Providing consistent quality

Laundries that want to upgrade their finishing equipment will be making a long-term investment so they want equipment that provides consistent quality, is durable and has low maintenance requirements.

The laundry industry has not been immune from the effects of the recession so customers in the UK are being more careful with any capital investment. In response, manufacturers and suppliers are providing a generation of finishing equipment that delivers consistent results as well as energy savings and other benefits.

According to Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems, price has become increasingly important but the more sophisticated laundry managers are building longevity into the equation and looking at lifetime costs. Armstrong’s director Tom Lowes says his company’s customers are looking for more equipment that has been designed to carry out specific tasks and that takes account of the need for increased productivity.

Wider working widths to handle large flatwork in two lanes, are becoming the norm.

Armstrong supplies equipment from the Belgian manufacturer Lapauw, which produces single- and multi-roll ironers and working widths of up to 4,200mm are available. A recent innovation is the Mini Feed System, which allows large pieces to be fed by just one operator.

Accurate machine control is very important. Quality starts with the way work is fed to the ironer so pieces must be presented on the square and without turned back edges. Constant speed differential between feeder and ironer and between the ironer and the folder contributes to the final standard..

Lapauw ironers are offered with three heat sources, steam, thermal oil and gas. In the thermal oil versions the oil is heated via a heat-exchanger.

The Lapauw gas-heated machines incorporate modulating burners to give accurate temperature control and to allow operators to program the temperature according to the work classification, so saving energy.

Lapauw’s latest development is the two-roll 1200 TurboFan, a new generation of gas-heated ironer, that is claimed to reduce gas consumption by up to 30%. A two-roll 1600 Gas TurboFan is to be released this year.

The TurboFan technology gives constant ironing temperatures, so optimising ironer performance, which is especially useful when processing heavier work. A fully adjustable bed temperature also provides a greater degree of control in adapting to various classifications.

The TurboFan ironers also feature the Electronic Lapauw (ELS) system which allows Lapauw to monitor machines from Belgium, making maintenance more convenient.

Electrolux Laundry Systems in the UK, says that the recession has had a significant impact on this market and so some commercial laundries are turning to cheaper machines produced in areas such as China, rather than investing in machines with a high standard of build.

Increasingly businesses are basing purchasing decisions on the bottom-line. So if machines cannot be replaced they are looking for good aftercare and service support.

In the hospitality market, more customers are using duvets rather than sheets and blankets and this affects finishing requirements. Duvets are double layered, but not necessarily larger in length and width. Electrolux says this means that the ironer speed has to be reduced to dry the linen correctly.

To assist in processing these covers, manufacturers have increased the ironer capacity by significantly increasing the diameter of the roller. Electrolux says that the market standard is now 800 – 1,200mm, with one or two rolls and integrated gas boilers.

Feeders and folders have evolved too. Designs make more use of electronics, reducing labour costs. Lines that used to have five operators at each end now operate with only two operators at the feeder end plus one at the folder.

Electrolux says that its FFS ironer can handle variations in thickness and provide excellent results. The FFS allows one operator to handle the work from start to finish. It is also equipped with an automatic standby function to help save energy.

The company offers the Dubixium double-layer, self-contained thermal oil cylinder as standard with the FFS ironer, enabling it to achieve an 80% performance rating.

Kannegiesser UK agrees that customers are being more careful with their capital investment. The equipment needs to meet the expectations of the end user, says the company. However, with the continual increase in duvet processing, customers are looking for opportunities to increase their output.

Kannegiesser says that its three-roll HPM ironer, which uses thin-bed technology, is ideal for processing duvet covers. This technology has been in use in laundries since 1999. The company says that the output of a two-roll 1,200mm HPM ironer with this technology is equivalent to that of a conventional 1,200mm three-roll ironer. Thin bed ironers have a reduced footprint that results in a much smaller heat radiation and the temperature of the flexible, thin heating bands is easier to control, thus reducing the risk of overdrying.

Kannegiesser now offers a gas version of the HPM ironer that incorporates the latest boiler technology including oxygen trim. This allows the machine to run at an even higher efficiency.

