text:
SALISBURY, Md. — Coin-op store owner moves commercial business into newly constructed industrial laundry facility
SALISBURY, Md. — By successfully serving small commercial accounts from one of his two coin-operated laundries, Mitch Wyatt nurtured a reputation that today has him handling the laundry needs of major hospitality, healthcare and food and beverage clients. Recently, to meet increasing production needs, Wyatt moved his commercial business into a newly constructed industrial laundry facility here.
The Quality Linen Services building turns out 1,700 laundry pounds per hour, using minimal labor, water and energy — giving Wyatt the opportunity to draw new clients and boost profits.
"I serviced five hotels, two assisted-living facilities, one university, and two restaurants out of one washer at my coin laundry," says Wyatt. "We used a 55-pound-capacity Continental E-Series Washer that would maintain a temperature of 140 degrees and stay at that temp. I was getting stuff so clean, my clients were amazed."
Once cleaned, tablecloths, linens and napkins were pressed and finished using a Continental Flatwork Ironer. Wyatt's staff then folded, stacked and delivered the items to clients.
All went smoothly until Wyatt secured a five-year contract with a local hospital. "I knew I needed significant industrial equipment to fulfill growing production requirements," he says.
So, he sought help from Operations Manager Doug Colonna, who holds 15 years of industrial laundry experience; Deke Sheller of Fowler Equipment, a laundry equipment distributor in Baltimore; and Joel Jorgensen, vice president of laundry equipment manufacturer Continental Girbau.
The 10,000-square-foot industrial facility required careful planning, a partnership of experts, and a mix of highly efficient industrial laundry equipment engineered for bolstered productivity, according to Wyatt.
"We worked with the engineer constructing Quality Linen's building and all elements of laundry design, construction and utilities," says Jorgensen of the project. "We went on to define specific laundry production needs, the equipment mix, and solidified financing over an eight-month period."
In the end, the new building featured a Girbau Industrial Continuous Batch Washing system capable of processing 13,600 pounds in an eight-hour shift.
The facility's powerhouse is its seven-module Girbau Industrial TBS-50 Eco-Tunnel with four-stage water reclamation, water filtration and drain-water heat recovery. Complementing equipment includes a Girbau Industrial ICP3 Incline Loading Conveyor, SPR-50 Press, Dual-cake Delivery Shuttle, three ST-100 Dryers, a PSN 80 single-roll gas thermal ironer, FT-LITE Folder, AP LITE Stacker and an FT-MAXI triple-sort dry goods folder.
Two Continental Girbau CG-120 Dryers, and two Continental E-Series washer-extractors (55 pounds and 90 pounds, respectively) round out the lineup.
The system not only boosts laundry productivity to 95,200 pounds per week using a single shift, according to Wyatt, it takes just one employee to operate and manage, is stingy on water, and produces high-quality results.
Key to Wyatt's equipment decision was his need to properly manage and process laundry for a variety of accounts. "Unlike most of our competitors, we provide rental service, as well as service for clients with customer-owned goods," he says. "We required equipment programmable by customer, so items would be properly cleaned according to each client's unique needs."
Check back Thursday for the conclusion!
CHICAGO — Roughly 42% report they are seeking third-party accreditation or certification, or renewal
CHICAGO – The laundry administrators and managers who responded to this month's American Laundry News Wire survey expressed little interest in having their facilities independently accredited or certified by third-party organizations, according to the survey data.
Just 8.3% of respondents reported that their textile services operation is accredited or certified in some way by an organization independent from their own. Another 8.3% said they were "not sure." The remaining 83.3% reported having no such accreditation or certification.
Organizations such as the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) and the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) can certify laundry facilities as being in compliance with industry standards and protocols. Respondents who reported their facilities as accredited/certified said this standing came from HLAC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).
Roughly 42% of respondents said that they are "currently seeking" to receive accreditation/certification, or to renew accreditation/certification, within the next year. The remaining 58.3% are not.
Approximately 18% of respondents believe that accreditation/certification offers their operation benefits that it would not otherwise receive, and another 18.2% are unsure. The remaining 63.6% don't believe accreditation/certification offers benefits.
Do you think independent accreditation/certification of laundry facilities should be mandatory in the United States? Only 16.7% of respondents believe that it should, while 66.7% say no. The remaining 16.7% "don't know" if accreditation/certification should be mandatory.
While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers' viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.
Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.
CHICAGO — Data compiled from more than 470 domestic and international healthcare and hospitality laundry facilities
CHICAGO — Having received numerous requests for newly revised information on this subject, I have reviewed the volumes of information obtained from both healthcare and hospitality laundry operations worldwide for 2010-2011.
I did my best to convert foreign cost to U.S. cost—both were changing rapidly as of December 2011—and discovered that our foreign counterparts were, in most segments, slightly more cost-efficient and, due to exchange rates, getting more production for the money simply due to the value of certain currencies, lower fringe benefit cost and higher degrees of automation. (I am pleased to report that this gap is closing rapidly.)
There could be numerous explanations, of course, but the primary reason was the vast difference in labor and fringe benefit cost in our country vis-à-vis other foreign locations, primarily those in Europe, Russia and the Far East.
The basis for this analysis was to determine benchmark alignments once various currencies were adjusted to match the U.S. dollar. Both higher and lower extremes in costing for each element were evaluated for accuracy. A group of independent accounting specialists who volunteered its time was utilized to draw the various conclusions reached in the report. Foreign laundry experts assisted in the translation of some information.
Throughout the process of validating accuracy of the data provided and drawing comparisons, the identity of each facility remained confidential. Each facility was simply referred to as a number or letter, depending on the type of operation: healthcare or hospitality. For those with a combination of tasks, every effort was made to categorize each element.
Every facility that supplied information has done so every year since this periodic review began.
As consultants and various levels of internal management continue to overly complicate laundry operational cost scenarios, as well as depicting systems that may not prove cost-effective, it is apparent that laundry and facility managers, as well as top executives with a renewed interest, require a cost benchmarking rule of thumb that will assist them in selling their operations, i.e. justifying new systems or a new facility, obtaining new customers and, probably most important, comparing variable cost that should influence decisions to continue in-house operations or examine outsourced management, operations, linen rental, transportation, etc.
I remain amazed that folks who seem to be knowledgeable simply complicate data in such a form that it becomes extremely difficult if not impossible to interpret. The same situation applies when reviewing opportunities to automate and modernize operations. It is apparent in some cases that new operations with new systems are not as cost-effective as planned, mostly due to a misunderstanding of previous cost and the industry's promises to improve on the status quo.
Institutions, general contractors and A/E's that hire consultants to review laundry facility operations should also continue to rely on internal expertise and experience, I believe. The institutions should also ensure that the consultants and experts selected are experienced in reviewing all applicable operational elements. A consultant with expertise in energy management, for example, may not be qualified to review laundry production or linen distribution.
It is quite apparent that large laundry and linen-rental consortiums that deal specifically with healthcare markets are becoming more competitive. As business tends to escalate, and based on recent information, cost seems to be leveling out to some degree, with the exception of the impact of high cotton cost and, most recently, fuel cost.
My previous forecast that total cost of operations may reach $1.10 per pound processed/delivered by 2013 seems right on target. The rising cost of healthcare insurance benefits enacted as a result of healthcare reform could dramatically increase the cost of operations and associated product and equipment purchases in 2014.
A review of approximately 473 healthcare and hospitality laundry facilities located in the United States and 23 foreign countries with operations that process a combined 276 million pounds annually with varying degrees of efficiency reveal the following benchmark costs (in U.S. dollars) that should be deemed most efficient on the average, even though most every facility demonstrated opportunities to reduce cost, especially in labor-sensitive areas.
Most important to note in this analysis were the plans to reduce labor and utilities cost related to washing, drying, conveyance, and flatwork feeding and finishing. These facilities also reported that major efforts were under way to reduce textile-replacement cost through standardization efforts and by examining best value over lowest cost for an item. It's unfortunate that the federal government seems to continue to focus on lowest cost rather than the impact of overall cost.
Other major components under review seem to drive at lowering chemical cost by conducting actual comparisons and focusing on the customer service element that is so critical to this facet of the operation.
The variables between healthcare and hospitality cost were certainly interesting. Hospitality was higher on the average, which was expected, with the average variance being between 6 and 7 cents per pound processed. This was mostly attributed to the higher quality/cost of textiles acquired, which is significant.
Processing Cost: Direct labor costs, including fringe benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc.), which are applicable to the receipt, sorting, washing, drying, ironing, conveying and preparing of textiles for delivery within a laundry processing facility. — 18-23 cents per pound processed
Administrative Cost: Covers personnel in laundry and textile product management, secretarial, contracting administration, general foreman and nonproduction employees/housekeeping (includes fringe benefit costs, such as union dues, health insurance, etc.). On average, fringe benefit costs were running at 24-32% of actual salary cost (in other words, add that percentage to base salary cost). — 3-5 cents per pound processed and delivered
Maintenance and Repair Cost: Labor cost and materials associated with routine maintenance of applicable systems, including processing and ancillary support equipment, carts, etc. — 7-11 cents per pound processed and delivered
Equipment Depreciation: Divide equipment value by 15 years. — 4-6 cents per pound processed
Depreciation of Property and Applicable Property Taxes: Divide aggregate cost of land and building plus annual taxes by 75 years. — 3-5 cents per pound processed and delivered
General Supply Cost: Includes leasing of office equipment, office supplies, covers, pads, hangers, thread, wax, patches, buttons, etc. — 2-4 cents per pound processed
Chemical Supply Cost: Laundry chemicals, water treatment, etc. — 3-5 cents per pound processed
Utility Cost: Electrical, steam, gas, water, oil, sewer, refuse removal, and solar. — 8-10 cents per pound processed
SUBTOTAL: For a most efficient operation, Production Cost should be 48-69 cents per pound processed.
