Metrics That Matter

Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry The laundromat business is like most businesses in that you need to do a lot of things right to be successful. But how do you know if it’s working? According to successful owners, you just need to look at the...

Startup to Scale

How Western State Design Has Been Helping Laundry Businesses Thrive for More Than 50 Years For more than five decades, Western State Design has been a leading provider of turnkey laundry solutions across the vended, on-premises, and commercial/industrial markets....

Member Spotlight: Lab-Tested, Laundry-Approved

How Laundry Labs Plans to Change the Industry In today’s business world, efficiency and quality are paramount – and the commercial laundry industry is no exception. Recognizing the need for superior cleaning solutions specifically tailored to laundromat operators,...

Wash-Dry-Fold POS Launches New Feature

Wash-Dry-Fold POS® has announced its new Attendant Checklist Feature. According to Managing Partner Ian Gollahon, it is a simple but integrated tool that is so powerful, it’ll make you wonder how you ever ran your business without it. "You can monitor the checklist...

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Aiming High

Jan 27, 2015

Originally posted - Feb issue/2012 Corporate Pilot Opens New Laundry in College Town Ross Razak's work hours are hardly 9 to 5. So, he was looking to start a small business with just as much flexibility. Not surprisingly, he found exactly what he was looking for in...

Bank on It!

Jan 27, 2015

Originally posted - June issue/2012 Former Banking Executive Cashes in with Eco-Friendly Coin Laundry After more than 30 years in the financial industry, Connie Ihrke finally knows what she wants to be when she grows up. A coin laundry owner. "In the banking business,...

Controlling His Own Destiny

Jan 27, 2015

Originally posted - May issue/2012 Memphis Laundry Owner Builds Strong Following, Plans Two More Locations Phil Arvin's self-service laundry business is nothing like his "day job." And that's one of the aspects he really enjoys about his year-old entrepreneurial...

Headlines

What If Muhammad Ali Owned Your Laundry?

Adopting the Legendary Boxer's Personal Philosophy Can Turn You into a Champion of Business All of the buzz surrounding the recent high stakes Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao welterweight title fight got me thinking about boxing's heyday in the 1960s and '70s, as well...

Berkshire Hills Acquires Firestone Financial

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. has announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the acquisition of privately held Firestone Financial Corp. as an operating subsidiary of Berkshire Bank. Based in Needham, Mass., Firestone is a nationwide commercial specialty...

Speed Queen Honors Its Distributor of the Year

PWS Recognized for Service and Sales Excellence Speed Queen has named PWS - The Laundry Company as its 2014 Distributor of the Year. "We are honored to name PWS the 2014 Distributor of the Year," said Dan Bowe, Speed Queen North American sales manager. "Not only have...

IPSO Names Distributor of the Year

Steiner-Atlantic Honored for Outstanding Sales and Service Achievements IPSO recently named Steiner-Atlantic Corp. its 2014 Distributor of the Year. "We are honored to name Steiner-Atlantic Corp. the 2014 Distributor of the Year," said Kathryn Rowen, IPSO North...

Whirlpool Enters into Agreement to Acquire ADC

Whirlpool Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire American Dryer Corp., which manufactures and markets coin-operated, on-premise, industrial and specialty laundry equipment. The planned acquisition gives Whirlpool's commercial laundry business a platform to...

Setomatic/SpyderWash Names New Director of Sales and Operations

Gregg Schantz Promoted to Further Oversee the Company's Continued Growth Setomatic Systems/SpyderWash has announced the promotion of Gregg Schantz to director of sales and operations. Since joining the company full time in 2013, Schantz has helped support SpyderWash...

Avoiding Surprises

Running a small business is far from an exact science. And operating a self-service laundry – with all of the market-by-market idiosyncrasies this entails – at times can be even less of a sure thing. With PlanetLaundry's cover story in May focusing on industry myths...

Huebsch Announces Store Owner of the Quarter

John D. Dixon Recognized for National Laundry in Dickson, Tenn. Huebsch recently named John D. Dixon its Store Owner of the Quarter for his National Laundry, which is located in Dickson, Tenn. Dixon "transformed a rundown store into a thoughtfully designed,...

Cash is King

An Interview with Texas Laundry Owner Bruce Walker Bruce Walker and his wife, Julie, have been in the self-service laundry business since 2002. They own Wash It Kwik, a 3,000-square-foot card-operated store with 82 washers and dryers in Denton, Texas. How did you get...

Listen Here…..

Developing Your Listening Skills Will Help to Make You a Much Better Laundry Owner Open any anatomy book (or just look in the mirror), and you will quickly see that members of the human species have two ears and one mouth. Perhaps the original designer had in mind, as...

Wash with Wally: Thoughts on Free Dry

I own a laundry business that has been in my family for 40 years. Although it does well, someone is building a new self-service laundry just a mile and a half away from my store. I've been considering offering free dry. What do you think about this strategy? I think...

Maytag Distributors Celebrate 16th Annual ‘May is Maytag Month’

Honoring the company's heritage and legacy, several Maytag Commercial Laundry distributors across North America are hosting open houses and service schools during "May is Maytag Month." These events will provide information on new laundry equipment, as well as feature...

This Month's Issue

Metrics That Matter: Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry
Women In Laundry: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit
Company Close-Up: Company Founded to Help Small Businesses Shines
New Member Spotlight: How Robotics Could Change Laundromat Industry
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Commercial Equipment Company to Host Spring Open House

Commercial Equipment Company will hold its annual open house, service school and equipment showcase on May 19 at the company's headquarters in Farmers Branch, Texas. This event - which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - will feature extensive educational...

It’s Time to Think About Excellence

Earl Nightingale in his famous audio recording, "The Strangest Secret", states, "We become what we think about." Napoleon Hill wrote in his book, "Think and Grow Rich", that, "The way to success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge." Leaders throughout...

Yankee Equipment Hosts 40th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Sales and Educational Event

Yankee Equipment Systems, based in Barrington, N.H., recently hosted its 40th annual St. Patrick's Day Sales and Education Exhibition at the Westin Hotel in Waltham, Mass. This well-attended event gave attendees an opportunity to examine the latest offerings from some...

Uber to Shutter Its On-Demand Small-Item Delivery Service

On June 30, Uber will sunset its on-demand delivery service for laundry, groceries, flowers and other items under 30 pounds. The ride-hailing service has notified its users in an email that it will be shutting down UberRush, which has been doing deliveries for...

PayRange Names New VP of Sales

PayRange Inc. - a developer of app-based mobile payment systems for automated retail based in Portland, Ore. - has named Cecil Ledesma its new vice president of enterprise sales. Ledesma spent the last 20 years at USA Technologies, most recently leading the company's...