Trade Association Celebrates Major Milestone
The Coin Laundry Association is celebrating a major milestone in 2021 – 60 years of serving the laundromat industry.
Originally known as the National Automatic Laundry and Cleaning Council, the not-for-profit trade organization was established in 1961 in Chicago. Since Day One, the group’s mission has been to provide education and service to the entrepreneurs within the laundry business; to protect and advocate for the best interests of store owners across the country; and, in general, to work toward a more professional, successful and profitable laundromat industry.
Advocating for the Industry
Since 1961, one of the cornerstones of the association – which changed its name to the Coin Laundry Association in 1983 – has been the opposition of unfair or restrictive legislation that might hinder the profitability and overall success of laundromat businesses.
“We will seek to play a constructive role in formulating proper regulation for the industry, but we will oppose excessive restrictions that would endanger its competitive position,” noted H.J. Mitchell, the association’s first chairman, in 1961.
Over the years, the association has scored numerous victories over proposed sales tax legislation and other potentially costly restrictions and mandates targeting the industry.
Perhaps the greatest legislative “win” came just last year. As small businesses everywhere were forced to shut their doors, due to COVID-19 protocols, the CLA – with help from its long-standing legislative connections – was able to secure “essential service” status for laundromats, thus enabling store owners to remain open and fully operational throughout the pandemic.
Owners Talking to Owners
Another key element of the CLA and its mission through the years has been fostering fellowship and camaraderie among laundromat owners, as well as creating a climate conducive to sharing of industry knowledge among peers.
This networking environment was first established in 1962 at the NALCC’s very first convention, which eventually led to the association’s co-sponsorship of the Clean Show, beginning in 1977. In addition to its continued involvement with Clean, the CLA launched its popular Excellence in Laundry management conference in 2012 as a high-level educational and networking opportunity for laundry owners during non-Clean-Show years.
Recently, the trade group also had been holding monthly CLA Connect LIVE educational programs across the U.S. These luncheon and dinner meetings were forced to go virtual during the pandemic. However, new Connect LIVE in-person events returned this fall.
Industry Education and Finding Solutions
Quality, industry-specific educational materials are the hallmark of any successful trade association. And the CLA has been building its library for more than half a century – from the organization’s official publication, PlanetLaundry, which was founded in 1990, to a growing series of white papers targeting various industry topics, to an online store brimming with books, videos, annual industry surveys, instructional webinars and more.
In recent years, the CLA also has expanded its stable of business partners, which provide a number of critical solutions for today’s laundry owners – including demographic information, digital marketing assistance, energy purchasing programs, payroll and HR services, and business and personal healthcare insurance.
Giving Back
In 2006, the CLA launched the LaundryCares Foundation, a charitable organization created to enable those within the laundromat industry to give back to the communities that have supported their businesses.
The main pillars of this foundation include (1) free laundry events held to help provide residents of underserved communities with the basic staple of clean clothes and linens, (2) free laundry assistance to those impacted by natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, and (3) the creation of early childhood literacy and learning opportunities within laundromats.
Moreover, LaundryCares recently has organized an annual Literacy Summit – where librarians, educators, early childhood researchers and laundry industry professionals convene to discuss and fine-tune the most impactful ways for laundry owners to provide literacy and learning materials to the young children of their customers.
Over the last 60 years, the CLA has helped thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs achieve the dream of laundromat ownership, as well as helping those operators get the very most from their businesses. Along the way, the association and its staff have evolved and grown to meet the every-changing needs of the CLA’s members and the laundromat marketplace in general.
Anniversary Accolades
In the run-up to its 60th birthday, the CLA’s offices were flooded with accolades from around the industry – some thanking the CLA for its long-standing efforts on behalf of laundromat owners, some offering advice for the organization’s next 60 years, and some just taking a trip down memory lane.
To provide a little perspective on where the laundromat industry has been and where it may be headed, we will share some of these notes with you in a subsequent posting at planetlaundry.com.
