Greater efficiency will reduce customers’ costs

The OPL market has been rather slow in the past few years and the state of the UK economy is continuing to influence purchasing decisions.

Increasingly the biggest single factor is cost, according to company director Tom Lowes at Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems. However he stresses that while the focus is on value for money, buyers weigh purchase price against the lifetime costs of the equipment and staff.

Lowes quotes Benjamin Franklin who observed that “the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

Experienced operators are looking hard at lifetime costs, says Lowes but he adds that there is no conflict between the commercial imperative to minimise costs and concerns for the environment.

The final decision is up to individual businesses, which must weigh up costs against the standard of finish required and the reliability of the equipment.

The care and residential home sector is the largest user of OPL laundry equipment in the UK, says Peter Marsh of Girbau UK. He explains that the main requirement here for is washer-extractors ranging from 8 – 17kg in capacity and typically each site will have two machines to provide a wider choice of production options and to provide cover in the event of a breakdown.

The hotel and guest house splits into two categories with regard to OPL machine choice. Larger hotels use similarly-sized machines to care homes, while smaller hotels and guest houses often prefer stackable machines as space is limited.

According to Electrolux Professional Laundry Systems, the hospitality market has been static. The state of the economy has led to falls in hotel occupancy and a reduction in clients’ disposable income. As utility costs continue to rise, so the need to maximise energy savings continues to influence purchasing decisions, says Electrolux.

Marsh says that hotels and other service sectors are increasingly being held to account for their environmental performance, so cutting their use of energy and water has marketing benefits as well as helping to cut operational costs.

He believes the hotel sector is now beginning to show more interest in developing OPL capacity in an attempt to reduce costs. He also sees particular interest in more efficient machines, eco-wash programs and low temperature washing systems.

At Armstrong Lowes says that in all sectors of the OPL market the majority preference is for high-spin machines but certain types of business, for example those processing horse rugs, still want rigid-mount machines as out of balance loads are difficult to avoid.

The trend for high-spin machines has also been noted at Girbau UK. Marsh says that in both care and hotel sectors, customers are moving to soft-mount high-spin units which can extract more moisture. This reduces dryer time so increasing productivity and also lowers the energy use in drying.

A wide range of program options allows laundries to handle a variety of fabrics and to have both short, low temperature programs and higher temperature cycles.

Girbau’s latest high-speed HS6008 washer and tumble dryer were recently supplied to Barnetson Court care home. “The Girbau machines play an essential part in helping the home to maintain the highest standards of overall care while tackling a daily flow of soiled sheets, towels and residents’ clothing, says Lynn Ward, care home manager at Barnetson Court.

Electrolux Professional Laundry Systems says that laundry hygiene is a big concern for care homes.

A typical set up would be a washer, dryer and possibly an ironer for the flatwork.

Controlling infection is vital and this requirement has led to the development of the barrier washer system. Soiled work is loaded into one side of the machine and the clean linen is unloaded from another door on the other side of the machine into a separate “clean work” area.

A barrier wall is created to reduce the risk of contamination. Electrolux continues to invest in the developing its barrier washer system and recently introduced the Pocket Barrier, a smaller (13kg) machine for the care sector.

Where possible, Electrolux encourages hotels to have OPLs as an on-site laundry gives them more control. Electrolux says significant savings can be made by bringing the laundry service in-house and the company works with clients to implement cost-effective solutions.

Electrolux has recently introduced its AWS Automatic Weighing System. This adjusts water use in line with the weight of the load so smaller loads automatically use less water than big ones. This can save up to 35% on a half-load.

Along with the AWS System, Electrolux has also introduced its Quick Wash, a 5.5kg machine that is available in a 13amp version making it suitable for smaller establishments. It features AWS and Compass Control for easier use and has fast wash programs. The company also offers the Quickdry dryer and the washer and dryer can be stacked to minimise the space needed.

Electrolux offers a projects service for customers requiring help in planning, installing and maintaining their laundries. This matches machines to customer requirements and includes layout design, planning, installation and service contracts.

Market development

Lowes at Armstrong notes another development in the market, a variation on the long running in-house versus outside contractor debate.

A careful analysis of costs has resulted in some companies splitting the work, installing an OPL to handle towels while continuing to send out flatwork. Armstrong and the manufacturers the company supports work towards reducing customers’ costs in many ways. Lowes says it is particularly important that OPLs operate the right size of machine.