Textile Distribution and Return Cost: Includes drivers, fees, tolls, leasing, fuel, vehicle maintenance/repair, linen room distribution (from cart assembly to end-user locations) labor and benefits, seamstress/repair/marking, uniform distribution, cart depreciation and replacement, and transportation to external customers. — 13-15 cents per pound processed (within this component, fuel cost was 4-5 cents per pound processed)
Textile Cost: Surgical, uniforms, general textiles, drapes and other textiles based on a seven-par maintenance value for healthcare or hospitality. — 17-21 cents per pound processed
SUBTOTAL: Textile Distribution and Replacement Costs should be 30-36 cents per pound processed and delivered.
The overall operational cost benchmark ranged in 2010-2011 from 78 cents to $1.05 per pound processed and delivered.
While the overall variance in cost ranges is certainly widespread, a manager must carefully and accurately calculate all costs associated with the actual operation—all are different.
A major failing on management's part is the inability to calculate fringe-benefit cost and include it as part of the outcome. Calculating production cost while forgetting other costs simply raises additional questions. All costs depicted in this benchmark exercise are considered equally important; one without another would have painted an inaccurate picture.
If, for some reason, you think your costs are lower than the benchmark's lowest range, I encourage you to re-examine and recalculate your numbers. More importantly, make sure you have included all costs so they parallel those listed in this report.
As mentioned in my previous analysis, textile replacement cost and transportation cost for 2010-2011 did reflect marginal increases.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Ten questions to ask before process begins, and while ongoing
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — When looking to renovate an existing laundry or building a brand-new facility, there are many questions to ask before the process begins and while the process is ongoing.
David Chadsey, the managing director for Laundry-Consulting.com, addressed the issue during a recent webinar, 10 Things You Should Know Before Building or Renovating a Laundry, sponsored by the Association for Linen Management.
While Chadsey focused on 10 questions to ask, he emphasized that for each application, there may be more than or fewer than 10 items, and that the list is not intended to all inclusive.
Chadsey's first question focused on what a laundry needs to process and how much needs to be processed.
"This is the first thing you need to evaluate," he says. Best practices are based on volume and classification and will differ depending on the type of laundry facility you are working with.
"When calculating what and how much, we want to confirm the volume and then we want to estimate for projected growth," Chadsey says. "If you're building or renovating, obviously you don't want to build just for today."
Look down the road; what are the possibilities that might be in store for the facility?
Chadsey suggests looking at what equipment you have and want, and perhaps allowing the facility's plans to contain contingencies for expanding square footage sometime in the future.
Another suggestion is to evaluate the capacity per each process path, whether it's dry fold, flatwork, wash aisle or finishing line. Take a look at manual labor and automation, and what may change in the future. You can design a finishing line, for instance, more effectively if you know it's only going to handle hospital sheets.
Always allow for flexibility in a project. If the projected production is to be maintained, laundry managers must look at the ebb and flow of a plant as the linen moves through, as well as the times of day and the days of the week. If a change occurs, whether it be in equipment or in processes, the laundry must be flexible enough to handle the change.
As a way to maintain checks and balances during the building process, and to be sure that everything is covered and the project is moving forward, select a well-balanced team to oversee the project.
Such a large-budget undertaking will typically require a project coordinator— usually a member of the organization behind the project—and an outside consultant, one to help the team navigate the process, will be hired. Other members of the team are typically the laundry manager, contractors, the architect and engineer, and there may be more than one engineer, equipment vendors, plant engineering staff, human resources, and a person who will speak for those financing the project.
The project coordinator needs to understand the work scope of all members of this team, as well as their responsibilities, Chadsey says.
Before the building progresses too far, it is best to identify best practices for the particular type of operation intended for the renovated or new facility.
"Processing 20,000 pounds of linens for healthcare is different than processing 20,000 pounds of hospitality linens, especially on the finishing side," Chadsey says. And processing industrial textiles is certainly different than processing table linens.
He suggests talking about automation, different types of wash wheels, as well as volume considerations before too much time, money and energy has been expended on the project.
Any building project involves considerable amounts of money, Chadsey says.
While people most often consider equipment to be the major expenditure for a laundry operation, it may be true only for some renovation projects. If the laundry is brand-new or the facility will be undergoing a major redesign, often the planning and design stages can be a major budget item, as well as the construction costs.
Consider these factors:
One of the major considerations for both a new build and a renovation is the facility's footprint. If you are currently operating a laundry, you probably will have a general idea of the space required for current needs. But what happens if you want to expand? Chadsey has a production area formula that he picked up along the way during his 28 years in the industry, and while he can't remember where he found the formula, he thanks those who came up with it.
"I use 5 square feet times pounds processed per hour. Plus soiled and clean staging, plus the mechanical room," he says.
The staging area or areas encompass the space needed to process incoming soiled linen, as well as processing and storing clean linen after it comes off the process lines.
"An on-premise laundry may require a relatively small staging area," he says. "If you're a shared hospital laundry with a large number of trucks coming in each day, or if linen goes to a certain customer and that customer can only pick up three days a week, then staging requirements can be significant."
Green initiatives are another consideration, he says. Take new innovations in water-reuse equipment, for instance, which may take more space.
The formula example that Chadsey provided during the webinar was:
A laundry processes 10 million pounds per year for 312 days per year (that's 32,000 pounds processed per day). Divide that figure by the number of hours the facility is operating each day—in this case, 12 hours—and you have 2,700 pounds of linen being processed each hour. Multiply that figure by five and you arrive at a total of 13,500 square feet required for production.
For this example, Chadsey used 2,500 square feet for both the staging areas and the mechanical room, making the facility's total size 18,500 square feet.
Check back tomorrow for part 2, including operational metrics, automation, transitioning, and more!
RICHMOND, Va. — Western State Design lands $7.8 million equipment contract
RICHMOND, Va. — Sylvia Small, production leader at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center (VAMC), knows laundry. She has, for the last 25 years, led a team of almost 40 employees responsible for washing, drying, folding and sorting linens and other items for the VAMC and other community partners.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that it has contracted with Western State Design, Hayward, Calif., for new laundry equipment for the medical center. The $7.8 million contract will provide a steamless system—the latest in design and first of its kind for a VA medical center—resulting in a more efficient, and energy-saving laundry, the VA says.
The Richmond VAMC on-premise laundry stays busy serving the medical center, Hampton VAMC, Ft. Lee, Fayetteville VAMC, Camp Perry, Ft. Eustis, and Langley Air Force Base. The new equipment will greatly enhance the laundry's capacity and offer the medical center and community partners the opportunity for additional services, the VA says.
More than 4 million pounds of laundry is processed annually through the Richmond facility. Equipment has been maintained but as newer technologies became available, renovations became necessary.
Small has seen the increase in community partners utilizing the VAMC's laundry service since starting there in 1987 and says she is looking forward to the new equipment. The features are expected to be installed, tested and in use by this fall.
"Our team is looking forward to the new laundry equipment that will allow us to produce even more," she says.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Key strategies and considerations for business owners ready to develop and grow their company
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Running a business can be a daunting responsibility, and perhaps at the core of this duty is strategizing the company's move toward growth.
David Bernstein, senior vice president at Turn-Key Industrial Engineering Services, recently presented an Association for Linen Management (ALM) webinar titled Growing Your Business, during which he laid out key strategies and considerations for business owners ready to develop and grow their company.
Bernstein's strategy first calls for owners to think of "SMART" goal setting: to be Specific about their company's goals; set Measurable, Attainable and Relevant goals; and create a Time frame for accomplishing those goals.
"If you say [you] want to increase [your] business, you need to start thinking about what business is it that [you] want to increase," says Bernstein. "What is it exactly that you want to do [and] what do you want to accomplish? And then make it measurable."
Think of establishing key performance indicators that will not only enable owners to track the company's progress, but also in an objective manner. Goals should ultimately be attainable by the company.
"A lot of times [owners] will really shoot very far into the stratosphere," he says. "When you challenge your team […] are you giving them a goal that is attainable or have you given them a stretch goal? Make sure that you're realistic with them about it."
"Everyone thinks that they can do many things and add a lot to their plate," he added. "But at a certain point, you start adding so much that you're not doing anything very well."
Another factor is determining whether a company has the physical means to sustain growth.
A clear understanding of the company's production model, staffing requirements and equipment purchase projections are the key factors Bernstein pointed out when owners take stock of their capacity analysis.
"Make sure that you can […] live up to the promises that you've made to your customers […] while making sure that you've got the right amount of people [and] equipment [and that] you're still caring for the equipment and the people in the way that they need to be."
Regarding acquiring new equipment to boost capacity, Bernstein advises laundry owners to consider the various industries that many laundries service, and whether their company has the means to provide that service.
For example, if a hospitality laundry owner wants to start processing food and beverage goods, Bernstein suggests that they might look into purchasing a sorting and counting system to process smaller garments.
"If you're strictly one or the other, moving to the one that you're not can be quite an adjustment on your people and your process," he says.
