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CHICAGO — STUNNING FORECASTERS, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% in September, the lowest rate since January 2009.

“Our nation's labor market added 114,000 non-farm payroll jobs in September,” Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said in a statement. “Additionally, 86,000 more Americans found jobs in July and August than had been previously reported.”

SHOWING MODEST ECONOMIC GROWTH, the 12 Federal Reserve Districts of the Federal Reserve Bank reported consumer spending was generally good for the October report. Only the New York, Chicago and Kansas City districts reported flat or soft sales. Existing home sales were stronger in most districts, with prices steady or increasing, and overall loan activity was steady to stronger in most districts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — GreenEarth Cleaning has signed Wotek Corp., Piscataway, N.J., as master licensor of its dry cleaning process for India and the Middle East, GreenEarth reports.

A U.S. engineering company known for exporting and servicing well-known dry cleaning and laundry brands, Wotek will license GreenEarth’s patented process to hotels and progressive drycleaning operators.

The unique fabricare advantages of GreenEarth’s environmentally safe, liquid silicone-based process were a key reason why Wotek sought to partner with GreenEarth.

With the Wotek agreement, GreenEarth is now licensed in 33 countries. It has more than 1,600 affiliate licenses worldwide, approximately half of which are in the United States.

“The level of interest in GreenEarth, both internationally and here in the U.S., continues to grow,” says Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning. “Our focus remains on quality over quantity; we are very selective about who we partner with to license our patented process and trademarks.”

GRANDVIEW, Mo. — Pride Cleaners turned the shell of a former ice skating rink into a bright, clean central processing plant that services its 37 stores throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. It processes around 10,000 pieces a day in season.

After the 22,000-square-foot building was cleaned out, Pride had to bring in new power, gas and water services. Every piece of equipment had to be installed, and offices were built.

The plant was laid out to best fit the workflow needed for drycleaning, laundry and alteration services. Laundry and drycleaning work is separated, and flows from the washing/drycleaning machines through the press area, down to assembly, and out to the trucks in a U-shaped design.

Among Pride’s key pieces of equipment is Fulton boilers, Unipress finishing equipment, Metalprogetti auto-sort systems, Union drycleaning machines, petroleum reclaimers, Kaeser air compressor, and a Kemco hot-water system.

GreenEarth Affiliate Workshop. To be held at GreenEarth Cleaning, 51W 135th Street, Kansas City, Mo.  Call 816-926-0895 ext. 206 or e-mail kmaxwell@greenearthcleaning.com.

KANSAS CITY — Britain’s first Climate Week Awards named Xeros Ltd. the “Best Technological Breakthrough” last week. Introduced at Clean 2009 in partnership with GreenEarth Cleaning, the laundry technology saves water by introducing nylon polymer beads into wash cycles.

MILAN — Kansas City-based GreenEarth Cleaning announced it has signed a new master licensor for Italy at the opening of Expo Detergo on Friday. Bologna-based equipment manufacturer FMB Group will have exclusive rights to license and distribute the silicone-based solvent throughout Italy.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Tide Dry Cleaners, operated by Procter & Gamble subsidiary Agile Pursuits Franchising, is expanding to Atlanta. The company plans to open multiple franchised drycleaning locations and is currently seeking qualified entrepreneurs to operate the facilities.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — GreenEarth Cleaning LLC has signed GreenClean Tintorerias as a Master Licensor for its silicone-based drycleaning technology in Mexico.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Detergent and consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble will team with GreenEarth Cleaning to open three Tide-branded drycleaning stores in the Kansas City metro area this month.

Testing the market for branded, “environmentally friendly” drycleaning services, P&G says it will work with an existing operator to convert two plants to the Tide Dry Cleaners flag, and build one new store. P&G plans to test various wetcleaning processes and dryclean exclusively with GreenEarth.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has completed an 18-month evaluation of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) silicon, the solvent used in GreenEarth. According to a letter published at its website, ARB has determined that D5 is an “acceptable drycleaning solvent alternative” to perchloroethylene, but is not eligible for the state’s grant program.