Jingle bells, jingle bells – tunnels on the way!

23 December 2021



As we approach the Christmas period, Richard Brown of Industrial Laundry Equipment reflects on the year to date and has plenty of new products and projects to discuss


After only becoming firmly established in the industry very recently, Industrial Laundry Equipment (ILE) is already well known for having a great range of high-quality washers, dryers and ironing lines. But why stop there? asks managing director Richard Brown.“Our engineers have been installing new and used, large industrial machines for other manufacturers and independent customers for many years. With literally dozens of full laundry installations involving tunnel systems in the bag, it was only natural that we would look to expand our business in to this sector.”

Competitive marketplace

With a very competitive marketplace and a number of superb manufacturers already holding market share, ILE could not come to the table with a substandard or run of the mill offering. "Bearing this in mind, it was very important to find the best manufacturing partner to help produce our tunnel system,” says Brown.

After a number of discussions and meetings between Lluis Pedrerol, the majority shareholder of Carbonell, and the directors of Industrial Laundry Equipment, a deal was agreed whereby ILE will have sole distribution rights and responsibility for the UK market. Tunnel systems shall be jointly branded as Carbonell and ILE equipment to demonstrate the collaboration deal struck between the two companies.

Brown says: “We are delighted to have secured this deal and have been extremely impressed with what we have seen and heard about Carbonell equipment throughout the years and recently in person. This equipment complements our range perfectly and will give some fresh, high quality choice to the UK laundry market.”

Pedrerol comments: “We see this as a fantastic opportunity to work with a modern, forward-thinking company who are already well regarded in the UK. It was apparent that they have lots of experience in this sector and we look forward to a successful partnership with ILE.”

ILE believes now is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this new agreement as the market is starting to flourish again after the recent stagnation. Many customers will have put off replacing their equipment and this will appeal to many people due to the unique differences in the equipment combined with the efficiency savings that can be achieved, says Brown.

Wash quality

The tunnel washer gives the same wash quality as traditional washer extractors but with the efficiencies of a tunnel and the added benefit of shorter wash cycles than either. Pedrerol says: “Our presses are great and, as well as being integral for our own lines, they can be installed on all tunnel systems currently on the market.”

There are two sizes offering loading capacities of up to 65kg and 120kg of linen (100% cotton towels, bed-sheets, and so on.) There are four options available – 37, 45 and 56 bars for 65 kg. load and 45 bars for 120kg. load.

‘This equipment complements our range perfectly and will give some fresh, high quality choice to the UK laundry market’

The strong and reliable construction and design as well as a choice of unloading straight in or on either sides of the press, cycle times as short as 90 seconds and with the choice of rolling conveyor or hydraulic pushing for cake removal on to our single or double shuttles it means there is plenty to choose from.

Independent press

”They can also be used as an independent press by means of a feeding conveyor to load and a second conveyor to unload the press,” advises Pedrerol, who adds, “If a press is not what you need then we also have 60kg centrifuges with great reliability and a proven track record.

“Our batch dryers come in single or double sizes to give you 65kg or 120kg of drying capacity using steam, gas or thermal oil and come with reversing drums, humidity sensors for automatic efficient drying and cool-down processes, inverter controls and central lint collectors. You can also specify them with suction loading while part of the line or as a standalone machine.

"We firmly believe that we have the best wash quality of any tunnel on the market, definitely offer the most flexibility and can also provide the shortest tunnel as we have even got a 2 stage option available.

 “This is only possible due to the unique design whereby each module is able to choose where and when it dumps its water and which of our recovery tanks receive it, meaning that each drum can carry out several of the wash processes without any loss of efficiency.

“Four litres per kilogram is pretty standard and achievable for water usage and some sites are achieving <2L/KG with fantastic wash quality due to our unique design and 360 degree rotation,” says Pedrerol.

  • ILE and Carbonell wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope that you put one of our machines on your Christmas list

EXCLUSIVE MANUFACTURING

Carbonell Compania Anonima, was established in 1918 for the exclusive manufacturing of machinery for the laundry industry and since 1989 has dedicated all its efforts into developing and perfecting this ‘Sequential Washing System’ for use by the modern laundry, which should not be confused with a typical washing tunnel for the following reasons, says Carbonell’s Lluis Pedrerol:

a) Ours is a real modular system. Each module operates and functions independently of the adjacent modules.

b) Our modules perform 11complete revolutions per minute. This results in a superb mechanical washing action which is unachievable in any other system.

c) Our system does not use the liquor in a counter flow way.

d) We can easily open the tunnel at any module position in approximately 10 minutes! This makes changing seals or accessing the tunnel fantastically simple.

e) Our system washes by the same principle as it was a series of conventional washer extractors.

f) Consumption of time, water, products and energy is much lower than in any other system.

g) The simple design and construction of our system makes it easy and simple to operate and programme by the user.

h) You can reconfigure the tunnel at any time due to each compartment having steam, water and soap inlets as well as its own drains.

i) Want to grow the tunnel in the future? No problem! We can add compartments at any time and when you need.

FULL SET: Tunnel, press, dryer, centrifuge and shuttle
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Fully modular tunnel design
STRONG AND RELIABLE: Choice of dryers with optional suction loading


Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.