Taking on more accounts is one strategy to take to grow business. Another avenue Bernstein spoke about was the possibility of starting a direct sales/ancillary services department.
He cites several industrial, food and beverage, hospitality and healthcare laundries selling restroom services and cleaning supplies as part of their product line to existing customers.
"If you're not offering these kinds of services, your competitors will," he advises.
What strategies can owners take to develop and form new relationships with prospective customers? Bernstein admits that making cold calls can be a frightening ordeal, but there are other approaches owners can take.
A former customer, for example, may have become dissatisfied with your service. Consider calling them and addressing how your company has improved upon that specific service or product.
He also suggests using referrals, which allows barriers to come down because of the familiarity between contacts.
In addition to working with colleagues in scouting for new business, Bernstein suggests partnering with others in the industry who sell complementary products.
But no matter what approach business owners take, Bernstein recommends owners go out themselves and "make periodic visits" to customers.
"Remind them why they bought from you […] Remind them what you promised and that you delivered," he says.
"It never hurts to ask them, 'What could we do better?' You may learn something," he adds.
Bernstein suggests investing in services such as a customer relationship management (CRM) system—Zoho and Salesforce.com are examples—that will help employees organize, manage and automate a company's business.
He also suggests the use of marketing automation software like Marketo.com or Constant Contact to keep in touch with customers on a digital scope, as well as prospect research tools like Hoovers and Manta to help owners learn more about prospective customers in their market.
With this foundation in place, according to Bernstein, business owners can begin to reach their growth objectives.
"These are the things that you need to be doing if you're looking at growing your business and improving your sales."
CHICAGO — Tracking and counting the flow of goods improves productivity and inventory control
CHICAGO — Those who manage laundry/linen services or textile rental firms find that tracking and counting the goods streaming in and out of their plants improves productivity and inventory control.
Yes, washing, drying and finishing goods for an end-user or client is only part of a professional launderer's job. Keeping track of the linen, garments or mats flowing into and out of their facility is just as important.
So, how does a laundry go about tackling that task in the most efficient way possible?
Radio-frequency identification, or RFID, first used for item tracking and access-control applications, made its way into the textile service industry in the 1990s. Key components of an RFID system generally include a tag or chip (packaged into a rugged plastic casing specially designed to withstand harsh industrial laundry processes), an antenna connected to a reader, and a reader connected to a software system that collects and manages the data collected. The tag or chip is affixed to a garment or linen in some fashion.
"Such devices come in many forms and sizes, from small wires and tags to tiny chips," says Ecolab's Jim Mitchell, who discussed linen tracking while a member of the American Laundry News Panel of Experts. "Using these devices to track linen flow is becoming commonplace, especially with more expensive linens such as uniforms, bed linens and silks.
"Although some laundries use RFID tags or chips for inventorying, sorting and tracking of all linens, having these devices applied to common linens such as sheets and terry may not be practical or economical in your operation."
RFID technology is constantly improving, according to Mitchell, and devices on the market are smaller, more cost-effective and offer greater resistance to adverse cleaning elements.
There are many instances of organizations using RFID tracking to better maintain their inventories. For example, Four Winds Casinos recently selected InvoTech's RFID Multi-Property Uniform Tracking System to centrally consolidate uniform inventory, tracking and purchases for all of its properties to reduce labor and purchasing costs.
Four Winds use the InvoTech system coupled with a White Conveyors system to automatically deliver uniforms to employees' hands. InvoTech centrally tracks uniform use, controls inventories, monitors laundry cycles, and consolidates purchasing for more than 10,000 uniforms.
"We now have an accurate combined uniform inventory count for all properties on one database and can purchase in larger numbers to benefit from higher-volume buys," says Jennifer Lasiewicz, Four Winds Casinos' vice president of hotel operations.
Four Winds launders its own uniforms and uses an RFID drop-chute reader to record when staff returns soiled items.
"It reads each uniform's RFID chip as the garment is dropped," Lasiewicz says. "We do not manually count every piece the staff returns to our laundry. With a large number of employees, that would take a long time. InvoTech monitors uniforms coming and going at all properties, and we maintain a central bulk inventory at Four Winds New Buffalo to simplify our operation."
Some hotels are even using RFID technology to deter theft. They are sewing tags into pricey linens such as towels, bathrobes and high-thread-count sheets. When a tag is read by a strategically placed RFID reader, a system instantly alerts staff that an item is in danger of being pilfered.
A Hawaii hotel which introduced the technology a couple of years ago claimed to have reduced theft of its pool towels from 4,000 a month to just 750, saving $16,000 in replacement costs monthly.
Bar coding is a more mature, simpler technology than RFID. Such a system can provide a launderer with information about each individual item, including when it was last turned in, how many times it has been processed, and when it was originally issued. Bar codes are generally thought to be less expensive than RFID tags.
But bar-code labeling has some limitations. It requires line of sight, which RFID does not in most cases. RFID systems can read multiple tags simultaneously, while bar codes are read one at a time. Many RFID tags are read/write, while a bar code is read-only. And most fixed RFID readers don't require human involvement to collect data, while most bar-code scanners require a human to operate them.
Some large plants apply a bar-code label as well as an RFID tag, so if something prevents the RFID tag from being read, the bar code serves as a backup.
Regardless of how one goes about tracking their textiles, gathering the information is just the first step. Then one has to decide what the data means and then put it to use it in their operation.
"Item tracking with RFID chips, bar codes, electronic route accounting, etc., are all important opportunities to help you control your merchandise," says American Dawn's Steve Kallenbach, a former member of the American Laundry News Panel of Experts. "However, if you don't have good reconciliation processes, any of these systems will only allow you to know what's missing!"
NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — Prestige Industries LLC, dba Prestige, faces nine repeat or serious safety and health violations: OSHA
NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Prestige Industries LLC, doing business as Prestige, for safety violations found at its commercial laundry facility in North Bergen.
A complaint initiated OSHA's October 2012 investigation and resulted in $219,000 in proposed penalties.
The agency identified four repeat violations, carrying a $185,500 penalty, based on the company's alleged failure to protect workers from unguarded machinery, establish a lockout/tagout program and procedures for controlling energy sources, and provide energy control training for workers who perform maintenance on machines.
A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The same violations were cited in 2012 following a worker's death after being caught in an unguarded machine at the company's Bayshore, N.Y., facility, OSHA says.
The agency also noted five serious violations, with a $33,500 penalty, that were due to alleged electrical hazards; an inadequate confined-space program and failure to identify permit-required confined spaces; and no hazard communication program, training and material safety data sheets.
OSHA says a serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
"The safety hazards present at this facility pose serious risks to workers and must be immediately corrected," says Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "OSHA will continue to hold employers legally accountable when they fail to provide safe workplaces."
Prestige, based in Jersey City, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
The citations can be viewed here.
IRVINE, Calif. — Company started in 1932 with founder trading in Model A for used truck for uniform laundry service
IRVINE, Calif. — This month, Prudential Overall Supply is celebrating more than 80 years of service in supplying industrial, healthcare, hospitality and corporate apparel.
Prudential Overall Supply arose from humble beginnings in 1932, when founder John D. Clark first traded in his Model A Ford Sports Roadster for a used truck to use in his new uniform laundry service. His commitment to high-quality service allowed the young company to grow even amidst the thick of the Great Depression. During World War II, Prudential began its garment rental service.
By the late 1970s and into the 1980s, it expanded out of California and grew to more than $35 million in revenue. In the 1990s, Prudential's cleanroom services went nationwide and the company reached more than $100 million in revenue.
Today, Prudential Overall Supply is very much a 21st century company. The success of its PrudentialUniforms.com website has helped it reach an even larger customer base that exceeds 25,000. Prudential's nearly 1,500 employees utilize state-of-the-art industrial laundering and cleanroom garment processing equipment, which serves workwear needs from foodservice uniforms to flame-resistant clothing and more.
Prudential also rents and maintains non-apparel facility-image products, such as floor mats, cleaning items, and restaurant reusables and wipes.
CHICAGO — Input from hotel/motel/resort laundry and chemicals supply sectors
Abraham Lincoln once said, "You can't do business from an empty wagon." Nothing has a greater impact on a laundry's sales, service, operation, and reputation than an inadequate circulating linen inventory.
The lack of a sufficient amount of linen in circulation necessitates operating the plant longer hours than would otherwise be necessary. Labor, maintenance and utility costs increase, while both efficiency and morale plummet. Operating costs increase without the benefit of added revenue.
Laundering the linen more frequently than would otherwise be necessary shortens its life, resulting in higher depletion and additional replenishment cost.
Equally important, insufficient circulating linen results in decreased fill rates. The inability to provide complete orders negatively impacts both revenue and customer confidence.
The first step in managing circulating linen inventory is to recognize that linen loss will occur. The next step is to ascertain where this loss is prone to occur, and develop policies and programs to prevent unnecessary depletion.
How linen is processed, distributed, utilized, returned and monitored will have a direct bearing on both linen loss and replenishment costs.
Planned losses, such as discards and rag-outs, are the result of quality control programs. Planned depletion, along with a corresponding linen replenishment program, is necessary to maintain a viable circulating linen inventory.
At my hotel, I budget annual rooms linen replacement cost at $2.50 per occupied room; annual food-and-beverage linen replacement cost is budgeted at 20 cents per cover.
Consequently, I am able to completely turn over the circulating linen inventory every three years.
