Longtime Laundromat Owner on 23 Years of Service, Challenges, Community Impact

For more than two decades, Lee Ann Geurts has been a steady force in her Brooklyn Park community in Minnesota, running three laundromats that have become known not just for clean clothes, but for connection, comfort, and care. What began as a business venture for her...

Green is Good Business 

Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand  When Green Laundry Lounge co-owners Pulin and Krishna Dasai got into the vended laundry industry, they wanted to change a narrative: laundromats are water and energy-intensive businesses.   “The...

Leveling the Playing Field

John Um wanted to make sure small business owners could get fair pricing and access to reliable suppliers without needing to have significant buying power. As a leader whose career spanned several major retail and e-commerce companies, he had seen firsthand how hard...

Staying Fierce: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit in Vended Laundry

Haley Gould is the Director of Partner Success for HappyNest. She manages an internal team while leading more than 100 partners across the United States building a successful pickup and delivery operation in addition to running their laundromat business. A consummate...

PlanetLaundry Podcast

America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info

PlanetLaundry is the official publication of CLA and is trusted by thousands of laundry professionals to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics.

At the Breaking Point?

Originally posted - May issue/2012 Today's Industry Manufacturers Sound Off on a Balancing Act They All Face – The One Between Washability and Energy Efficiency Industry manufacturers have always faced the challenge of producing commercial equipment that would clean...

Marketing on a Shoestring

Originally posted - Oct 14, 2014 Whether you're a single-store laundry owner new to the business or a multi-store operator with years of industry experience under your belt, you both share the same dilemma – how to effectively market and promote your business on a...

Taking Care of Business

Originally posted - Jan issue/2012 Here's How Four Laundry Owners Diversified Their Operations with Commercial Accounts In the laundry business, an idle machine is a missed chance to gain needed revenue – and it's an opportunity that can never be recovered. Perhaps no...

Headlines

An Ounce of Prevention

How to Safeguard Your Laundry Business from Theft It's 4 a.m., a brick just crashed through your store window… and you're out of town. Do you really feel comfortable having your spouse go to the store alone? This is the type of question many people ask themselves...

Making a Statement

The ‘What,' ‘Why' and ‘How' of Mission Statements In a long history of looking at mission statements, researchers and practitioners have almost universally acknowledged the value of a singular mission as a driving force for companies – and yet have been inconsistent...

Dirty Bird Laundry

Ryan and Bernadette Hansen Dirty Bird Laundry Fresno, Calif. www.DirtyBirdLaundry.com Before Getting into the Laundry Business… Ryan was the operations manager for a produce distributor, and Bernadette worked at Costco. Store Openings Store 1: November 2009 - Fresno...

‘We Turn a Laundromat into a Community Center…’

An Interview with The Laundry Project's Jason Sowell Jason Sowell founded Current of Tampa Bay in 2008. It's a non-profit organization dedicated to helping meet the needs of low-income communities. Sowell is a former youth pastor and executive pastor in the Tampa...

Wash with Wally: Hair Dye Stains

One of my commercial accounts is a hair salon. Can you tell me the best way to remove dark hair dye from the white towels my client brings to me? Hair dye can be a real problem because different manufacturers use different types of bases for dyes. Some use a metallic...

Going ‘Undercover’

Forced to Take a Fresh Look at His Laundry Business, the Author Gained an Entirely New Perspective on His Overall Operation When is the last time you went "undercover?" No, I'm not suggesting you sneak into one of your competitor's laundries, pretending to be a...

Business Bio: Wash-n-Go

Dewayne Bohannon Wash-n-Go Columbia, S.C. Before Getting into the Laundry Business… Dewayne has been in the self-storage industry for 25 years, and he is also in the coin-operated amusement business. Store Opening Wash-n-Go in Columbia opened two years ago. However,...

Making the Call

How to Prepare for Sales Calls with Potential Commercial Clients In my last column, I discussed some of the profitable niches available to self-service laundry owners within the vast realm of commercial laundry accounts. This time, I'd like to follow up on that...

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...

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September Magazine Issue

This Month's Issue

 

  • House of Laundromats: Real Estate Trends and What to Watch
  • Member Spotlight: Bringing a Century of Expertise to the Evolving Laundromat Industry
  • PlanetLaundry Podcast: Reimagining Community: How the Hub Laundromat Cafe is a Change Catalyst in Detroit
  • Women In Vended Laundry: How Adrienne Hurrington Keeps the Wheels Turning as SAMCO
  • And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Equipment Marketers Gearing Up for 25th Annual Trade Show

Equipment Marketers will hold its 25th annual Trade Show & Service Seminar on May 3 at the company's headquarters in Cherry Hill, N.J. This event - scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. - will feature more than 20 commercial laundry vendors from across the U.S.,...

Clean 2017: Exhibit Space Sold Out

For the first time in 20 years, exhibit space for the Clean Show is completely sold out. The biennial event, which is celebrating its 40-year anniversary this year, is scheduled for June 5-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.In addition, attendee registration also is...

Profit Symposium Attracts Record Numbers

Continental Girbau West and Elite Business Investments recently hosted the Conference of Champions Profit Symposium in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. The event, which focused on ways to improve vended laundry profits and attract new customers, drew record numbers. The...

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Strategic Corporate Allies Program

Our Strategic Corporate Allies support CLA’s mission through advocacy, education, and innovation to strengthen the industry, advance our members’ businesses, and prepare the next generation of laundry professionals for the future.

Interested in becoming a Strategic Corporate Ally of CLA? Contact President & CEO, Brian Wallace via email at [email protected] or call (630) 491-0499.