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CANCUN, Mexico — When was the last time you shared ideas with industry peers on how to make your dry cleaning business more efficient, expand your customer base, or boost your bottom line?

More than 100 dry cleaning professionals traveled to a Cancun resort in January to exchange best practices during a joint conference sponsored by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) and the National Cleaners Association (NCA).

Brian Johnson, DLI’s director of education and analysis, called Secrets The Vine resort a “fantastic venue.” Attendees learned each other’s business secrets at daily, three-hour seminars. For example, motivational speaker and author Jack Mitchell discussed his “Hug Your Customers” philosophy that helps his business operating men’s and women’s specialty stores to thrive.

“His methods were fascinating,” says Johnson, explaining that “hugs” are unexpected gestures like placing a birthday card in a customer’s suit pocket.

The Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI) presents its Introduction to Drycleaning Course July 15-19 in Laurel, Md.

For more information, call 800-638-2627 or visit the institute's website.

The Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI) will present its Wetcleaning Course June 3-4 in Laurel, Md.

For more information, call 800-638-2627 or visit the institute's website.

LAUREL, Md. — Jan Barlow, CGCP®, owner of Jan’s Professional Cleaners, Clio, Mich., has become the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute’s (DLI) second female president, and the organization has welcomed a host of new faces to its governing body.

DLI’s board of directors recognizes valued contributions and inducts new volunteer leadership. New directors are sworn in as their predecessors move to an executive office or become DLI senators, an exclusive title for previous board members.

Barlow succeeds Charlie Smith, owner of Village Square Cleaners, Reston, Va., who completed his one-year term as president.

David Machesney, owner of Pratt-Abbott Cleaners, Westbrook, Maine, became DLI’s president-elect. Allan Johnson III, owner of Peerless Cleaners, Corpus Christi, Texas, became treasurer.

DLI membership elected two dry cleaning professionals to district directorships: Brad Ewing, CED®, Nu Way Cleaners, Greeley, Colo., representing District 7, and David Suber, CED®, owner of Perfect Cleaners in Los Angeles, representing District 8.

CHICAGO — In February, after 14 years of study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named perchloroethylene a “likely” human carcinogen in its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. And after more than two decades of increasingly stringent regulation on the industry’s solvent of choice, the announcement seemed like the final nail in perc’s coffin.

Ironically, the decision actually protects perc’s position in dry cleaning, at least for the time being. “Everyone has the misconception that the category perc is in has changed,” says Faye Graul, executive director of the Halogenated Solvents Industry Association (HSIA). “It has not changed at all. The report says perc is safe for use in dry cleaning.”

EPA expressed no concerns about consumers wearing clothing cleaned in perc, and the IRIS report could ease the drinking-water standard required for environmental cleanups. And with a recent, recessionary lull in regulatory activity, only co-located facilities and plants in California and a few other areas see the possibility of a full phaseout ahead.

PUERTO RICO — The Five-Star Brainstorming conference, co-sponsored by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute and the National Cleaners Association, was pronounced a success by organizers and attendees.

About 50 dry cleaning professionals gathered at a Puerto Rican resort in mid-January to discuss customer trends and produce ideas to improve their businesses. The unique gathering, the first time the two groups have co-hosted a conference, featured a number of speakers, including Brian Carter, co-author of Facebook Marketing.

“He showed attendees that you really can make money with Facebook,” says Brian Johnson, DLI director of education and analysis.

Identifying different levels of familiarity with online marketing among audience members, Carter tailored his talk to involve all attendees. He provided basic steps that everyone, even those with only 15 minutes per month to spend on the project, could take, including creating a Facebook page and running a simple Facebook ad to promote their business in their area.

LAUREL, Md. — The board of directors of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) announced yesterday that chief executive officer William (Bill) Fisher is leaving his position at the association. Senior vice president Mary Scalco will become acting CEO to ensure a seamless transition, DLI says.

“We would like to thank Bill for his years of service and dedication to the industry and our institute,” says DLI President Rick Kasperbauer. “His contributions have been enormous over the last four decades.”

LAUREL, Md. — The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI, formerly IFI) is releasing a new white paper on solvents this month to help members make informed choices about the cleaning processes they use or consider. Previewed last month at Clean ’07, the report reveals the association’s new position on perc use.