There are two types of linen depletion: actual and artificial. Actual loss represents a permanent depletion in circulating linen (the linen is not retrievable). This loss is the result of discard, abuse and theft, either deliberate or inadvertent. Artificial loss represents linen that, while not accessible to circulating inventory, is still retrievable. This loss is caused by linen being overstocked at the end-user location, which results in an under-utilized inventory.
In linen rental operations, overstocking at the customer not only renders linen inaccessible, it precludes generating additional rental revenue via "turning" the linen.
Conducting physical inventories on a regular basis will provide the information needed to determine if the amount of linen in circulation is sufficient for the operation. Physical inventories also help in the planning of future purchases, and are essential in determining linen loss.
Due to storage limitations typical at a Manhattan hotel, it is necessary to employ the practice of just-in-time ordering. Ordering less linen more often reduces the space needed for storage, but increases the reliance on accurate physical inventories. Like the carpenter's credo of "measure twice cut once," proper linen procurement relies on conducting exact physical inventories.
Conducting precise physical inventories will also serve as the basis for determining unexplained linen loss. This loss can be determined through this formula: Prior inventory – discards + linen injections – current inventory = unexplained loss.
Conducting physical inventories at the customer's premises is a daunting task, but is necessary to properly gauge both linen loss and linen utilization. Complete inventories should be conducted at least annually. Salient information can also be gleaned from "informal" inventories, shelf counts, and linen abuse "spot checks" that can be conducted as part of sales, service, and goodwill calls.
Linen loss and abuse charges, as well as linen utilization fees, when implemented and enforced, can aid in reducing both actual and artificial linen losses.
There is the caveat, however, that enforcing these type charges, even if contractually stipulated, may result in strained relations with the customer.
Regardless of the laundry operation type, it is crucial to involve, educate and monitor the end-users, in properly controlling the linen at their disposal.
One of the main challenges in purchasing new textiles is taking extra care to know exactly what it is you are being sold.
We are in a time of exciting new textiles and innovative, high-performance, high-quality fabrics, yet we are also in an era of low-cost outsourcing from places around the globe offering seemingly value-priced purchasing options that sometimes don't perform to our standards and expectations.
Processing of "commercial level" quality textiles or an innovative new fabric is usually easy enough to accomplish. As always, make your purchasing considerations based on colors, sizes and fabric types. When placing your first order with a vendor, make sure to ask for a printed copy of the manufacturer's laundering and processing recommendations.
Get all the info that's available and then the correct laundering and finishing of these textiles becomes a matter of putting the manufacturer's recommendations together with you and your trusted vendor's experience to arrive at the correct processing routines. When handled properly, the mid- to higher-quality imported or domestic textile will stay in usable condition longer and will offer a good return on investment through its extended service life.
If you are buying large quantities of any textiles, or if you're buying something new to your operation (or even trying to get a bargain), do two things to save yourself some potential grief. First, ask your distributor salesperson to let you speak to some customers who have purchased the same goods to get direct feedback on performance. Secondly, have an adequate quantity of sample products sent in advance to test-wash and finish to get a leg up on what to expect.
As far as how much linen inventory is enough, answers vary for each operation's actual needs. One thing is sure: the same budgetary constraints we suffer today, the ones that send people bargain shopping, also tend to lead to inadequate par levels. This lack of linen—I call it "LoL"—can often leave a trail of major inefficiencies cascading down the line.
Both the planned and un-planned consequences of LoL are no laughing matter when they start costing you money. It starts the clock ticking on an investment that will surely wear out before it should. It's just like wearing the same pair of shoes every day instead of alternating among a few pairs throughout the week. At the end of some shortened period of time, you will be reordering new replacement linens and those pesky invoices will start to play tag with accounts payable.
LoL also puts stress on everyone involved in your laundry or the laundry that provides your linen service. This can lead to processing shortcuts that can affect quality in laundering and finishing because nobody can take the time to do it right. Today's soil is also today's or tomorrow's clean linens, so just get out of the way! We see this "hurry and scurry" approach played out over and over in many laundry operations.
LoL flies in the face of "green" initiatives. It's carbon-intensive to burn all of that diesel fuel the linen service uses to drive back and forth seven days a week with the linen you absolutely have to have now. By adding par, you solve this, and may even put yourself in a better negotiating position when the next service contract is written. Your provider now only has to come rolling out to see your loading dock four times a week, which is a win-win situation for all except the oil companies.
Finally, it's the unplanned consequences always lurking around that can and will affect you in not-so-pleasant ways. You have probably experienced some of these seat-clenching moments already.
Do you agree that laundry equipment never breaks, the delivery trucks always start in winter, it never snows, and everyone else's workers always show up in force when needed just like yours do? If you don't, then you're a realist, and having that one or two extra par on hand in case of emergency is your buffer when reality hits. This option sure beats watching your employees stand around waiting for miracle linen to appear. Besides, the guests usually don't stay humorous for long without clean sheets.
Having more par available keeps the goods looking better and lasting longer. More par means less stress and more time to get things done right. More par is more green. More par gives you breathing room when the best plans go awry. And we can all agree that having one less thing to worry about is always a good thing.
CHICAGO — Input from healthcare laundry, uniforms/workwear manufacturing and equipment/supply distribution sectors
In a healthcare setting, the challenge of taking a physical inventory can be overwhelming. One must enlist the help of clinical staff and/or the customer to count linen, especially in surgery, critical care, and isolation or restricted areas. Developing a relationship with that end-user and working together to stress the importance of linen in the care of their patients increases the likelihood of success and provides an avenue for honest feedback that can be used for performance improvement.
Timing of the inventory process is critical. One must work with those involved to determine the date, time, etc. Asking overwhelmed employees to add more work to their already busy schedules can set the project up for failure. Working together will allow the team to forecast any "snags" or concerns and to make plans to address them. The manager will also have their buy-in up front.
Linen is somewhat a "moving" target. The process of supplying linen to our customers has several ongoing steps that are difficult to halt while the inventory count is being done. To complicate this further, linen is kept in multiple areas throughout the customer's facility/unit, so establishing a starting and ending point can be a challenge. Recognizing and addressing any challenges up front will contribute significantly to the success of the inventory process.
In a market with decreasing reimbursements, increased production/process issues, dwindling capital funding, etc., maintaining an adequate budget for linens can pose a problem. History has shown that we continue to "expect to do more with less."
The laundry manager faces an uphill battle in justifying the need for an adequate linen purchase/replacement budget. It is imperative that he/she has accurate data to forecast needs, and that planning is in place to address any increases or decreases in customer demands. This effort will assist the manager in decreasing the frequency of rush/panic orders and resulting increased delivery costs, thereby resulting in an overall savings opportunity.
The manager must seek every opportunity to keep costs at a minimum while maintaining an adequate number of linen par (turns) so that ample supply is available for the customer's demands.
Too little linen results in shortages to customers (may result in hoarding), increased linen processing, decreased linen life, decreased customer satisfaction, increased stress on laundry personnel (must "hurry through" the processing steps), inefficient use of equipment and staff time, increased chemical costs, etc.
Too much linen can result in a decreased return on investment, storage issues, linen degradation, as well as possible contamination with lint, dust, or insect infestation.
Software that provides the manager with an actual daily/weekly/monthly/annual usage figure can be used to identify overages and shortages, which can be addressed with appropriate par-level adjustments. These figures should be reviewed with the customer and any changes determined together so that they won't come as a surprise to anyone.
Though zero loss would be ideal, it is unrealistic. Even if proper processes are in place, and the security and utilization of linen is appropriate, the laundry manager must still take into consideration other variables, including type of operation (healthcare, hospitality, correctional), region of the country/world you're serving, type of chemistry used, etc. In addition, each linen item will have a different loss rate.
There are benchmarks available that can be used for comparison. I recommend the manager check with his or her linen supplier, in that these vendors are excellent resources of information. One such source states that benchmarks can range from an overall linen replacement average of 78% (this would be considered "best practice") to 113%.
This "stretch" goal is achievable. The manager must concentrate on driving consistent, accurate, and focused efforts to purchase, process, and inventory linen utilizing a team approach that involves those who have a vested interest.
When it comes to inventory control and securing textiles in today's business environment, suppliers and laundries walk a fine line on a daily basis. As market conditions continue to change and become more competitive, it is important to maintain strong partnerships and solid communication with offshore manufacturing partners.
Sourcing, delivery times, and inventory control are impacted by power outages in plants, cotton shortages, rise in freight costs, and other unknown variables. In order to deal with many unknowns that can and will have a direct impact upon our ability to meet our customers' demands, the implementation of "programs" has become an excellent way to efficiently and cost-effectively mitigate these challenges.
With a formal program, production can be forecast in a smarter way and supports the just-in-time inventory control principle.
Because of today's competitive market environment, it is essential that inventory be available when our customers need it. When our inventory cannot fulfill our customers' needs, we "open the door" and create opportunities for our competition.
Customer loyalty can no longer be taken for granted. Customers want to deal with suppliers and laundries that have product when they need it so they can service their clients or end-users as needed.
Not having adequate inventory can be detrimental to long-term business relationships and have a direct impact on the growth of your business. Insufficient inventory can damage a customer's faith in his or her vendor and supplier to deliver goods when needed.
Par: This word has many uses in the English language. For part-time golfers like me, this is a number we strive for. In the real world, it is used to establish inventory management and safety levels.
