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Content about Person Attributes

March 6, 2013
In Memoriam: James H. ‘Jim’ Fitzgerald Sr., Herb Fitzgerald Co.

MILWAUKEE — He was inductee of Wisconsin Fabricare Hall of Fame, among other industry honors received over the years

MILWAUKEE — American Drycleaner has learned of the recent death of James H. “Jim” Fitzgerald Sr., president of Herb Fitzgerald Co., a laundry and dry cleaning equipment distributor headquartered in Butler, Wis. He died Jan. 3 at the age of 85.

james fitzgeraldFitzgerald is an inductee of the Wisconsin Fabricare Hall of Fame, among other industry honors he received over the years.

Surviving him are his children, Jim, Jeff, Dann and Janell; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Dolores.

Memorial contributions may be made to Lumen Christi Catholic Church, 138 W. Buntrock Ave., Thiensville, WI 53092.

December 17, 2012
In Memoriam: Frank F. Filling Jr. and “Sto” Fox

CHICAGO — Industry mourns passings of business, association leaders

CHICAGO — American Drycleaner has learned of the recent deaths of two prominent leaders in the dry cleaning community:

Frank F. Filling Jr. — Died Nov. 10, 2012

Frank F. Filling Jr., 94, of Landis Homes, formerly of Lancaster, Pa., died Nov. 10 surrounded by family.

Filling was the retired president of Filling’s Inc. Drycleaning, Men’s and Ladies Stores. He retired in 1987 after 53 years with the Filling Corp.

Filling once served as the president of the Central Pennsylvania Drycleaners Guild and the Pennsylvania Association of Professional Dry Cleaners. He was elected to the International Fabricare Institute’s Board of Directors and was instrumental in the formation of the Institute’s school in Maryland.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mabel “Mae,” in 1999. He is survived by a son, daughter, two brothers, two sisters, and three grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Lancaster, or the Millersville VFW Post 7294, 219 Walnut Hill Rd., Millersville, PA 17551.

October 15, 2012
In Memoriam: John H. 'Jack' Ruen Jr., Cleaners Hanger Co.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Third-generation owner/operator retired as CEO in 1990

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — John H. “Jack” Ruen Jr., former owner and operator of the Cleaners Hanger Co., died July 14 at his home at the age of 74.

Ruen was born March 10, 1938, in Detroit to John “Hank” and Marion Martin Ruen. He graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School in 1956.

He was a third-generation owner and operator of Cleaners Hanger Co. in Detroit, and was active in the Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA), where he served on the Board of Directors. Ruen retired from Cleaners Hanger as CEO in 1990 after a lifelong career in the family business.

Surviving Ruen are five children, 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the American Cancer Society or to the charity of the donor's choice.

September 10, 2012
Md. Dry Cleaner Gets Suspended Sentence for Illegal Waste Disposal

BALTIMORE — Drums containing dry cleaning solvent waste illegally dumped along roadside

BALTIMORE — Discount Dry Cleaners LLC, Laurel, Md., and its owner, Mehret Sium, 58, have been convicted of improperly disposing of hazardous waste in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County, reports state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.

Sium, on behalf of her business, pleaded guilty to illegal disposal of hazardous materials. She personally pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with hazardous waste transportation requirements.

The convictions stem from a March 9 incident when the Maryland Department of the Environment Hazardous Response Team was contacted regarding a suspected hazardous drum dumping on Dicus Mill Road near Millersville.

Investigators from the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Unit found 18 drums varying in size from 5 to 35 gallons that contained hazardous waste from dry cleaning solvent. Numerous containers had no lids, and none was properly packaged, labeled or marked pursuant to Department of Transportation regulations. The drums were traced back to Discount Dry Cleaners.

August 27, 2012
65 Years of Dedicated Service

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Accountant Leland Bierbaum has known only one employer: Dison Cleaners

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Rochester is probably best known for being the home of the world famous Mayo Clinic, founded in 1889. It is Rochester’s economic center, employing some 30,000 people in the city of roughly 108,000.

But for the staffers of Dison (pronounced dee-son) Cleaners, former and present, Rochester is home to another longtime community fixture that holds a much more special place in their hearts. His name is Leland.

Earlier this year—on June 2, to be precise—Leland Bierbaum, 86, marked 65 years of service as the company’s bookkeeper. That’s right—65 years.It is his first and only job.

It was the summer of 1947 when Harold “Hap” Dison Sr., grandfather of current owners Mark and Greg Dison, hired Bierbaum. He started out making $35 a week and worked every day but Sundays.

August 23, 2012
In Memoriam: Steven Katz, ThermoSteam Systems, and Gene Blumenthal, Metro-Chem

CHICAGO — Industry mourns passings of vendor leaders

CHICAGO — The laundry and dry cleaning industry lost two vendor leaders recently with the passings of Steven Katz, CEO of ThermoSteam Industries, and Gene Blumenthal, founder and president of Metro-Chem Inc.

Steven Mark Katz, 1948-2012

Katz, 63, South Bend, Ind., died Monday. He was born and raised in South Bend. He attended Indiana University, where he graduated with a history degree in 1970. He pursued a career in laundry and dry cleaning, and eventually became the CEO of two companies: ThermoSteam Systems, manufacturer of packaged steam boilers, and Kay Industries, producer of phase converters.

steven katz

Katz was active in the Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA), having served on its board of directors for four years and as treasurer for two.

