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Zengeler Cleaners

Plant Design Awards — Special Honors, Outstanding Plant-on-Premises: Zengeler Cleaners, Long Grove, Ill.

LONG GROVE, Ill. — Family-owned Zengeler Cleaners chose to build its new state-of-the-art plant, measuring 3,000 square feet, in a new retail development northwest...

Tower Cleaners

Plant Design Awards — Special Honors, Outstanding Reconstruction: Tower Cleaners, Calgary, Alberta

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — Tower Cleaners transformed a 16,000-square-foot building once used for welding and painting aluminum railings to combine its two plants...

Margaret’s Cleaners

Plant Design Awards — Grand Prize: Margaret’s Cleaners (Part 2 of 2)

SAN DIEGO — Margaret’s Cleaners’ 22,000-square-foot plant, formerly an upholstery fabric outlet, was designed from the ground up for servicing couture...

Margaret’s Cleaners

Plant Design Awards — Grand Prize: Margaret’s Cleaners (Part 1 of 2)

SAN DIEGO — Margaret’s Cleaners’ 22,000-square-foot plant, formerly an upholstery fabric outlet, was designed from the ground up for servicing couture...

Bottega Veneta boiled-wool skirt suit

Four Fall Styles That Will Have Dry Cleaners Fit to Be Tied — Part 4: Geometric

CHICAGO — Runways in the world’s fashion capitals came alive for 2011’s fall season, as if to herald an end to recessionary reserve and embrace edgy...

sheath dress from Alexander McQueen

Four Fall Styles That Will Have Dry Cleaners Fit to Be Tied — Part 3: Baroque

CHICAGO — Runways in the world’s fashion capitals came alive for 2011’s fall season, as if to herald an end to recessionary reserve and embrace edgy...

Navajo-print mashup from Proenza Schouler

Four Fall Styles That Will Have Dry Cleaners Fit to Be Tied — Part 2: Mix & Match

CHICAGO — Runways in the world’s fashion capitals came alive for 2011’s fall season, as if to herald an end to recessionary reserve and embrace edgy...

Miuccia Prada frock of paillettes and snakeskin

Four Fall Styles That Will Have Dry Cleaners Fit to Be Tied — Part 1: Scales

CHICAGO — Runways in the world’s fashion capitals came alive for 2011’s fall season, as if to herald an end to recessionary reserve and embrace edgy...

ftc green guides

Complying with Environmental Marketing Guides

CHICAGO — When promoting your business’ “green” practices, be mindful that the FTC Act gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to bring law...

dryclean green

Eminently Emerald (Part 1 of 2)

CHICAGO — Not so long ago, when you looked up “green” in the dictionary, there was a brief definition about color or pigment. Today, it’s difficult...

A Real-Life Horror Story (Part 2 of 2)

CHICAGO — By any definition, Joe was a “success,” and so was his business, Success Co. Although Joe was a planner, after he died, his estate plan and...

handing over the key

A Real-Life Horror Story (Part 1 of 2)

CHICAGO — By any definition, Joe was a “success,” and so was his business, Success Co. Although Joe was a planner, after he died, his estate plan and...

John Riddle

Clean Show Report: Enthusiastic

LAS VEGAS — The story after Clean ’09 in New Orleans was that while attendance had been down from the previous show, the quality of the attendees had been...

dollars in wrench

To Your Credit, Part 2

ARDMORE, Pa. — With all the available capital apparently going to big business and government, what can the financially-strapped small-business owner do? Provisions...

dollars in wrench

To Your Credit, Part 1

CHICAGO  — According to the experts, the recession ended in the summer of 2009. Three months after that, however, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner...

tide drycleaner pic

Inside Tide

P&G’s new Tide-brand plants could be the wave of the future, if franchise operators can keep the consumer experience fresh. LEAWOOD, Kan. — Procter &...

siena drycleaner pics

Texas By The Tail

Operators returning to the industry sawed off an abandoned building to create a dream plant, taking Plant Design honors. GIDDINGS, Texas — Siena Dry Cleaners in...

las vegas strip picture

Only Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Here are just a few of the options open to those hitting Glitter Gulch for Clean ’11 in June. It’s impossible to list everything, but this...

las vegas strip picture

Neon Nights

On the cusp of an economic recovery, The Clean Show returns to its most popular site—the adult playground where everyone is a high roller. On The Cusp of An...

J. Carl Cleaners exterior

Plant Design: Merit Awards, Part 2

CHICAGO — The Merit Awards in the 50th Annual Plant Design Awards went to six drycleaners from every corner of the country. The second and final part of this story...

Dubin Cleaners' exterior

Plant Design: Merit Awards, Part 1

CHICAGO — The Merit Awards in the 50th Annual Plant Design Awards went to six drycleaners from every corner of the country. Part one of this story details three of...

Siena exterior

Plant Design: Special Honors Awards

CHICAGO — The runners-up in the 50th Annual Plant Design Awards were a repurposed Sears Hardware store and an innovative “green” design that incorporates...

Hallak exterior

Plant Design: Fully Invested

Hallak Cleaners knocked out walls and moved every piece of equipment to expand its single production facility without taking a day off, earning it Best Plant Design in the...

Drycleaning’s Decline Is Permanent

CREVE COEUR, Mo. — The percentage of people who never use drycleaning is now higher than the percentage that does. Even the number of infrequent users (once every...