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.
‘Helping Youth in Need’
New York Laundry Owner Shares His Thoughts on Adding a Literacy Element to His Business Model Multi-store owner Steve Levine may be the perfect role model for the LaundryCares Foundation’s literacy programs and Family Read, Play & Learn Centers. After all, he’s...
Life of a Salesman
An Interview with Bryan Maxwell of Western State Design Bryan Maxwell is the senior laundry specialist for Western State Design, a major laundry equipment distributor, headquartered in Hayward, Calif. Maxwell began with Western State in 1988 – selling industrial OPL...
Word to the Wise, Part 2
Laundromat Owners Share Best Practices for Long-Term Success [This is the second of the two-part feature article. Read Part 1 here.] Several leading laundromat owners share their best business and operational advice, tips and strategies for new store operators and...
Headlines
‘The Sky is the Limit!’
Aloha Laundry Life Connects On-Demand Laundry Services with Top-Quality Laundromats Founded in 2020, Aloha Laundry Life is a virtual laundromat platform designed to connect on-demand laundry services with laundromats. In essence, the company provides an online...
Wash with Wally: Removing Tar from Clothing
There’s a lot of road construction being done in the area around my laundromat, and the workers are bringing in a great deal of drop-off laundry. However, I’m having some problems removing tar from their work garments. Do you have any suggestions? Tar and concrete are...
Pellerin Milnor Celebrates 75th Anniversary
Pellerin Milnor Corp., headquartered in Kenner, La., is celebrating 75 years as a commercial laundry equipment manufacturer. Founded by W.A. Pellerin, his wife Mildred, his son Norvin, and brother-in-law A.W. “Jack” Walsdorf in 1947, Milnor – a name derived from...
Whirlpool Named to List of ‘Most Responsible Companies’
Whirlpool Corp. has landed in the No. 3 overall spot on Newsweek’s 2023 list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, up from the fourth position in 2021. The annual recognition, acknowledging the top 500 most responsible companies in the United States across 14...
Viewpoint: What a Year It Has Been
At the beginning of the year in this space, I posed the question: “What can the CLA do for you?” More than a catchy (and borrowed) tagline, it was a sincere effort to solicit feedback from CLA members – our customers – as to what they wanted the association to provide...
Going Forward… (Part 2)
Industry Insiders Recap the Past Year – And Look Closely at the Factors Shaping the Laundry Business in 2023 [This is the second of a two-part feature article reviewing the year in laundry and taking a glimpse at what 2023 and beyond might hold for store owners. You...
Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution Relocates Dallas Office
The Dallas-area headquarters of Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution has relocated to the Dallas suburb of Coppell, Texas. The office previously was based in Farmers Branch, Texas. “I can’t wait to open the doors of our new office to customers,” said Sam Husain,...
Iowa Laundry Hosts ‘Clean for a Cause’ Event
Clean Laundry in Ottumwa, Iowa, recently partnered with Whatsoever You Do Inc., a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the less fortunate, during one of the laundromat’s “Clean for a Cause” charitable events. Clean Laundry co-founder Phil Akin...
Texas Laundromat Holds Coat Drive for Homeless
Gr8 Laundry in College Station, Texas, has teamed up with Hope’s Locker, an organization that helps homeless children within the area, to host a coat and blanket drive. “For us to be able to reach out and help however we can makes us feel good with what little bit we...
Alliance Acquires Laundry Equipment Services
Alliance Laundry Systems has expanded its direct distribution base with the acquisition of Laundry Equipment Services. The acquisition – Alliance’s fifth distributor asset purchase in the last two years – is the company’s latest move in a strategy “to bring...
Wash with Wally: Making ‘Scents’ of WDF Laundry
My store handles a good amount of wash-dry-fold laundry, and lately I’ve been using a lot of detergent and softener. When I approached my laundry attendants about this issue, they told me that many of the customers indicated that they wanted their clothes to smell...
Going Forward… (Part 1)
Industry Insiders Recap the Past Year – And Look Closely at the Factors Shaping the Laundry Business in 2023 [This is the first of a two-part feature article reviewing the year in laundry and taking a glimpse at what 2023 and beyond might hold for store owners.] It’s...
SPONSORED CONTENT
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
Eastern Funding Bolsters Sales Team
Eastern Funding LLC – a financial lender to laundromats, industrial laundries, car washes, commercial vehicles, and other businesses – has announced that Raina Bass has joined the company as loan officer. Bass, who will focus on commercial laundry financing, joins...
Whirlpool Unveils New Technology Center
Whirlpool Corp. has unveiled a new, 153,000-square-foot technology center in St. Joseph, Mich. The more than $60 million project expands and replaces much of the current St. Joseph Technology Center – and represents the first of a three-phase plan to redesign an...
WashClub Expands DoorDash Partnership
WashClub, a New York-based on-demand laundry and drycleaning service, recently announced the expansion of its partnership with DoorDash to serve laundry customers in the Bronx. The laundry service first launched this offering to residents of Brooklyn and Queens in...
American Trade Magazines Names New Publisher
American Trade Magazines, LLC – the parent company of textile-care B2B publications American Coin-Op, American Drycleaner, and American Laundry News – has announced a change in leadership. Effective August 1, Associate Publisher and National Sales Director Donald...
HappyNest Hosts Annual Partner Conference
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest, headquartered in East Greenwich, R.I., hosted its 2nd annual Partner Conference on June 20-22 in Newport, R.I. – with more than 50 of the company’s laundromat partners from across the U.S. gathering for the event. The...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Touching Moments
Cut Costs by Limiting the Number of Times Employees Handle Each Wash-Dry-Fold Order Do you mind if we get a little touchy-feely this month? Over the last six months or so, I've had numerous conversations with some of my colleagues from all across the country as to...
The Business Mind
Are You a Procrastinator?
The Time You’re Wasting is Costing You Money, Customers and the Opportunity to Reach Your Full Potential While attending Michigan State University as an undergraduate, I served as the student manager of the varsity tennis team. One particularly freezing January...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Cleaning White Dress Shirts
I recently washed and dried a load of white dress shirts. When these shirts came out of the washer, they were bright white. However, after drying them, they had all turned yellow. I’ve never had this problem before. What can I do to prevent this from reoccurring? And...
Viewpoint
Big in Japan
I’m very fortunate that my career with the Coin Laundry Association has enabled me to travel internationally to the trade shows that serve our industry worldwide. Each of these opportunities yield great returns, as I learn more about the business and build...
Digital Marketing
Looking Forward by Looking Back
Why Marketing Your Laundry Business is Only Going to Get Better The world has changed quite a bit over the last three decades. Heck, it has changed a lot just in 2020 alone. But let’s not go into that here. If you were to take a time machine back to 1990, you wouldn’t...
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.