A machine that is too big will waste energy and water. One that is too small will become overstretched and this will increase the cost of spares and repairs.

The company therefore offers a large choice of washer-extractors from 5 – 300kg.

It has launched a 13kg high-spin washer and an 18kg rigid-mount Primus machine to fill perceived gaps in the range and both have proved successful.

Lowes says that continuous product development is directed to reducing lifetime costs. The benefits of inverter drive motors are well established.

Sophisticated controls allow rinses and wash levels to be optimised for consumption and to meet quality standards.

Strong spares support

Armstrong invests substantially in support and spares and its support service starts with the customer’s telephone call.

Many customers in the OPL sector do not have technical expertise within their organisation.

Armstrong employs telephone staff that are trained to use a short, computerised questionnaire to try and identify the fault. Staff can frequently provide a diagnosis and a short-term fix pending the engineer’s arrival.

Joe Macleod, owner of the Heathbank Hotel on Barra in the Western Isles says that the hotel’s laundry comprises a 10kg Primus free-standing washer-extractor and Huebsch tumble dryer, supplied by Armstrong. Macleod says: “We know that when we need spares or advice, Armstrong’s support is expert and efficient.”

The parts warehouse at Armstrong’s Newbury head office stocks more than 18,000 lines.

Full-time staff operate the spare parts system, ensuring the correct amount of stock for each line, depending on the volume of demand.

Greater choice

Girbau’s Peter Marsh says that the introduction of microprocessor-controlled programs for washer-extractors provides the higher performance and greater choice now expected by OPL customers.

He adds: “Efficiency is a key requirement in OPL washers.

“Customers are looking for shorter wash cycles, lower water consumption and, in some cases, water recovery systems.”

The company’s 6 Series washers (except for the HS6008 model) have Girbau’s advanced Inteli control systems, which provide 20 pre-set programs, as an option.

This wide choice of programs provides users with the optimal combination of cycles for high quality laundering, high productivity and minimised energy consumption.

Over the last 18 months Girbau has invested heavily in its service operation. It has increased the number of engineers and vans on the road, increased spare parts stock holding in every vehicle and introduced a real-time, paperless customer service management system.

This management system ensures that a service request is routed to the nearest available engineer within five minutes of the customer’s telephone call.

“By improving our ability to respond rapidly to customer need, while also increasing first time fixes to 96%, we are able to get customers up and running again as quickly as possible in the event of a breakdown,” says Marsh.

Calculating capacity and designing the optimum layout for OPL laundries is complex, adds Marsh. Mistakes can be expensive and lead to long-term inefficiencies. He says that Girbau UK offers a full planning service that covers machine loading and includes the production of full CAD drawings.

Marsh adds that many customers are choosing to opt for fixed price maintenance packages to allow them to predict their annual budgets accurately.”

Entry point machines

Miele Professional has expanded its Octoplus range of laundry-care machines by adding two highly competitive entry-line models – the PW5082 washer-extractor and the PT5186 tumble dryer.

Each machine has a load capacity of 8kg and both benefit from a carefully selected range of programs that makes them ideally suited to a range of OPL applications, says Miele.

These two additions to the Octoplus generation were launched in October 201 and they are said to benefit from even clearer and more concise programs and controls. Nine wash programs are available including cottons, coloureds, delicates, woollens and an intensive setting. Each program can be combined with various temperatures.

With a final spin speed of 1,200rpm, the washer-extractor achieves a residual moisture of 52%, so speeding the drying process.

Both the washer-extractor and the tumble dryer have Miele’s sculptured and patented honeycomb drum to protect linen and reduce creasing.

The washer-extractor has an 80litre drum and customers have a choice of drain pump or dump valve. The latter is recommended in applications that have to cope with coarse and heavy soiling.

Miele has also introduced two program developments for its washer-extractors with load capacities of 10 – 20kg.

Developments to the cottons 60C program means that on a 13kg machine for example, specific water consumption with a hot-water fill is reduced by 2litres/kg, without compromising cleaning performance. This has been confirmed by the WfK Institute for Applied Research in Krefeld, Germany, in an independent report published in late 2009. The Eco program requires even less water and electricity – only 8.6litres and 0.02kWh per kilogram of work.

The program, with its shortened cycle time and reduced wash temperatures, is ideal for lightly soiled loads and for washing textiles prior to first use.