For many hotel operators, a par level of 3 has been a minimum and 4 has been a plus. In today's economy, every extra dollar is being put to use in all aspects of operations. Just-in-time inventory has become more of a normal procedure than stocked inventory. Linen replacement averages 5-6% annually.
Under the just-in-time philosophy, OPLs must monitor inventory on a monthly or quarterly basis. Processes and procedures must be implemented to keep this percentage as low as possible. It is suggested that each station have a linen processing area with containers for each classification for linen type (mixed linen, torn linen and stained linen). Training all associates in the classification separation to be collected is important to the laundry's success.
Working with your chemical provider to set up an aggressive, comprehensive stain formula in treating stained linen can help reduce or at least keep your linen replacement levels at 5-6%. A reclamation program to monitor and track discarded linen items will help with getting your correct items for inventory.
Benchmarking with other laundries—sharing problems or success stories—is a great idea. Different locations may face different challenges. For example, a laundry in Orlando, Fla., has to deal with suntan lotion stains, while a laundry in Boise, Idaho, may not have this problem.
Linen "misconduct" is another inventory issue. Washcloths, pool towels, robes, hospital blankets, and patient gowns tend to leave with the guest or patient. Educating nurses, housekeeping employees, patients and hotel customers is the most efficient way to control inventory being misplaced. There is not a foolproof way to control theft, but by pulling together we may deter the end-users from making poor choices.
In the end, without proper inventory control, the guest or patient experience is not going to be favorable. Consumers expect clean linen, and sometimes extra linen, at their disposal. It all leads back to saving par.
Check back tomorrow for the conclusion!
HOUSTON — Provided design-build installation for utility relocations and infrastructure upgrades
HOUSTON — ARCO/Murray National Construction Co. has completed the renovation of a healthcare laundry facility for the local Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the design-build firm reports.
The Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based company provided design-build installation for the 14,000-square-foot facility's utility relocations and upgraded infrastructure, which included the removal and installation of laundry equipment, as well as the demolition of existing utilities servicing the equipment.
The crew was able to modify existing utility systems without interrupting hospital operations through a technique called "hot tapping," coordinating the shutdown of certain utilities while connecting to existing piping still in use.
New equipment included a seven-module tunnel washer, four dryers and a spreader/feeder/stacker assembly. New concrete pads, drain trenches and HVAC ductwork were installed to service the equipment.
Access openings to the basement were also reworked to accommodate transport of large equipment to and from the facility.
Work was completed solely on mid-floor levels to avoid disruptions to the functioning hospital.
Mike Gaw was project manager and Elliot Mata project executive for ARCO/Murray.
CHICAGO — Seminars on linen loss, healthcare regs, service contracts, and certification programs garnering most pre-show interest
CHICAGO — More than 70% of respondents to this month's American Laundry News Wire survey say they are OK with the Clean Show's shortened three-day schedule this year, compared to the remaining 29.4% who are "indifferent about this change."
One respondent proposed that the biennial convention be held "every five years," but with a longer schedule. "Have mandatory attendance by all members, companies and organizations," the respondent writes. "Have it for a full five-day week with...golf tournaments planned and social events for all in the evenings."
In fact, a good number of respondents answered that the biggest factor in favor of visiting New Orleans for Clean was the "networking and socializing" opportunities (23.5%), while 11.8% favored the "exhibits of equipment and supplies." Equal shares of 5.9% pointed to "educational sessions" and "combining business and pleasure." The most popular response, however, was "all of the above" (52.9%).
The Association for Linen Management (ALM) and the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) are among the organizations hosting educational sessions during the June 20-22 show. Among ALM's scheduled offerings, Reducing the Loss of Patient Linen and Scrubs and Standards and Regulations Affecting the Healthcare Laundry and Linen Industry have drawn the most pre-show interest among respondents. As for planned TRSA sessions, Textile Services Contracts and Negotiations and TRSA Clean Green and Hygienically Clean Certification Programs: Quantifying Your Commitment to Cleanliness and Sustainability are most anticipated.
More than one-third (35.3%) of those surveyed say they are planning to attend Clean, while 17.6% remain unsure. The remaining 47% aren't planning to attend, with cost playing an important factor for some.
Among respondents who are not attending, about 45% "can't afford the cost," 27.3% "can't spare the time," and 27.3% said they "made other plans."
"Employers do not give the time to attend seminars or trade shows," writes one respondent. "We have to use vacation time to attend. In the past, employers would pay for employees to attend. Now, it comes out of our own pocket."
While American Laundry News' Wire survey presents a snapshot of the audience's viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific. Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to participate in an industry survey each month. The survey is conducted online via a partner website, and is developed so it can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Entry-level wages in TRSA member companies' laundry operations grew faster in 2012 than pay for Americans as whole: Report
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Wages for entry-level positions in TRSA (Textile Rental Services Association) member companies' laundry operations grew faster in 2012 than pay for Americans as a whole, ranging from 1.5% for lesser-skilled positions like folding, ironing and hangering to 4.3% for more complex tasks like load-building and pressing, according to the TRSA 2012 Plant Employee Compensation Report.
Hourly pay across the spectrum of U.S. jobs increased less than 1% (0.89%) from fourth quarter 2011 to the same time in 2012. Thus, entry-level laundry positions' median wage growth was almost twice to five times the national average. The higher-skilled segment of this group of laundry and dry cleaning roles has outpaced the workforce as a whole in this metric since 2009, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS') most recent data compilations.
Thirty-seven companies reported their wage and benefit practices to TRSA for the report; roughly one-third were healthcare laundry specialists, one-third were equally divided between food/beverage/hospitality and industrial uniform specialists, and the remaining one-third were mixed.
Laundry production workers who had worked in the industry for one to four years earned the highest median wage from linen specialists: $10.40 to $11.70 per hour varying with job complexity. Mixed plants had the lowest such pay ($7.75 to $9.14).
The TRSA 2012 Plant Employee Compensation Report also reflected the importance to the industry of recruiting outstanding route service personnel and ensuring customer satisfaction. Hourly base rates for such personnel with one to four years experience ranged from $13.25 to $17.49. This compares favorably with the economy-wide average of $13.22 for driver sales personnel. With incentives, the range for such TRSA drivers rises to $18 to $23.21.
Laundry production workers (roughly 40% of them) receive incentives as well; those in the 1- to 4-year experience range had overall median compensation ranging from $8.45 to $11.95.
TRSA produces the Plant Employee Compensation Report to enable association members to benchmark their pay and benefits practices, and covers the range of strategies deployed by textile service companies to take care of their people. The survey enables industry operators to compare their practices with operations similar to theirs in line of business, number of locations and sales volume.
For each position in each classification of company, an average salary or wage is listed with incentive potential and the number of companies in the survey offering such incentives. Various approaches to providing fringes are described, such as percentage of premium paid by employer, deductible and co-pay amounts, and 401(k) matching.
Copies of the TRSA 2012 Plant Employee Compensation Report are free to participating TRSA members; non-participating members and participating non-members receive a discount; others pay full price.
Package pricing is available with the TRSA 2012 Industry Performance Report, another benchmarking tool. Visit the TRSA store to learn more about the association's reports.
ARDMORE, Pa. — Package renews more than 50 temporary tax breaks through 2013
ARDMORE, Pa. — The so-called "fiscal cliff" tax package recently signed into law renewed more than 50 temporary tax breaks through 2013, saving individuals and businesses an estimated $76 billion. For the owners and operators of small- and medium-sized laundry businesses, there is good news and bad news contained in the fiscal cliff tax laws.
First, the good news: greater certainty in taxes. The owners and operators of laundry businesses have grown used to many longstanding tax breaks but they also have had to get used to the uncertainty of whether they will be renewed each year.
On the downside, in addition to a 3.8% Net Investment Income (NII) tax and a 0.9% Additional Medicare tax that, thanks to the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, began in 2013, many laundry owners discovered they are subject to new taxes. Single individuals with incomes above the $400,000 level and married couples with income higher than $450,000 will pay more in taxes in 2013.
Single individuals with incomes above the $400,000 level and married couples with income higher than $450,000 will pay more because of a higher 39.6% income tax rate and a 20% maximum capital gains tax. Of course, for other individuals, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) has finally been indexed for inflation.
Ironically, the AMT was created to ensure that wealthy individuals, not middle-income households, would pay some kind of income tax. The new law increases the 2012 exemption amounts to $50,600 for unmarried individuals and $78,750 for couples filing jointly. For 2013, the AMT exemption amounts are predicted to be $80,750 for married couples filing jointly and $51,900 for single individuals.
Always of significant interest to family-owned businesses, the estate tax has long been a bit of a mixed bag. The $5 million-per-person exemption was kept in place (and indexed for inflation). The top rate was increased, however, to 40% effective Jan. 1, 2013. This change is expected to increase government revenues from 2012 levels by $19 billion. Other good news for estate planning: portability is kept in place and estate and gift taxes remain unified, i.e., the $5 million stays in place for gift-tax purposes as well as estates. And, best of all, it is all permanent.
The majority of laundry businesses operate as pass-through entities, such as partnerships and S corporations. Profits are passed through to their individual owners and therefore are taxed at individual income tax rates. Some business owners might be considering switching to a regular C corporation with its top rate of 35% rather than doing business through an S corporation, LLC, etc., subject to a top rate of 39.6% on the pass-through income.
