Where East meets West

Two halls of laundry and drycleaning kit and associated goods and services made up the largest TexcareAsia to date. Drawing exhibitors and visitor from all around the world, there was a good buzz and enthusiasm for the show, notably from visitors from the Antipodes who welcome the expansion of a show that is nearer their time zone than the other established exhibitions – CLEAN in the United States and Texcare in Frankfurt, Germany.

Numerous prominent brands presented at the three-day show including ASAHI, BÖWE, Castic-SMP, Chuandao, Ecolab, Electrolux, Girbau, Hohenstein, Jensen, Kannegiesser, Lapauw, Oasis, Sailstar, San-ai, Sankoshi, Sea-lion, Seitz, TOTO, Vega, Voss, Weishi, YAC, Yamamoto and a host of others. Integrated laundry solutions and RFID technology were very much to the fore and there was a strong emphasis on the environment and efficiencies in fuel, water and chemical use – and of course automation.

Familiar European names were very much in evidence with Girbau making its presence felt two-fold – on its own Girbau stand and again with its Chinese partner Girbau Shenguang. Texcare Asia was the international launch of the group’s new manufacturing and sales subsidiary Girbau Shenguang Laundry Technology, set up to meet the growing, exacting demand from the Chinese market, according Girbau’s Mercé Bover. 

Girbau Group showed off its latest innovations in laundry and energy saving solutions, focusing primarily on sectorsdisplaying strong growth such as wet cleaning, vended laundries and industrial laundries.

For wet cleaning the Aquatouch and All Wet systems were presented, developed with Seitz and Büfa respectively. Also on show was the new HS6032 washing machine with a capacity of 32kg, and the new FR+ flatwork folder .

A couple of aisles down, Girbau Shenguang Laundry Technology exhibited its latest environmental friendly and efficient gas heated tumbler dryer and high-speed flatwork ironing line. “Girbau Shenguang Laundry Technology has become the first international company in the laundry equipment industry to manufacture the full range of products required by a laundry in China,” says Bover.

Jensen’s Gerda Jenk, looked back at “a highly successful Texcare Asia show in Shangai”. The company has had a support office in Shanghai since 2004 and has opened two factories in Xuzhou – the first in 2011 and the second in 2016.

“New perspectives for all sections in the laundry were displayed, and to top it all, the new brand Alpha product range from Jensen was launched (now being exported from Xuzhou to the Europe and the Americas.)

According to legend, says Jank, there was no Chinese word for ‘folder’ when Jensen sold its first folding machines to Chinese laundries many decades ago. Hence, they were just called ‘a Jensen’. True or not? Jank admits she don’t know, but says “it is true that Jensen is the top-of-mind supplier of heavy-duty laundry equipment in China. One of the first Alpha-branded towel folders, the Alpha T5, attracted broad interest as it may be used by laundries that do not wish to invest in premium products under the Jensen brand.”

The  company also showcased a stand-alone washer extractor (JWE) and tumble dryer (JTD) for small to medium volumes. “Both machines are high performers that are very thrifty on resources. Our range of stand-alone equipment is popular in China and South-East Asia, where large on-premise-laundries are still prevalent. Heavy-duty laundries looking at increasing the productivity in their washroom section were excited to see the Senking Universal M tunnel washer, combined with the water extraction press SEP and our bestseller dryer DTS 120,” says Jank.

For Kannegieser Milena Vogt, assistant to director of project engineering, says: “Utilisation of automated process technologies and hygiene aspects are of great importance to the professional laundry companies in Asia. We appreciate the growing interests in automated laundry solutions in recent years.”

She adds: “Texcare Asia is one of the most important laundry exhibitions in China, as well as for the entire Asian-Pacific region. As the demand increases in the Asian market, we always participate in the fair to showcase our innovation, and of course, to get in touch with existing customers and to reach out to more business potentials.”

The Kannegiesser stand, as one might expect was ‘smart, smart, smart’, showcasing its integrated laundry management software and automated total laundry systems, drawing visitors to see its finishing line and tunnel washer.

Japanese manufacturer Sankosha presented a popular stand with many visitors looking at its specially engineered finishers that fit the Chinese form in particular while the Pony stand was busy with demonstrations of its products.