Going flat out – fresh start, fresh choice

For years we have seen a steady market with similar customer and supplier trends but things are changing in the laundry market. The pandemic and restrictions as we all know, led to an unprecedented drop in demand from the hospitality sector which in turn affected the vast majority of laundries and linked supply chain.

As we have moved into less restrictive times and entered the summer months, we have already seen huge changes to the market. Laundries of all sizes are working ‘flat out’ but we have heard many stories where laundries are coming back so strongly that they are struggling to keep up due to staffing issues or equipment restraints.

The pandemic has been a challenging time and caused everyone to change their operating procedures just to survive, but now the changes are becoming positive ones as laundries that were quiet are now thriving and looking to grow in a more efficient and different way.

Now is the time for change! After decades of ‘the norm’ things changed for the worse and we dealt with it! Now as things change for the better, why just aim for “the norm” when we can all look to take advantage of this ‘Fresh Start’. Industrial Laundry Equipment Ltd believes now is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this fresh start by having fresh choice.

We have seen lots of success as a company with a huge range of equipment being supplied to the market over the last couple of years. We initially set out expecting to specialise in large washers and dryers (which we have supplied a large amount of) but wrapping machines, towel folders, feeders, folders and a crazy number of ironers have become our bread and butter too.

ILE brand ironers are giving an exceptional finish and are proving to be phenomenally well received by our customers and their customers in turn.

We have what we believe to be the widest range of ironers available to the UK market and have equipment that will improve every laundry regardless of their size and requirements.

With four different types of ironers utilising different technologies and all available in 3m, 3.3m and 3.5m and in-return feed through to 6 roll monsters, we give you a choice of a remarkable 159 different machines/permutations!!

For the OPL market and smaller laundry we have the 1st machine in our range which is a traditional return feed belt ironer that has an atmospheric burner heating the rotating belt clad drum. This machine works like most other machines on the market but we have taken the decision to increase the roller diameter to 800mm based on feedback that other machines can only process 50-60 sheets per hour. Our machine will increase this to 80+ whilst not being more expensive to buy.

Our second type of ironer is the OR Series hybrid ironer which also works with belts rather than clothing.

This machine uses a Riello burner to heat around 80l of thermal oil which resides in the bottom part of the drum’s outer skin. The use of this technology improves efficiency and productivity as a smaller burner is used than in machines without the oil and the ironer is able to better retain heat in a lesser but similar way to a full chest ironer.

You can specify this machine with a choice of 1-6 rolls in a pass-through formation like all calender ironers. Full scale feeders and folders capable of 1000+ items per hour are able to be teamed with these ironers to maximise production and help you to compete with the big boys. The machine is available in 3m, 3.3m and 3.5m widths as well as a choice of 600mm, 800mm, 1000mm and 1200mm diameter rolls.

If you think this is a lot of choice then the real treat comes when you learn that you can even choose to have a single roll in any of the sizes as a return feed machine and then convert it in to a pass-through in the future. This gives a great backup machine in a large laundry or a really quick and efficient main machine to a smaller laundry.

If you know that buying a return feed or one of the compact all in one machines which are on the market will only be an expensive stop gap then choosing the ILE OR** ironer will allow you to expand without wasting a penny as we can grow the ironer with your needs. Add rolls, a feeder, folder and stacker with very little disruption.

This machine has been greeted with amazement by our customers.

Mark Johnson, managing director of A1 Laundries in Newcastle chose a 3 roll, 3.3m x 800 diameter machine with a 1&4 lane folder and stacker. Mark says: “Having worked at Watford Laundry and with all main brands of calender ironer, I can honestly say that this machine is a revelation! We get a superb finish to match any ironer I’ve ever used and zero belt marks, which was a concern prior to installation. The fact that the machine cost around 50% of a chest ironer, was an added bonus!”

Irene Jones, owner of Quantock Commercial Laundry said: “This was a huge investment for us and we were getting advised by many equipment suppliers that we MUST have a chest machine, but the outlay was too much in the current climate. When ILE offered us a 2 roll ironer with a folder and stacker for a great price we were interested but understandably worried as it was different.

“I have to say that these fears were unfounded as we love the machine! We have a better quality than ever before, can process significantly more and have been able to grow the business substantially in just a matter of months and with no extra staff”.

For larger laundries we have a fantastic range of solid chest ironing lines available in steam and gas, with 800 & 1300 diameter rolls and up to 3 rolls in length.

Using Riello burners, Bonfigioli speed reducers, Mitsubishi & Schneider electrics, colour touchscreens and other high-quality components, our chest ironer can give you speeds of 50m per minute and process over 1000 sheets per hour to a 5 star finish when linked to our high-quality feeders and folders.

Finally ILE combination ironers offer the ability to team 1 or 2 ‘OR’ rolls with up to three of the ‘OC’ chests! This can be for a number of reasons such as using the belt ironer(s) as a preconditioning roller to support the chest for extra through-put, for keeping the costs down but getting in to the chest market or you may just want to have a machine with unprecedented through-put levels. Imagine what a 3 x 1300 chest ironer with 2 x 1200 preconditioning rollers can produce.

So remember that with this fresh start, there is a fresh choice that really could be the best choice!