But it's important to look much deeper than the tax rates. With a pass-through entity, the shareholders are taxed only once on the income. With a regular C corporation, distributions would first be taxed at the corporate level and once again at the shareholder's level for an additional 15-20%, plus the 3.8% net investment income tax.
That double taxation becomes even more significant on the sale of the laundry business. Although there are provisions in the tax law that allow all or a portion of the gain on the sale of a business to be excluded or ignored, they are limited.
Another consideration, particularly for small businesses, is that any expenses disallowed by an IRS auditor will only result in increased income to the pass-through entity. When doing business as a regular corporation, disallowed personal expenses increase the income of the corporation and are taxed as constructive dividends to the shareholders. The same is true for unreasonable compensation of shareholder/officers.
Keep in mind that if a switch from an S corporation to a regular C corporation is made, a switch back to an S corporation can't be made for five years—unless permission is received from the IRS. If an LLC or partnership is incorporated, there can be expenses and potential tax consequences.
The increase in the top tax rates, the AMT relief provided for the 2012 tax year, and the hidden taxes all combine to make it possible for many small- and medium-sized businesses ineligible for business credits thanks to AMT limitations in 2011 to potentially be able to take advantage of these dozens of credits. It is, in essence, a back-door opportunity for small businesses, similar to when Congress expanded eligibility for credits for 2010.
Although it is not the grand bargain as envisioned by lawmakers, many popular but temporary tax extenders relating to businesses were included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act: the Code Section 179 small-business expensing, bonus depreciation, and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Unfortunately, the new law is effectively a stopgap measure designed expressly to prevent the onus of the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts from falling on middle-income taxpayers. Congress must still address spending cuts and may even tackle tax "reform."
The time is now for every laundry business owner to consult with their accountants and/or tax professionals to focus on the potential savings offered by these newly revised, extended and expanded business credits, deductions and tax write-offs.
Information in this article is provided for educational and reference purposes only. It is not intended to provide specific advice or individual recommendations. Consult a financial adviser for advice regarding your particular situation.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act extended through 2013 the Tax Code's Section 179 first-year expensing write-off for equipment and business property purchases. Now, the higher expensing limits in effect in 2011 have been reinstated for 2012 and extended for expenditures made before Dec. 31, 2013. Thus, a laundry business can expense or immediately deduct up to $500,000 of expenditures in 2012 and 2013, subject to a phase-out if total capital expenditures exceed $2 million.
The tax break that allows profitable laundry businesses to write off large capital expenditures immediately—rather than over time—has long been used as an economic stimulus by our lawmakers. While 100% "bonus" depreciation expired at the end of 2011, today the new law allows 50% bonus depreciation for property placed in service through 2013.
Some transportation and longer-lived property are even eligible for bonus depreciation through 2014. If bonus depreciation had not been extended, the 2012 tax year would have been the final year in which substantial first-year write-offs for buyers of business automobiles and light trucks were available.
To be eligible for bonus depreciation, property must be depreciable under the standard MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System) and have a recovery period of less than 20 years. Section 179 first-year expensing remains a viable alternative, especially for small businesses. Property qualifying for the Section 179 write-off may be either used or new, in contrast to the bonus depreciation requirement that the taxpayer be the "first to use."
Leasehold improvements and building improvements generally must be depreciated over 39 years. The tax law provides a special 15-year, straight-line depreciation break for qualified leasehold improvements, restaurant property, and retail improvements. Naturally, there are quite a few restrictions, such as the lease must between unrelated parties.
Qualified leasehold improvements also qualify for the 50% bonus depreciation. In fact, qualified leasehold improvements, restaurant property, and retail improvements up to $250,000 may qualify for Section 179 expensing. And, best of all, these provisions have been extended for property placed in service before Jan. 1, 2014.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which rewards employers that hire individuals from certain target groups, has extended to Dec. 31, 2013, and applies to individuals who begin work for the employer after Dec. 31, 2011. Under the revised WOTC, laundry businesses hiring an individual from within a target group are eligible for a credit generally equal to 40% of first-year wages up to $6,000.
An S corporation is a pass-through entity and not usually subject to income taxes. It is, however, liable for the tax imposed on built-in gains or capital gains. The tax on built-in gains is a corporate-level tax on S corporations that dispose of assets that appreciated in value during the years when the operation was a regular C corporation.
The new law extends a relaxed version of the provision limiting the "recognition period" to five years, but only for "built-in gains" recognized in 2012 and 2013. Thus, if a laundry business elected S corporation status beginning Jan. 1, 2007, it will be able to sell appreciated assets it held on that date without begin subject to a hefty tax bill.
Check back Wednesday for the conclusion!
SAN DIEGO — New facility provides greater coverage, larger physical presence for its existing, prospective customers
SAN DIEGO — Commercial healthcare laundry Emerald Textiles has expanded its operation into Los Angeles, adding a service center there to provide even greater coverage and a larger physical presence for existing and prospective customers, the company reports.
"As we continue to expand in the Los Angeles market, this service center will increase our coverage in the greater Los Angeles area," says Tom Gildred, Emerald Textiles CEO. "Our existing customers will benefit from this additional location and so will any new customers in the region."
Emerald Textiles operates what it considers to be "the most technologically advanced and environmentally responsible commercial laundry facilities in the United States," saving a reported 40 million gallons of water and more than 750,000 therms of natural gas annually.
San Diego Gas & Electric and the California Public Utilities Commission have recognized Emerald for its advanced design and energy efficiency.
MARIETTA, Ga. — Improvements are leading to lower labor costs, increased productivity, maximized energy efficiency and enhanced linen life
MARIETTA, Ga. — Sustainability, efficiency, and the bottom line are on the minds of every business owner in the current economy. Laundry operations, whether on-premise laundries or linen services, are no exception.
Technology advances are significantly changing business operations and the way services are delivered in every sector. In laundry rooms, they are helping equipment to run smarter and even to contribute useful data to the decision-making process. Improvements in laundry operations are leading to reduced labor costs, increased productivity, maximized energy efficiency, lower utility costs and enhanced linen life. Here is how these evolving machines enable these cost centers to take up a smaller part of the operating budget, while ensuring that the overall operation runs smoothly.
Typically, when laundry operators punch in, the first thing they do is load linens, uniforms or other washables into the machines, start them up, and then enter a 35- to 45-minute "dead" period waiting for the first loads. This is no way to start the morning.
Thanks to an advanced-start function engineered into newer washer-extractors, today's laundry crew could be greeted in the morning by a machine filled with freshly washed clothes and linens. The advanced-start function allows yesterday's workers to load up the machines at the end of their shift and to program the washers to turn on the next morning about an hour before the morning shift arrives.
The loads will be just finishing and almost ready for the tumble dryer when the first shift comes onto the laundry room floor. This feature also shortens the previous day's last shift. The time saved adds up to lower labor costs. In addition, having loads washed before the day starts ensures that parts of the operation that depend on laundry availability can be reliably supplied by mid-morning. More timely availability could enable a smaller inventory of linens and uniforms to handle daily demand for on-premise laundries.
The secret to efficient clothes drying is that tumble dryers should be asked to deal with as little water as possible. Low-G-force washer-extractors can leave significant amounts of water in the laundry, which means the tumble dryer has to work harder and longer. When operators run fabrics such as all-cotton terry cloth through a low-G-force washer, there can be as much as 90% water retention.
Water-heavy goods present potential ergonomic problems for workers who have to lift laundry and place it in the tumble dryer. It also requires extra drying time, which means more energy to heat the air. It also reduces throughput. High-G-force extraction removes more water from linens, leading to decreased drying times. This high-speed process can reduce the amount of moisture left in the linens by up to 47%, decreasing gas or electricity usage by as much as 35%.
You can't improve what you don't measure. Using the advanced controls now available on laundry equipment is like having somebody in the laundry room with a notepad, recording information on every cycle run, monitoring machine performance and tracking maintenance history. This can be especially valuable for facilities that run more than one shift.
For example, a chemical company had a customer who complained about the quality of finished laundry. The control system that monitors the equipment in the laundry room downloaded the reports and pinpointed the problem. Reports found that operators on the 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. shift were advancing the machines, skipping the bleach step and skipping a rinse step.
The chemical company was able to show the customer that the problem was not with the chemicals but with how the workers were using the machines. Relying on the control system's real-time clock, management can download reports and determine exactly what's happening in the laundry room.
The reports provided by these control systems help administrators better understand and manage workloads and increase throughput. The information also helps determine whether they need to add more machines. Washer-extractors and tumble dryers equipped with advanced controls have a real-time clock telling the operator how long the machine has been sitting idle. Laundry operations paying overtime can check to see whether the extra hours are really necessary.
The cost of water may not yet be a major issue where you are operating, but it will be a concern in many places before the end of this decade. For many operations, targeting water use is part of a sustainability program. Advanced washer equipment controls enable the operator to match each load with one of 30 different water levels for optimal water and chemical use without compromising cleanliness. This feature can help save thousands of gallons of water each year, which also reduces energy costs since less water is being heated.
Some new tumble dryers make use of moisture-sensing technology to prevent linens from being scratchy and to ensure longer life for linens and uniforms. Operators set the desired moisture level for the finished laundry, usually 4-5%.
Over-drying is one of the biggest wasters of utilities and labor in the laundry room. Impatient operators sometimes check to see whether clothes are dry by stopping the machine and sticking a hand in every now and then. Not only does this waste the operator's time, stopping and starting the dryer also wastes energy. In addition, improved technology that prevents over-drying can reduce fiber loss by 31%.
