The power of the family firm

27 July 2000



H J Weir and its US partner Chicago Dryer present a united front and their success is showing the world that family-owned firms can still be a powerful force.


H J Weir Engineering has earned a well-deserved reputation as a provider of specialised solutions in the area of flatwork handling. Its ability to carve a successful niche for itself has proved that smaller, family-owned firms can still find a place in today's competitive market.

The company was founded over 38 years ago by John Weir and has gained a reputation for providing simple engineering-based solutions to complex mechanical problems. Designs such as the Autoprep handler and, the latest development, the Cake Buster are helping laundries worldwide to increase productivity in flatwork preparation, feeding, folding and stacking.

To operate successfully, companies must look not just to the UK but to a global market. To help a move into the US and Canada, H J Weir has formed a partnership with another family-owned business, Chicago Dryer.

The US based company produces a range of flatwork handling equipment that complements Weir's own. Chicago's range includes high-speed ironers, cornerless edge feeding systems, and the Air Chicago, a towel, gown and blanket folder.

These two family businesses have formed a reciprocal sales and distribution agreement and together offer a complementary range that allows them to compete with larger organisations.

United force

The relationship is long-standing and the two companies proved themselves a united force when they shared a stand at Texcare 2000, held in June in Frankfurt. Here, H J Weir and its partner showed a range of flatwork handling equipment that illustrated the expertise of both companies and proved that they could compete fully with Germany's best.

H J Weir showed clearly its ability to produce innovative solutions to flatwork handling problems. The Autoprep handler picks sheets out of a truck, detangles them and drops them onto a conveyor or into a bin. Automating the task of untangling heavy sheets makes life both easier and safer for operators and speeds delivery of laundered articles to the finishing line. Weir's latest development, the Autoprep Cake Buster bursts this compressed mass of linen, using the minimum of components. It can be used either as an attachment for the Autoprep, so automating the cake breaking and picking process, or as a stand-alone machine.

The Chicago Edge cornerless spreader/feeder avoids the needs for operators in the finishing line to find the corners of sheets and clip them in order to present them to the feeder. This not only speeds operators' work rate but can also reduce the number of staff needed in the finishing section.

Chicago's Century ironer is simply constructed but built to strict European quality standards. It proved a true "eye-opener" for the exhibition visitors and showed the world that the company is still a major player.

Total automation

It should be clear to most laundry managers that the combination of these innovative designs from H J Weir and its US partner brings the finishing line close to total automation.

The carefully patented ideas point the way to the laundry of tomorrow. Visitors to the Frankfurt show could see live demonstrations where these machines worked with wet, tangled linen, just as they would on the laundry floor. Twelve demonstrations per day showed the might of the Cake Buster system as it processed and separated each 70kg cake in less than four minutes.

The Texcare show at Frankfurt was not only a golden opportunity to show the range and versatility of H J Weir and Chicago Dryer equipment but also a good opportunity to meet and understand the specific requirements of laundries in many different countries.

Across the world, labour costs are soaring, floorspace is at a premium and the entire laundry industry has become more competitive. To operate effectively in this environment, manufacturers and their laundry customers must work to streamline flatwork handling lines and they need a good understanding of the workflow from the time dirty work enters the plant to the time the clean work is packed and delivered.

The diversity of equipment displayed by both companies showed that they can provide for the needs of all sectors of the market. They not only support the large conglomerates with high-speed, high-volume equipment but also manufacture smaller machines such as single-roller ironers, combination folder/ironers, small napkin folders and workshop rag handling equipment.

One of the greatest growth areas in flatwork processing has been in hotel towelling. The growing number of large international hotels and their demands for higher quality and better service has boosted this side of the business.

Chicago Dryer and H J Weir have clearly shown that on both sides of the Atlantic they are world leaders.They are well placed to take advantage of this latest development. The fully autograding machines from H J Weir such as the Foldmaker 43 Airspeed and Foldmaker 56 Autograde produce unrivalled quality combined with commercial consideration and reliability.

The Air Chicago automatic towel, gown and blanket folder is a well proven machine and still remains a popular choice for high-speed non sorting applications.

With the help of founder John Weir's innovative designs, H J Weir continues to strive to meet the demands of the modern laundry market.

The company showed its Foldmaker 84 Select blanket folder for the first time at Frankfurt. This machine is aimed firmly at the airline blanket services.

It has an innovative design and control system and once again the company has demonstrated its ability to produce successful designs for a very difficult area of the market.

Texcare was a huge success for both companies with enquiries from all corners of the globe which resulted in orders being taken at the show and also on their return to their respective manufacturing bases in the UK and USA.

Both companies are excited by the future. They feel that their shared knowledge will help them bring some some revolutionary products to the market place and so give them a distinct advantage over their competitors.

It is the intention of both companies to jointly venture into other global areas where there is currently little or no representation by either.



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