The company can also offer improvements for the start of the finishing line. It recently introduced the EMX feeder to the UK market. This can handle a mix of sheet sizes with only two operators. Its output is around 800 sheets per hour – virtually the same as a conventional four-station feeder. The EMX uses Kannegiesser’s Clipmaster cornerless feeding technology where operators place sheets into a clamp without having to look for the corners.

Kannegiesser has also further developed its EMQ four-station feeder. This continues to be the market favourite for processing duvet covers and table linen and will be seen at Texcare International in May. As well as handling duvet covers, the EMQ feeder can be automatically converted to a small-piece feeder for processing napkins and pillowcases, so increasing the range of options in the line.

To complete its ironer line, Kannegiesser offers three styles of folder and to assist productivity throughout the finishing process, the company can offer the central program control which will automatically adjust speed and folding format when a different classification enters the line.

Looking at the long-term, Peter Marsh, managing director at Girbau UK, agrees that laundry finishing equipment represents a long-term investment.

He says that Girbau UK has recently received a number of big orders for these machines. The company expects to gain substantial market share throughout 2012, as its industrial division becomes more widely known for its ability to provide a full line of finishing equipment.

Marsh says with customers looking for energy efficient solutions, Girbau can provide the most efficient self-contained ironer on the market.

The PC-120 gas delivers over 93% thermal efficiency and continually adjusts to provide the exact amount of heat needed by the chest elements.

Marsh says that energy costs are such an important factor in overall costs that energy efficiency is critical to building and maintaining profit margins. He points out that the latest phase of the TSA’s Climate Change Agreement scheme will continue to put pressure on operators to upgrade to more energy efficient equipment.

Marsh says that the largest UK laundry operators are looking for more specialist ironers, folders and stackers, which they can operate at high speeds to process large volumes as efficiently as possible. These laundries will typically choose the fastest ironers with three large-diameter rolls.

By contrast, small laundries are looking for general purpose machinery that can handle a wide range of items including sheets of all sizes, pillowcases and table linen.

They might choose a single-roll ironer and will be looking a wide range of feeding and folding options to handle different sizes and shapes of linen.

To meet this sector’s requirements the Girbau range includes 800mm and 1,200mm diameter ironers with one to three rolls.

Increased automation offers higher, consistent quality and cost savings through a reduction in manpower but return on investment is key and laundries are considering investing in automated equipment says Marsh.

Girbau UK has also developed a range of folders that will fold the large range of items typically handled by an industrial laundry.

Larger laundries processing the highest volumes will see a faster payback from the most advanced and highly automated machines.

However, a small laundry that is folding manually may see the fastest return on its investment from the productivity savings that can be made by using the Girbau FT Lite folder.

The FT Lite folder, which was introduced last year, offers smaller laundries a compact and affordable means of automating a key part of the laundry process.

Machines in the finishing line need to be able to adapt to different linen classifications – sheets, blankets, round tablecloths, king-sized items, duvet covers and bottle-neck duvets.

Girbau’s DRF feeder can automatically feed sheets and both traditional and bottle-neck duvet covers in one lane and at the same time handle tablecloths, hospital sheets and other medium-sized pieces in two lanes.

Girbau offers the DRF for high productivity laundries and the DRF Lite for medium productivity.

The Jensen Group says that the UK market remains challenging. According to the company, energy and other associated costs continue to rise and the credit crunch still remains a problem but steady investment is still seen in certain areas and sectors.

Maximising energy usage and savings are still very high on the priority list. The company reports continued interest in its EXPG gas ironers and says that these machines account for 90% of ironer sales.

One area that Jensen expects growth is in the healthcare sector.

The company has demonstrated a complete healthcare finishing line featuring its Jenfeed Express, a Jenfold Classic S high-speed combination folder and the high capacity, large-piece stacker Jenstack Max.

The Jenfeed Express, which made its debut at Clean Show 2011 in the USA last June before being introduced to the European market, is capable of handling 1,500 pieces per hour with two operators. The machine is all belt driven, so there no chains or other items to maintain.