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LONG GROVE, Ill. — Family-owned Zengeler Cleaners chose to build its new state-of-the-art plant, measuring 3,000 square feet, in a new retail development northwest of Chicago. President Tom Zengeler was drawn to the area by favorable demographics and the high-end nature of the shopping center.

A Union dry cleaning machine and Chiller Mfg. chiller, plus a Forenta spotting board, are in place in the cleaning room, which is sized for two cleaning machines and two chillers. Finishing includes a pants station and two utility stations, all featuring Unipress and Forenta machines.

The wash line features UniMac washers and a dryer, and the shirt laundry utilizes Unipress and Forenta equipment. Boiler room equipment is by Fulton, NATCO, Rema and Ingersoll Rand.

The plant is fully automated through SPOT software and Metalprogetti’s 24-hour kiosk service, assembly conveyor, automatic bagger and storage conveyor.

WASHINGTON — The Henry Hub spot price for natural gas averaged $3.56 per MMBtu in October, 34 cents lower than the September average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook report released Nov. 8.

This month’s Outlook lowers the 2011 forecast by 6 cents to $4.09 per MMBtu and lowers the 2012 forecast by 19 cents to $4.13 per MMBtu compared with last month’s report.

Even while the delivered cost of natural gas continues to decline, EIA expects the cost of coal delivered to electric generators to increase by 6.4% during 2011. The net effect will be relatively modest growth in retail electricity prices over the forecast horizon, the report says.

For route drivers, EIA forecasts that the annual average regular-grade gasoline retail price, which averaged $2.78 per gallon in 2010, will increase to an average of $3.54 per gallon in 2011, before declining to an average $3.46 per gallon in 2012. The agency expects that on-highway diesel fuel retail prices, which averaged $2.99 per gallon in 2010, will average $3.84 per gallon in 2011 and $3.79 per gallon in 2012.

WASHINGTON — The Henry Hub spot price averaged $4.05 per MMBtu in August, 37 cents lower than the July average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report. This month’s report lowers the 2011 forecast by 4 cents to $4.20 per MMBtu and lowers the 2012 forecast by 11 cents to $4.30 per MMBtu, the report says.

Part of this downturn is due to natural gas consumption for electric power generation falling from 29.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in July to 29.2 Bcf/d in August, as July’s extreme temperatures eased, EIA says. Still, the administration expects that total natural gas consumption will grow by 1.8% to 67.3 Bcf/d in 2011.

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.

WASHINGTON — Natural-gas inventories are expected to remain high through 2011, resulting in an average Henry Hub natural-gas spot price of $4.16 per million Btu (MMBtu) for the year, $0.22 per MMBtu lower than the 2010 average, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest short-term energy outlook.

WASHINGTON — Natural gas working inventories (underground storage quantity) at the end of October are about the same as last year’s record-setting levels, resulting in a decline in prices for the last two months, according to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) short-term energy outlook.

Mild weather, high production and the absence of significant hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico also contributed to the large inventory build.

WASHINGTON — While total natural-gas consumption is slightly up from last month’s forecast, prices are holding steady, and next year’s prices have been revised down a bit, according to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) short-term energy outlook.

Outstanding Production Facility: CRDN of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, Nev.

Located in an industrial park eight miles from Glitter Gulch, CRDN’s 8,300-square-foot plant is built to handle restoration work throughout the region quickly and efficiently. And the spotless new plant does just that, with room to grow.

Q: What’s the best way to prevent the white break lines that sometimes appear when wetcleaning silk? What’s the best way to repair the breaks that do appear?

A: When “breaks” or “spider webbing” occur after wetcleaning silk fabrics, it’s usually the result of:

WASHINGTON — According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) most recent projection of heating degree-days, the lower 48 states are forecast to be 2.4% colder this winter compared to last winter, so households heating primarily with natural gas are expected to spend an average of $155 (18%) more this winter, according to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The government released a short-term energy outlook last week, revising projections for natural-gas prices upward. According to a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas will cost a whopping 52% more this year than last year.

Q: We often receive electric blankets from customers. Some of them do not carry care instructions. Can electric blankets be drycleaned?

A: No! Under no circumstances should an electric blanket be drycleaned. Electric blankets contain wires, electrical connections and heating elements that are covered by or encased in plastic.

Drycleaning solvents can dissolve the plastic insulators, exposing the wires. And the heat produced during reclamation may melt or crack the plastic insulation.