USA

The theme of the America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) highly anticipated Fall National Affiliate meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota was company culture.

During the event, which took place on 12 – 14 September, affiliates attended the Twins vs. Yankees baseball game at Target Field on Wednesday night, sponsored in part by Cleaner’s Supply, and the next day, affiliates were treated to a variety of speakers, including Christopher White and Catherine McCann from America’s Best Cleaners.

They addressed many topics relevant to the drycleaning business, including systems, tools, and programming. These aid in defining, developing, and maintaining strong individual company culture which in turn increases and maintains products and service quality while increasing client and employee retention.

Ryan Luetzow of third-generation, family-owned Luetzow Industries shared his expertise and knowledge on the current state of the poly bag industry and the numerous unique ways his business works directly with affiliates to control cost while maintaining a high level of packaging standards.

Attendees also took part in a group visioning exercise as a way to identify, set, and work towards future goals.

The final day was hosted by local drycleaning moguls Mulberrys Garment Care. Guests received a full tour of the facilities and were treated to a best practices presentation.

Dan Miller of host company, Mulberry Garment Care, said: “This year's ABC event was invaluable to our organisation. Having the best cleaners in the country come in to evaluate our cleaning facility and share best practices with our team was a real treat. We had great discussions about how to grow on-demand routes, evaluating new store opportunities, and building leadership within our companies.”