He was also active in his local community and his congregation, Sinai Synagogue. He was known as an extraordinary orator and was called upon to emcee various events in the South Bend area over the years.

August 9, 2012
Louisiana Cleaner Pleads Guilty to Perc Dumping

LAFAYETTE, La. — Cleaner stored perc in Rubbermaid containers, dumped waste down toilet

LAFAYETTE, La. — A Louisiana dry cleaner pleaded guilty last week to negligently causing and allowing the discharge of hazardous waste—perchloroethylene, also known as perc—into a publicly owned treatment works or sewer system, according to U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley.

Jason Prejean, 38, of Lafayette owns One Low Price Cleaners (OLPC) and entered the guilty plea on behalf of him and his Lafayette business.

At the hearing, Prejean admitted that he acted negligently in failing to ensure the proper and lawful disposal of wastewater containing perc and that he failed to train OLPC employees on the lawful disposal of perc waste. He also admitted that he had not used a disposal company since February 2007.

Investigations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) revealed that from December 2007 through May 2009, perc was improperly stored on-site at OLPC and that employees routinely poured perc wastewater down the toilet inside the store.

July 30, 2012
In Memoriam: Raymond C. “Ray” Colucci

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Industry pioneer, sales/marketing professional, consultant

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Raymond C. “Ray” Colucci, of Mamaroneck and Long Island, N.Y., died July 18 at the Nyack Manor Nursing Home in Rockland County, N.Y., after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 86.

Born June 24, 1926, to Amadeo and Ida Colucci of New York, he was married Aug. 7, 1949, to Barbara Sohier following his service in the Armed Forces. She preceded him in death in November 2004.

Colucci will be remembered as a professional who helped pioneer dry cleaning. He and his brothers along with their father once owned the largest dry cleaning store in the Bronx, Colucci and Sons Dry Cleaners.

After his graduation from the Fashion Institute of Technology, he launched a sales and marketing career, finally acceding to vice president of marketing at Rheem Textile, the company from which he retired in the 1990s.

He continued as a writer and consultant to the fabricare industry, and was a frequent contributor to a dry cleaning trade magazine.

October 3, 2011
Youth’s Perc Project Prompts University Research into Drycleaning Residuals

WASHINGTON — A high school sophomore’s science project about the chemicals that remain in drycleaned clothing prompted a university study and publication online in a peer-reviewed environmental journal, the Washington Post reported recently.

A Georgetown University professor and graduate students assisted 15-year-old Alexa Dantzler with her experiment. She sewed squares of wool, cotton, polyester and silk into the lining of several men’s jackets and then had them cleaned at seven Northern Virginia drycleaners who had no knowledge of the experiment.

The research team determined that perc stayed in the fabrics and that levels increased with repeat cleanings, particularly in wool, the newspaper reported.

Industry representatives told the Post that the study was incomplete because the tested garments had been drycleaned but not pressed, which helps remove solvent.

Click here to view the published study.

July 20, 2010
Illinois Drycleaner Fends Off Robbers

OAK PARK, Ill. — When two men — one brandishing a gun — walked into Austin Cleaners and demanded the contents of her cash register last Monday evening, they didn’t count on operator Kim Ja Moon.

The 4-foot, 10-inch Kim, 66, knew the men weren’t regulars. When they asked her to empty the register, she refused. Bracing herself against the counter, she blocked the much larger assailant from getting to the register.

July 31, 2009
In Memoriam: Nicholas Kashkashian

PHILADEPHIA — Nicholas Kashkashian Sr., president of the Philadephia-based distributorship Frankford Associates, died suddenly of a heart attack at his office last month. He was 66.

Kashkashian was born in Bristol, Pa., and graduated from Temple University. He served in the Army Reserve for several years before marrying Jane Maxwell, who preceded him in death in 2007.

January 14, 2008
Subcommittee to Investigate Worker Deaths at Laundry Plant

LINDEN, N.J. — A congressional subcommittee will conduct a field hearing this afternoon to examine a Dec. 1 industrial accident that resulted in the deaths of two workers at an area linen-supply plant.

The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor, chaired by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), will hold Workplace Tragedies: Examining Problems and Solutions beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST today in the third-floor courtroom of Linden’s City Hall, 301 N. Wood Ave.

October 31, 2007
Red Cap Gunman Convicted

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The shooter in an attempted robbery that left Red Cap Valet operator Bruce Levy dead three years ago was convicted of first-degree murder in a Queens court on Saturday. Denworth Davidson, 24, now faces life in prison.

On Oct. 7, 2004, Levy was walking into his business when Davidson pulled a gun and attempted to snatch a banker’s bag holding about $17,000 in payroll cash. Levy struggled with the gunman, was shot in the arm, fell to the ground and suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the throat.

September 5, 2007
Two Influential Operators Pass Away

CHICAGO, Ill. — Two longtime industry operators, Bobby Landers and Charles Grant, passed away over the summer. Both were active and influential in the industry and will be missed by family and friends.

Robert Daniell “Bobby” Landers passed away early this summer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. He was 72.

April 2, 2007
Maytag Picks New Repairman

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Maytag Corp. has picked a new repairman after a two-month, nationwide talent search. Clay Jackson, a native of Richmond, Va., will play “Ol’ Lonely” as part of new parent company Whirlpool Corp.’s revitalization of the 100-year-old brand.