Content about Energy

CHICAGO — In today’s competitive business environment, it makes sense that every dry cleaning plant operator is seeking ways to increase profit. But one can increase prices only so much. And with any potential labor savings having generally been rung out of most plants, operators must find other ways. Simultaneously, environmental impact is a major concern.

One of the areas in which to save, yet one that is often overlooked or glossed over, is the high cost of energy: electricity, heat and water. Hence, prudent dry cleaning plant operators are, or at least should be, having a critical look at this expense and seeking ways to reduce this financial drain.

The best way to reduce this expense is to implement a pre-planned assessment (a.k.a. audit) of the energy consumers in your dry cleaning plant. Much of this you can do yourself. For those systems and equipment items that could prove more difficult to assess, most utility companies are more than willing to assist, usually at little or no cost to you.

SINCE THE JUNE MEETING OF the Federal Open Market Committee, a committee of the Federal Reserve System, economic indicators have shown growth to be slower than expected. Inflation also picked up the first half of the year, reflecting increased prices for commodities and imported goods, although energy prices and some commodities have declined in price in recent months.

Those indicators are at odds with reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, which suggest a moderate expansion of economic activity from early April to late May. The report, known as the Beige Book, shows moderate growth in seven districts, with modest growth reported in three more. Steady growth was reported in the Boston district, while the Philadelphia district is the only one to report a slowing economic growth.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany — Sustainability will be the dominant theme of Texcare International — World Market for Modern Textile Care when it returns here in two weeks.

Show organizer Messe Frankfurt says all international market leaders—including the Alliance International brands, Barbanti, Beirholms Vaeverier, Ecolab, Girbau, Heprotex, Jensen, Kannegiesser, Kreussler, LG Electronics, Lavatec Laundry Technology, Macpi, Miele, Multimatic, Pellerin Milnor, Renzacci and Veit—have registered to exhibit during the May 5-9 show.

Altogether, Messe Frankfurt expects to welcome around 250 exhibitors and 15,000 trade visitors. As in previous shows (the event is staged every four years), the proportion of manufacturers from outside Germany will exceed 60%; the most important exhibitor nations besides Germany are Italy and the United States, Messe Frankfurt says.

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:

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany — Texcare International, the World Market for Modern Textile Care, will concentrate more than ever on sustainability when it returns to Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 5-9.

Approximately 250 exhibitors will be on hand with products and services related to resource conservation, waste reduction, energy efficiency, and more.

“This is the main driving force because the laundry and drycleaning sector has a great resource-saving potential,” says Elgar Straub, director general of VDMA Garment and Leather Technology. “The manufacturers are well aware of their overall social responsibility and, at Texcare International, present the innovations that make a contribution to greater sustainability, for example, plant and processes that reduce water consumption, increase energy efficiency, treat waste water and ensure optimum detergent dosage.”

To learn more about the five-day exhibition, visit www.texcare.com.

BEIJING, China — Texcare Asia, the International Trade Fair for Modern Textile Care, wrapped its three-day run here on Saturday afternoon. Attendance figures from show organizer Messe Frankfurt were not available as of this morning, but activity was brisk throughout the event.

The exhibition was 10% larger than Texcare Asia 2009, a show that Messe Frankfurt had described as the “largest one yet.” The 2011 edition occupied approximately 10,000 square meters (approximately 108,000 square feet) in three halls of the China International Exhibition Center, with one main aisle connecting the three.

There were approximately 130 exhibitors on hand. The show continues to grow as China’s laundry and drycleaning market presents significant opportunities for suppliers of resource-saving technologies as the government implements measures to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2020.

This has created a demand for environmentally friendly products such as centralized laundry systems, advanced drycleaning equipment, green solvents, energy-saving dryers, and water reclaimers, Messe Frankfurt says.

WASHINGTON — The Henry Hub spot price for natural gas averaged $3.90 per MMBtu in September, 15 cents lower than the August average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook report released Oct. 12. EIA expects that Henry Hub spot prices will fall further in October, before rising above $4 per MMBtu in December.

The report lowers the 2011 forecast by 5 cents to $4.15 per MMBtu, 24 cents less than the 2010 average. Although the average 2011 spot natural gas price is lower than the 2010 average, the forecast price over winter 2011-12 is higher than last winter’s average.

EIA expects this winter’s heating season will start with an average Henry Hub spot price of $3.78 per MMBtu in October, and that the price in 2012 will average $4.32 per MMBtu.

CHICAGO — Inflation affects us all. Even when it is coasting along at what might seem to be a harmless rate, it eats away at the buying power of the dollar.

When inflation hits 11% as it did in 1979, and then rises to 13.5% as it did in 1980, the world of investing, saving and spending is turned upside-down. That’s why some financial professionals are concerned about the most recent trend. After finishing 2010 at an average rate of 1.6%, the first five months of this year show an average of 2.64%, with the latest month in that period hitting the 3.6% mark.

Could this be the portent of sky-high inflation such as we saw in the 1970s? There is a growing amount of evidence that would suggest that possibility. The chief villain, according to many economists, is the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policy designed to support the government’s $2.2 trillion in stimulus spending. That, in addition to the rise in other government spending, has skyrocketed our federal debt.

SAN FRANCISCO — Sales, revenue, income … whatever you want to call it, it’s the one thing you always want more of. It’s an easy thing to want but a hard thing to get, particularly these days. How do you close the gap?

The only way to get something so big is to break it down into its components. Even drycleaning is more diversified than you would first expect.

On one level, revenue has two components—piece count and price. Multiply the number of total pieces by the average revenue per piece to get total revenue. On another level, there are a variety of product lines, each with its own number of pieces and unique pricing strategy. On still another level, there are various distribution methods—including dry stores, activated plants, retail or commercial routes—used to receive the revenues.

Each perspective has the ability to generate sales and must be independently and jointly reviewed in the hopes of building total, company-wide sales.

CHICAGO – Only one of the four regions managed sales gains in July compared to the previous year, according to the most recent AmericanDrycleaner.com StatShot survey.

The West registered the only July-to-July sales boost, and a minimal one at that, of 0.9%. The South saw sales plummet 9.3%, while Midwestern sales fell 4.6%. Sales were nearly flat in the Northeast, which suffered a 0.7% drop.

Some operators, particularly in the Midwest, blamed higher-than-average temperatures for the poor sales month.

“Too hot to do any business! No one is wearing any ‘drycleanable’ clothing in this heat,” wrote one Midwestern operator, while another proclaimed, “One of the hottest Julys in recorded history.”

But there were many more comments about our country’s struggling economy and its impact on small business, particularly in the South.

“Business seems to be declining rapidly,” lamented a Southern operator. “People are trying to save money any way they can and reducing their drycleaning use is one of them.”

WASHINGTON — The Henry Hub spot price averaged $4.31 per MMBtu in May, six cents higher than the April average and 11 cents higher than forecast in the agency’s previous report. This increase is reported amid growing consumption, even though inventories remain robust and the production forecast was “revised upward significantly.”

WASHINGTON — The prices for natural gas and electricity remain stable, while regular-grade gasoline continues to climb, according to the most recent U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) short-term energy outlook.

Natural gas working inventories ended March 2011 at 1.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), slightly below the 2010 end-of-March level. EIA expects that working gas inventories will remain relatively high throughout 2011.