An Interview with Massachusetts Multi-Store Owner Jim Whitmore
Jim Whitmore is the owner of three Sunshine Express Laundry Centers, located in Massachusetts’ North Shore region. All three self-service laundries – ranging in size from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet – have been fully renovated and transformed into the greenest, most energy-efficient operations possible.
Mr. Whitmore is currently the chairman-elect for the Coin Laundry Association, as well as the chairman of the organization’s Green Committee.
Why is running your laundry business as efficiently as possible so crucial these days?
There are a number of answers to that question. The first one is stewardship. I believe that self-service laundry owners – as major consumers of natural gas, electricity and water – all have a role to play in the responsible use of those resources
The second answer is competition. I think all laundries should try to be as energy-efficient as possible in order to maintain a competitive edge. That’s certainly one of my main motivations, because my stores are located in a very competitive marketplace.
The third answer to your question is that we are in this business to serve the public. By providing the best possible laundry options for our customers – such as the most energy-efficient equipment and, hence, competitive pricing – I feel that we’re doing the correct thing and serving our customer base in the best way possible.
The fourth, but certainly not least important, answer is profit. My business has been substantially more profitable since I’ve retooled. With all of my focus on running a green, efficient and eco-friendly laundry operation, the dividends have been there in the end.
In essence, those are the four overarching contextual reasons I believe laundry owners should consider going as green as possible.
When you renovated your stores, what specifically did you do to become as efficient an operator as possible?
During the retooling process, the first thing I did was to select what I considered the best, most efficient equipment available. For example, with the washers, I looked at cycle time, extraction and all of the factors that cover efficiency.
From my point of view, extraction is critical because of what it provides on the drying side, which is reduced drying time. This gets my customers in and out of my store more quickly. In fact, my throughput at peak usage times basically has doubled. In other words, I can process approximately twice as many people, and my customer experience has gone from being close to a two-hour visit to the laundry to what is now a one-hour visit – and I don’t have to tell you how much customers appreciate that change.
I also switched the lighting in all three stores to LED lights, which has provided a measurable savings.
In addition, during the renovation, we were extremely religious about creating a sealed and insulated dryer enclosure. As a result, the portion of the built-out space that includes the dryers is completely isolated from any of the stores’ heated and air-conditioned spaces. We even went to the extent of sealing between, under and above the dryers to minimize any air leakage in or out of those areas.
Those are probably the biggest changes we’ve make to the business to become more efficient.
How have these changes helped your laundry business?
As anyone who has been in the self-service laundry business for a while knows, natural gas prices have fluctuated widely over the years. In fact, there was a time not so long ago when natural gas was the one utility cost that every store owner was complaining about and worrying over.
The bottom line is that – while a utility like natural gas may go up and down in cost – water and sewer costs have risen steadily, as communities look to dig into the pockets of those of us who use larger amounts of water. And all signs point to this trend continuing in the foreseeable future.
For me, one of the most obvious benefits of becoming more energy-efficient is my reduced water and sewer consumption, which has saved me a tremendous amount of money. In my case, my total utility savings has been more than 16 percent. So, that’s 16 percent directly to the bottom line, which is huge.
Beyond the dollars and cents, going green also have given me peace of mind. Knowing that I’m doing the best I possibly can relative to using our natural resources gives me a certain level of comfort. I sleep well at night.
Do you think becoming a more efficient operator has given you an edge on the competition in terms of marketing your business?
To be perfectly honest, I think it has helped me pull in more of the college crowd. I’m getting more students coming into the stores. They’ll find me on Google and see my website – and they’ve responded to the fact that we’re a socially responsible business.
Are you planning any additional green initiatives for the future?
I possibly may open other laundry locations, because I feel I now have a solid template.
However, staff training and education is the next step I’ll take, to make sure my attendants are completely up to speed on all of the green, energy-efficient benefits at the stores.
I want to create a training program that will enable my employees to become green marketers for the business. Currently, they’re great ambassadors for the stores and the laundry business, but I haven’t full indoctrinated them into all of the green, eco-friendly offerings we now provide.
Another major step I’d like to take would be to install some photovoltaic solar electric panels on the roof of the stores.
Also, I want to create electric car charging stations outside of each laundry location. If it does nothing else, it sends the message that we’re the “green guys.” After all, the parking lot is the very first interaction potential customers have with our business, so why not start right there with our green message?
What advice do you have for other laundry owners who are considering becoming “greener” in their daily operations?
For today’s existing laundry owners, don’t get comfortable. Move with the times. This is a trend that’s not going away. Even if utility costs seem cheap now, they won’t necessarily always be so inexpensive. I would encourage them to invest in energy efficiency now.
Long-time industry veteran Richard Lutz Sr. gave me a piece of advice about 20 years ago. He said, “Buy anything that saves you or your customers time.” That advice stuck with me, and I continue to live by it. And going green definitely does both.
The comment I hear over and over again from distributors at trade shows is that they have a difficult time selling the extra cost for high-speed equipment, but my advice to laundry owners is: don’t go cheap on your equipment. If efficiency is the next step up for your business, take a long view of your investment.
The overall sustainability of our industry depends on each of us being good stewards of the resources we consume and the environment we live in. To me, it’s always about remembering that we’re beneficiaries of our customers’ patronage. The bottom line is that we are in service to each customer and to the community at large, so doing the right thing for our customers and the community pays back. That’s the bottom line.
It’s profitable. Why not do it?
