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RONKONKOMA, N.Y. — Irving Weber Associates (IWA) has been working with local insurance brokers to offer their drycleaning clients protection at competitive rates for many years, but efforts to advise dry cleaners that they don’t need to fire their current broker to gain access to IWA’s insurance program hasn’t reached the audience it had hoped, the company says.

So, IWA has created a new division devoted exclusively to spreading the message that IWA wants to maintain local working relationships while providing dry cleaners and their local insurance brokers access to its coverage, says IWA President Adam Weber.

Christine (Tina) Brazier was selected to head the new division. “We want to educate the dry cleaners and their brokers about their access to our Fabricare Advantage Program, but also educate them on the many coverages designed to provide expanded protection to their business and that are rarely found in their current insurance products.”

John Leidner will serve as broker/agency liaison and Colleen Christner is responsible for marketing support.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Energy and resource efficiency are key factors in the professional textile care sector, and sustainable and efficient technology and processes for dry cleaners, laundries and textile service providers were on display as Texcare International opened its five-day run on Saturday.

There are 264 exhibitors hailing from 26 countries in Hall 8 and the adjoining Galleria. “The mood in the sector is very good,” says Wolfgang Marzin, president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, who accompanied media members during a guided tour of the show floor. “Hall 8 is fully booked up. All international market leaders have registered and will present their cutting-edge technologies. They expect the world’s leading trade fair for their sector to generate powerful business impulses.”

Marzin likened Texcare to the “Olympics of textile care,” referencing the show’s every-four-years cycle.

CHICAGO — Drycleaning sales rose 4.4% in the West last month from March 2011 figures and expanded 5% during the first quarter of 2012 when compared to last year, results from the latest AmericanDrycleaner.com StatShot survey show.

“Things are getting better,” says a Western operator. “Average order is up. Adding new customers to the routes is easier.”

“Market conditions are better,” adds a West Hollywood cleaner. “Lot of entertainment work, one industry doing well in recession.”

The South (up 1.3%) and the Midwest (up 1%) posted small gains in March compared to March 2011, but their quarterly numbers rivaled those of the West. First-quarter sales in the Midwest rose 4.3% from 2011; in the South, they were up 3.5%.

Most operators tried to keep the results in perspective.

“While my business has seen a rise of 20% for the first quarter, this was compared to very weak sales in 2011,” says a Midwestern cleaner. “The jump in March was caused by a large restoration project. Otherwise the core business was down 2%.”

PULASKI, N.Y. — Fulton Companies, a manufacturer of high-pressure steam boilers and thermal fluid heaters used by dry cleaners and industrial laundries, has received a $221,000 Capital Investment Incentive grant from National Grid for infrastructure improvements that will support the company’s 112,000-square-foot expansion and $13.9 million capital investment plan.

The grant will offset costs associated with construction of a new 82,000-square-foot manufacturing floor, 10,000-square-foot research and development center, and 20,000-square-foot office space. The grant also supports Fulton’s capital investment in projects that include expansion of thermal fluid heating product lines, creating lower-emissions products, and manufacturing a wider range of large boilers.

SAN ANTONIO — Richard Thum, co-founder and president of Five Star Cleaners, was recently elected president of The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA) at its annual convention.

The regional trade association, with more than 300 members, is an affiliate of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI). The 96-year-old association serves the professional dry cleaners of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Thum served as first vice president of the organization last year, and has served on the SDA board in various capacities for 28 years.

He launched Comet Cleaners in San Antonio in 1981 along with his wife, Sharlene, and the name was changed to Five Star Cleaners in 2004. The Thums own 11 locations across San Antonio.

Thum holds a bachelor of science degree in real estate finance from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and has a real estate broker’s license in Texas.

OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada — The Government of Canada has decided that siloxane D5—the liquid silicone used in the GreenEarth drycleaning process—is not harmful to the environment, Canada Environment Minister Peter Kent announced.

Kent received the Siloxane D5 Board of Review’s report last fall. He convened his country’s Board of Review in August 2010 with the mandate to consider information in the original Government of Canada 2009 siloxane D5 screening assessment, as well as new scientific information subsequently available. The Board concluded that siloxane D5 is not harmful to the environment.

“This decision follows a thorough analysis of the Siloxane D5 Board of Review’s report, all existing available scientific information, and ongoing international regulatory activities,” says Kent. “It underlines our commitment to reach fact-based conclusions to protect Canadians’ health and the environment.”

Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning, Kansas City, Mo., says his company has always applauded Canada’s measured, fact-based approach to the bioaccumulation issue.

National Cleaners Association DEC Certification course, to be held June 24 and July 1 (two days).

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $62,000 in grants to help 31 small businesses across the state, including some dry cleaners and laundries, invest in energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention projects.

“This program empowers small-business owners to invest in important upgrades that make the most sense for their business,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer says. “It gives them the opportunity to lower the costs of production, which makes them better environmental stewards and more competitive.”

Receiving grants were:

ATLANTA — The Clean Executive Committee has selected Global Experience Specialists (GES) to serve as the official services contractor for the 2013 Clean Show in New Orleans.

Three companies submitted proposals for the June 2013 show. “GES did our show in New Orleans in 2009 and did a great job,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the Clean Show’s management company. “We look forward to working with them again in 2013.”

Chicago hosted the first Clean Show in 1977. United Exposition Service Co. was the official services contractor for that event and subsequent shows. GES purchased United in 1993, and the Las Vegas-based company has continued its partnership with the Clean Show for many shows since.

GES produces 3,000 exhibitions and events annually.

The Clean Show—officially titled the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—attracts people across all segments of the textile care industry, from single-owner, coin-operated laundry and drycleaning establishments to giant industrial and institutional laundries and textile rental companies.

PHOENIX — Panda Dry Cleaners LLC, in collaboration with Procter & Gamble (P&G), recently opened its first Tide Dry Cleaners stores in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, and has now opened a second, this one in the Phoenix suburb of Ahwatukee.

The franchise locations are the first of five that Panda Dry Cleaners LLC plans to build this year. Chief executives of Panda Express fast-food restaurants established the company.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with Panda Dry Cleaners LLC to help us expand and further grow the Tide Dry Cleaners business,” says Jeff Wampler, CEO of Agile Pursuits Franchising, a wholly owned subsidiary of P&G. “Their expertise in real estate and development, coupled with our experience in consumer branding and understanding, will create a win-win opportunity for customers within the drycleaning industry.”

TAMPA, Fla. — Members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists met here last month to celebrate the group’s 25th anniversary, elect new officers, and participate in presentations with wedding industry experts.

The nonprofit trade group, with members located in the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Mexico and South Africa, specializes in gown cleaning and preservation.

A highlight of the conference was the presentation of the annual Jack Barth Memorial Award of Excellence. Initiated by Linda Stokes-Barth in remembrance of her late husband’s achievements in the drycleaning industry, the award recognizes a member for outstanding contributions and service to the association and its members.

This year’s honoree, Ken Grippi of Dependable Cleaners in Boston, began his career 45 years ago with his father at Beacon Cleaners. Beacon merged with Dependable Cleaners in 1972, and Grippi is currently Dependable’s technical training consultant and preservation and restoration expert. A member of the association since 2003, Grippi serves as national training director.