One problem with technology is that sometimes management doesn't want to invest in it. But that ignores real dollars-and-cents benefits. There is a big difference between lowest cost and lowest price. Whether a laundry service or an on-premise laundry, operations that resist upgrading or that choose a less expensive machine can spend $100 per month for the next 12 to 15 years on additional energy, water, and labor.
Break down the budget of a typical laundry operation. About half of every dollar spent in the laundry goes to labor. Another 10-12% goes to equipment, 10-12% to linen replacement, 8-12% to chemicals, and 10% to utilities. Equipment maintenance completes the cost schedule at 3%. Spending money wisely on equipment can affect the other pieces of the cost pie, reducing them while making better use of the laundry workforce by increasing productivity and throughput.
WASHINGTON — Leadership & Legislative Conference concludes with more than 30 meetings with key figures in Capitol Hill offices
WASHINGTON — The Textile Rental Services Association's Leadership & Legislative Conference concluded last week with more than 30 meetings with key figures in Capitol Hill offices. The sessions enabled company leaders to enlist support of members of Congress in advancing the industry's most pressing government-relations causes.
Hill Day was the conference climax, following TRSA committee meetings and presentations at the Fairmont Washington, the first time in the event's three-year history that all activities took place downtown. Attendance exceeded 130, a conference high. Operator (launderer) members outnumbered Associates (suppliers) by a nearly 3-to-2 ratio.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, the former Tennessee governor and two-time presidential candidate, primed attendees for their congressional visits immediately before their departure. Alexander offered his view of the nation's fiscal crisis, noting that only 40% of government spending is budgeted each year. That portion of expenditures is at 2008 levels and is set to grow with inflation. The remainder is mandated by prior legislation (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security) and is growing at three to four times inflation.
Issues TRSA members raised during the Hill meetings included competition from prison laundries, taxation of textiles as medical devices, and regulation of air emissions of volatile organic compounds from towel processing.
Following these meetings, participants regrouped at a Hill lunch spot to hear Rep. Mike Pompeo, a second-term House member from Kansas, who addressed the shop towel issue from his own perspective as a small business owner/operator.
The night before, at a TRSAPAC reception, Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan was honored as TRSA's first-ever Legislator of the Year. He introduced 2012 legislation to level the playing field in competing with prison industries.
The industry-leadership portion of the agenda took place at the Fairmont March 18-19. Activities consisted mostly of committee meetings, where participants voiced their individual preferences for how TRSA should allocate resources. But the program included keynote speakers as well. Alex Castellanos, CNN political analyst, offered a cloudy forecast for clearing political gridlock in Washington. Alex Passantino, former head of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), gave participants pointers on overtime pay issues.
Randall Wentsel, Ph.D., senior managing scientist, Exponent Inc., explained the research his firm has conducted for TRSA that proves how reusable shop towels, foodservice napkins and healthcare isolation gowns are more sustainable than their disposable counterparts.
PATERSON, N.J. — Brite Services Inc., dba Star Laundry, faces 39 serious safety and health violations: OSHA
PATERSON, N.J. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Brite Services Inc., doing business as Star Laundry, for 39 serious safety and health violations found at its commercial laundry facility in Paterson, the agency reports.
Inspectors were prompted by a complaint alleging the company would not allow workers to leave the building during an emergency. Proposed penalties total $164,700.
OSHA found electrical hazards and an obstructed and improperly marked exit route, the agency says. Some of the alleged violations include:
"The vast number and range of safety and health hazards observed by OSHA at this facility indicates the lack of a functioning safety and health management system," says Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's area office in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. "Each employer is responsible for ensuring a safe and healthful work environment, which Brite Services did not do. This company has the opportunity now to educate itself, correct these hazards and protect its workers."
Brite Services has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
PRIOR LAKE, Minn. — Indian tribe donates laundry services to assist families transitioning out of homelessness, poverty
PRIOR LAKE, Minn. — Each Christmas, generous donors give approximately 5,000 "gently used" blankets to the local charitable organization called Bridging through the annual Bring a Blanket drive co-sponsored by Subway Restaurants.
Of those, hundreds are usually slightly soiled and in need of washing, so Bridging turns to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) Laundry Facility. The soiled blankets are delivered in February and March to SMSC, which washes, dries and hand-folds them at no charge.
"It is part of our mission to provide quality, gently used furniture and household goods to those in need," says David Jensen, operations and logistics manager at Bridging. "Our partnership with SMSC allows us to make this happen. By receiving SMSC's donated laundering services, Bridging has been able to distribute thousands of clean blankets to families in need over the years."
The SMSC and its Gaming Enterprise, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino, has worked with Bridging for years to provide linens, furniture and other items. Several times a year, Bridging drops off large loads of linens that the SMSC Laundry also washes for free.
Bridging's mission is to provide families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty with a gift of quality furniture and household goods to stabilize and improve lives while effectively using community resources. Through a network of more than 125 social-service agencies, eligible clients are referred to Bridging to pick out needed furniture and household goods to transform their house into a home.
The SMSC Laundry, which has 51 full-time employees, processes 3.6 million pounds of goods each year for several SMSC enterprises, including its hotel, casino, Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, and more. It also launders 575,000 employee uniforms annually.
ROANOKE, Va. — This area varies by laundry, and its process quality can have major impact on overall operation
ROANOKE, Va. — It seems that making the required adjustments in your laundry operation is a never-ending process. We must consider a number of variables as we make periodic adjustments to our operations. With this in mind, I have decided to discuss—over the course of the next several months—the factors and opportunities available to every manager in fine-tuning their operation.
First, let's take a look at the soil-sort department. This area varies by laundry, and the quality of the process in this area can make a major impact on the overall operation. I guess the first decision to be made is whether we are going to sort the soiled linen or not.
It used to be a popular idea, both in Canada and the United States, to sort healthcare linen after it had been washed and decontaminated. I know of a number of laundries in both countries that have abandoned that idea in an effort to reduce chemical, labor and linen-replacement costs.
The purpose of sorting soiled linen is to remove trash and other foreign material before the linen is washed, and to facilitate the proper cleaning and handling of the linen through the laundry.
The larger the laundry, the greater the number of sorting classifications. Smaller laundries may mix all large dry items together, while large laundries will sort thermal blankets, bath blankets, knitted contour sheets and incontinent pads into separate classifications.
The more detailed the sort, the more the wash formula and the drying times can be customized for each individual product. (The ability to fine-tune a dryer formula will be considered in a future column.)
Ideally, linen should be handled as few as times as possible as it moves through the laundry. A thorough soil-sort process eliminates the need to sort the product after it has been washed and conditioned or dried.
For example, we use a soil-sort classification just for our white hospital bath towels. This allows the operator on the small-piece folder in the production area to quickly process the items without having to handle unrelated items. Once processed, the items are placed in stacks of 10 on a conveyor belt that moves through an automatic tie machine and then delivers the product to the cart make-up area.
Bath towels are only touched three times before they are ready to be packed for orders: during the soil-sort process, as they are fed into the small-piece folder and, finally, as they are put on the conveyor. This economy of effort leads to a highly efficient and effective laundry.
In reviewing the soil-sort area of the laundry, I will normally check the established classifications to determine if they still meet the needs of the laundry. I check to see how many times each must be handled before the product is ready to be placed in carts for delivery. This survey tells me if I need to add or subtract soil-sort classifications.
I will also review what percentage of my overall work volume is represented by each classification. I want to make sure that high-volume items receive the greatest amount of attention. I also use this information to make sure that all high-volume items are placed in appropriate positions along the soil-sort platform. Efficiency can be improved when high-volume items are placed in the best positions.
It is important to remember that the mix in your laundry will change over time. Your process requires periodic review to ensure that the underlying mix has not changed.
Review and re-evaluate production standards for this area during this fine-tuning process. Changes made in the number of classifications and the placement of each in the soil-sort area will impact an employee's productivity. Being able to measure the impact of the changes and validate that you have improved your operation is a critical component in being a good manager.
Finally, assess the quality of your soil-sort process. How many items are showing up in the wrong category? A bath towel accidentally sorted into a load of white sheets will need to either be rewashed or gathered, dried and then routed to the appropriate finish area. The most economical way to process linen is to do it right the first time. Tracking the amount of linen that is incorrectly sorted can give you an ongoing measure of your soil-sort area's effectiveness.
MILWAUKEE — One of eight companies honored out of 58 nominated in statewide awards program
MILWAUKEE — Alliance Laundry Systems, manufacturers of commercial laundry equipment under the Huebsch, IPSO, Speed Queen and UniMac brands, last week received a special award for "Market Leadership" as part of the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year program recognizing outstanding achievements in manufacturing in 2012.
Alliance was one of eight companies honored out of 58 nominated in the statewide awards program, now in its 25th year. Bruce Rounds, chief financial officer, and Jay McDonald, vice president of business development, accepted the award for Alliance during a black-tie ceremony at the Pfister Hotel.
"Alliance's story started more than 100 years ago when two Ripon hardware store owners figured out how to mechanize hand-powered washing machines," notes Alliance CEO and President Mike Schoeb. "Now, we are the largest manufacturer of commercial laundry equipment in the world. Our continued success is driven by that same spirit of innovation, the dedication and work ethic we find in the local labor force, our world-class distribution network, and the competitive advantages and positive business climate of Wisconsin."
