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.
The Best of Both Worlds
With a Few Equipment Tweaks, California Laundromat Owners Expand Their Business – Catering to Self-Service and Full-Service Clients Alike Shortly after purchasing an existing laundromat near Palm Springs, Calif., Keith and Jacqueline Reed decided to make a few...
‘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...
Headlines
Managing Your Fleet, Part 1
A Look at One of the Most Critical Aspects for Successfully Scaling a Pickup-and-Delivery Service [This is the first of a three-part feature article on managing a fleet of laundry delivery vehicles.] Matt Simmons of Super Suds Laundromat in Long Beach, Calif., likes...
Whirlpool Named to 2022 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index
Whirlpool Corp. has been named to the 2022 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, in recognition of the company’s ongoing focus on responsible and ethical business practices. In addition, the manufacturer was included on the DJSI North America Index for the 16th year....
Maytag Washers Complete 60,000-Cycle Lab Test
Maytag Commercial Laundry recently announced that company engineers has just finished a seven-year lab test on the Commercial Laundry MHN33 frontload washers – a test of the DuraCore Drive System that started in 2015 with 10 machines running daily. Throughout the...
Report: Inflation Pressures Ease, Yet Remain a Leading Business Problem
Inflation remains the top problem for small-business owners, with 32 percent of operators reporting it as their single most important issue. The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.6 points in November to 91.9, marking the...
The Anatomy of a Successful Landing Page
Follow These Guidelines to Help Grow Your Pickup-and-Delivery Laundry Service Managing your fleet of vehicles is an important part of building a winning pickup-and-delivery service. But it’s just one piece to the puzzle. The question I always like to ask laundry...
‘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,...
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
ACI Supports Adding New Laundry Products to EPA Programs
The American Cleaning Institute has recommended new product categories be added to the Environmental Protection Agency’s potential expansion of its Safer Choice and Design for the Environment programs. The Safer Choice and DfE programs allow companies to receive an...
ByNext Acquires Laundry Angels
ByNext, a tech-enabled clothing and premise care company, has acquired Laundry Angels, a tech-enabled laundry and drycleaning pickup-and-delivery services company based in New Jersey. The move is part of the ByNext strategy to expand its omni-services and omni-channel...
CG West to Host Customer Appreciation Days
Continental Girbau West will host a three-day customer appreciation event on September 12-14 at the company’s headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. This free event, which will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, is open to current and potential CG West...
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...
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
Good for the Community, Good for Business
For two days this past March, the somewhat esoteric worlds of early-childhood education and library science intersected with the pragmatic, bottom-line business of laundromat ownership. Strange bedfellows, indeed. It’s a partnership that, at first glance, maybe...
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.
