users both cost and time benefits, says the company.
Product features: P&G Professional’s four-product autodosing system automatically judges how much product is needed for each laundry load, with a choice of 10 settings for different laundry types.
The Professional Ariel Laundry System is the leading laundry auto-dosing system in the UK.
It offers superior product performance versus competition in stain removal, care and freshness and disinfects fabrics by killing 99.999% of bacteria, including MRSA at 40C (15 minutes contact time at a concentration of 2ml/l Ariel, 2ml/l Ace B and 3.4 ml/l Ace A).



Powles Hunt 40 Max Powles Hunt 40 Max
p&g professional p&g professional
Rexodan Balance Rexodan Balance


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