In addition to the "Market Leadership" award, the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year program handed out four grand awards to companies categorized by the number of employees – small, medium, large and mega. Alliance, nominated for the first time in 2012, competed in but did not win the Mega category.
Nominees were judged in such areas as financial growth or consistency, technological advances, product development, environmental solutions and sustainability, operational excellence/continuous improvement, commitment to employees, and effective research and development.
The awards program is co-sponsored by Baker Tilly, one of America's largest accounting and advisory firms; Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, a leading Midwest-based law firm; and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Wisconsin's largest business association.
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — Project included all demolition and construction necessary to install, relocate variety of new/existing laundry equipment
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — ARCO/Murray National Construction Co. recently completed the equipment retooling and plant remodel of a Crothall Laundry Services healthcare laundry in Manassas, Va., the design-build firm reports.
The project scope included all demolition and construction necessary for the installation and relocation of new/existing equipment, which included tunnel system dryers, ironers, lint collectors, small-piece folders, blanket folders, and a new overhead monorail system.
ARCO/Murray provided all utility connections to such equipment, including compressed air, gas, steam/condensate return, and water, along with all process equipment ventilation.
All work was scheduled to keep the plant fully operational with minimal shutdowns and delays. The ARCO/Murray team was able to accomplish this through off-hours work and constant communication between all project team members, the firm says.
From ARCO/Murray, Elliot Mata served as project executive and Doug Houser was project manager. PAC Industries provided the equipment. All monorail system fabrication and installation was provided by E-Tech.
CONKLIN, Mich. — Spent 22 years as executive director, having overseen final plans, equipment requisition and staff training on start-up
CONKLIN, Mich. — American Laundry News has learned of the recent death of Maurice "Jerry" Moore, the first executive director at West Michigan Shared Hospital Laundry (WMSHL), Grand Rapids, Mich.
Moore, of Conklin, died Feb. 21 after a brief illness. He was 81.
Duane Houvener, the current WMSHL director, wrote in a recent International Association for Healthcare Textile Management e-newsletter that Moore was hired before plans for the laundry were finalized and then oversaw the final plans and equipment requisition, plus set up and trained a new staff of laundry workers. Moore retired from WMSHL in 1996 after 23 years on the job.
Surviving Moore are his wife, Patricia; children, Paul, Karen, Dave and Linda; a brother, James; and 12 grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Perpetual Care, in Conklin.


text:
Volunteers provide crucial support to the Fitzroy Legal Service. Hundreds of people give up their time to volunteer each year. The night service which provides free legal advice is run almost completely by volunteer barristers, lawyers, paralegals and law students.
If you believe in evening the imbalances and inequities in the legal system and providing advice and support to people who don't always have the money to pay for it, you might want to volunteer with the Fitzroy Legal Service.
Management Committee
Bruce McBain (Treasurer)
Andrew Tristan Conley
Susan Aufgang
Adrian Kennedy (Convenor)
Fiona Delahunt
Natalia Hanley
Serge Sztajt
Michael (Dan) Mori (not pictured)
Colin Bosnic
Corrine Grant
Publications Committee
Anna Landy
Brian Wright
Fleur Bitcon
Sarah Zadeh

subset: commoncrawl


text:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Officials say a tornado with winds topping 100 miles per hour destroyed homes and barns in rural western Indiana yesterday.
The storm hit Montgomery County in the town of New Ross.
The winds reduced two barns to rubble and uprooted trees.
Flying aluminum siding and debris got caught in trees and power lines.
No one was hurt.
The National Weather Service was also checking out reports of brief tornadoes near Columbus and the community of Yeddo in Fountain County.
Copyright 2012 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
624 W. Muhammad Ali BlvdLouisville, KY 40203


text:
{shoes, shoes, shoes}
. . . aside from this staircase featured over two years & a lifetime ago, quite certain there is nothing quite as fun as maison martin margiela's mirror heels . . .
{p.s.} previously:
valentino | mugnai | chanel | lanvin
louboutin | sergio rossi | bruno frisoni | magic in the air
{images: project no.8 via creature comforts's black & dashes of sparkle}
17 | pensées, des commentaires & des notes:
- Style Maniac [Reply] said...
{1} quite certain you are correct
(2) want these bad - October 05, 2010
- annawithlove [Reply] said...
those are fabulous...its been a while since I saw such an incredibly cool shoe!!
Thank you for sharing! :)
www.annawithlove.com - October 05, 2010
- Cara [Reply] said...
fancy <3
- October 05, 2010
- cailen ascher [Reply] said...
what beautiful shoes. i'm a fan.
www.cailenascher.blogspot.com - October 05, 2010
- xo ♥ mimi [Reply] said...
BEYOND fabulous! love it.
http://www.leblogdemimi.com/ - October 05, 2010
- Samantha [Reply] said...
Those are so fabulously amazing!! I want them!
http://sincerelysamantha.com - October 05, 2010
- taylor [Reply] said...
love the sparkle!!
http://gramercyboutique.blogspot.com/ - October 05, 2010
- julieann [Reply] said...
The disco ball of the shoe world. Dancing Queen dark & sweet only 17, Jx
- October 05, 2010
- London Bride [Reply] said...
oh my word, they are dancing shoes if ever I saw them!
- October 05, 2010
- anita siraki [Reply] said...
holy amazingness!!!! it's like the outside of their beverly hills store!
- October 05, 2010
- Rebecca is Thrilled by the Thought [Reply] said...
Super fun but they look so painful!
- October 05, 2010
- Marcus Design [Reply] said...
All the soft ruffles, it's so dreamy, and that second photo...the sweet little jacket is to die for...
Nancy xo - October 06, 2010
oh that is so funny:-). Before even reading this I thought of that staircase as soon as I saw these shoes!!
lovee to you and hope you and yours are well:-)
FXOXO - October 06, 2010
- alex [Reply] said...
those make my heart skip a beat
- October 06, 2010
- Her name was Lola [Reply] said...
Studio 54 splendor for your feet! In love. xo
- October 06, 2010
- Ana Louisa [Reply] said...
Love this little disco ball of a shoe. So cute.
- October 07, 2010
- Reina [Reply] said...
oh my lordie these are high but oh my lordie i LOOVERs these
- October 10, 2010
Post a Comment
Thank you for stopping in to say hello -- it's lovely to hear from you!
j u s t a f e w t h i n g s
Please note that due to the inordinate amount of spam, comments with links to other sites may not be published; all self-promotion & promotions of give-aways on other sites will not be published; additionally, please include your blog address in the box provided, and not in the body of your comment.
Thank you xo


text:
The boat handles multiple types of water and I have been down class 2 rapids with it with no problems. It is also very stable when fishing from it. I can cast and catch large fish with no problems whatsoever. For people with back issues, this is the boat for you. The backrest is fully adjustable, the boat comes with extra floatation bag, a paddle rest so you can fish, bungees both fore and aft. The only thing missing is a cup holder, so I just put it between my legs.
Love my Emotion Glide! As far as the Emotion sit inside Kayaks go, the Glide is my favorite! The Emotion Temptation is also an awesome sit on top boat that I love.
90,000+ people can't be wrong!The Paddling.net Newsletter is a must if you like to canoe or kayak! Each week it is packed with great articles, photos, product reviews, and special features. Better yet, we promise not to sell your email address to anyone; that's right ZERO spam! Sign up today and find out what you've been missing!


text:
tagConnect is an Intelink-based bookmark tool based loosely on [http://del.icio.us del.icio.us]. It combines traditional bookmarking with a community, so that users can see and search each other's bookmarks, comment on them, and organize them by flat, non-hierarchical categories called "tags." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TagConnect]
cedTag has been released and it is still beta, it has been made available to gather feedback. Don't use it in production or at your own risk. I plan to use it before the end of months on my site. I would love to hear what is missing, what you don't like, how it can be better.
A real free tag system for Joomla!
User of Joomla Tags, just install this all in one package and select Import – Souce – Joomla Tags and click import to copy your data in the new table.
cedTag a new Tag system for Joomla 2.5 (based on Joomla tags) is now deployed on my showcase
Privacy Statement | Copyright Notice | Licenses
© 1999-2012 Waltercedric.com. Designed by Cédric Walter. Sitemap
Reproduction without explicit permission is prohibited. All Rights Reserved. All photos remain copyright © their rightful owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
Disclaimer: The editor(s) reserve the right to edit any comments that are found to be abusive, offensive, contain profanity, serves as spam, is largely self-promotional, or displaying attempts to harbour irrelevant text links for any purpose.


text:
Everything depends on expectations. The location of the hotel is very good. But this is probably the only positive aspect. The rooms are small and they seem not very clean. The smell at the entrance seems to witness this and the elevator is confirming that the maintenance has been done in the cheapest possible way (be careful and mind the... More
- Also Known As:
- De La Pace Hotel
- De La Pace Florence
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- The elegance and charm of a late nineteenth century palazzo signorile in the heart of the historic centre and tranquillity of Florence, and one of the city's most charming and fascinating streets. Of all the hotels in Florence, Hotel De La Pace will astound you the most with its characteristic beauty and elegance, modern facilities and superb service. ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Fastbooking, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Orbitz, Expedia, Agoda, Tingo and Travelocity so you can book your Hotel de la Pace reservations with confidence. We help millions of travellers each month to find the perfect hotel for both holiday and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.