The June Issue of Carolina Clean.pdf North Carolina State Sales Tax Changes STATE SALES TAX RATE SCHEDULED TO DECREASE BY 1% JULY 1, 2011 The current NC state sales tax rate is 5.75%. In late May the NC legislature passed a budget that allows the temporary 1% state sales tax rate increase enacted by the 2009 General Assembly to expire. The state sales tax rate will decrease from 5.75% to 4.75% as of July 1, 2011. The general state and local sales tax rate in all 100 NC counties will decrease. The chart below shows the current and pending general state and local rates for each county. The following 17 counties levy a local sales tax at: 2.25% Alexander, Catawba, Cumberland, Duplin, Haywood, Hertford, Lee, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, Sampson, Surry, Wilkes The current general state and local sales tax rate is: 8.00% Effective 7/1 the general state and local sales tax rate will be: 7.00% Mecklenburg County’s local sales and use tax rate is: 2.50% The current general state and local sales tax rate is: 8.25% Effective 7/1 the general state and local sales tax rate will be: 7.25% The remaining 82 counties levy a local sales tax at: 2.00% The current general state and local sales tax rate is: 7.75% Effective 7/1 the general state and local sales tax rate will be: 6.75% If you have any questions, contact the NC Department of Revenue Taxpayer Assistance Division Toll-Free: (877) 252-3052. Poly Bag Recycling Program Introduced N.S. Farrington & Company, in conjunction with NCALC, introduced a poly bag recycling program at NCALC’s 105th annual convention in Atlantic Beach on Memorial Day weekend. David Farrington, President of N.S. Farrington & Company, presented this new program to the membership at the Sunday morning business session. David pointed to data found in several surveys that describe typical traits found in consumers who actively recycle. Generally, they are middle to upper-middle class, employed, college graduates, and homeowners. It was noted that these traits fit similar models of dry cleaning customers. Also noted was the fact that not only do consumers 40 and younger actively recycle, but they expect those businesses they patronize to actively be involved in recycling the materials they generate. N.S. Farrington & Company, along with several other proactive distributors in other areas of the U.S., has made a long-term commitment to assume a leadership role in the “greening” of the laundry and dry cleaning industry and to continue to work with interested vendors in product development of eco-friendly products for their customers to use. Every ton of poly film that is collected will save the equivalent of 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of clean water, 4100 kilowatt hours of electricity, or 89 cubic feet of landfill, according to Mr. Farrington. As part of this recycling program, N.S. Farrington & Company will offer, at their cost of $25, start-up kits that include one printed cardboard recycling bin with lid, two posters, a recycling program member certificate suitable for framing, one press release/media announcement, and a roll of green tinted poly bin liners. N.S. Farrington & Company will pick up recycled material at no charge when making regular scheduled deliveries to its customers’ locations. Materials must be in green tint bags only. Replacements for worn or faded bins and posters and additional green tint bin liners will be available through N.S. Farrington & Company. What makes this recycling program different from past recycling programs is that the cleaner is not required to restrict which poly type products can be deposited or required to go through the returns to take out small pieces of paper or other items that a typical consumer may deposit in the bins. In addition, materials collected by N.S. Farrington & Company will be placed in the hands of companies that will recycle them into other plastic items such as fencing, soft drink crates, and other plastic products. Those cleaners wishing to participate in this program should contact the N.S. Farrington & Company customer service department at 1-800-722-0374 or see their local Farrington representative. Welcome to Our New Members Why We Becamer a Member of NCALC My wife and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you for the hospitality you and the entire group of members of the NCALC showed to us at the recent convention in Atlantic Beach. We are new to the Dry Cleaning business. We are in the process of purchasing our first Dry Cleaners and Laundromat and we should be open in early August. I have done tons of research on the industry before making the decision to get into the business. I have even had the opportunity to work in a couple of Dry Cleaners to get some hands-on experience before jumping in with both feet. I would also like to say a special thank you to Allan Cheatham, one of your board members and owner of Shallotte Cleaners, for all of the support and knowledge he has given me over the past several months. I can truly say that we would not have been able to make the decision to get into this business without his help and guidance. Needless to say, when we arrived at the convention we really did not know what to expect. We basically went to the convention just to find out what the NCALC was all about. Frankly, we really didn’t have any expectations other than to hopefully learn more about the industry from the educational classes. Well, our expectations were certainly met and far exceeded. Not only were the educational classes great but the people we met were great as well. To a person, everyone we encountered was friendly and made us feel like we belonged and were already a part of their family. Everyone was willing to share with us some great ideas for success and they all had a genuine attitude of caring and a desire for us to be successful. I come from a 20 year background of Sales and Financial Services and I don’t even remember how many countless conventions I have attended over the years. However, I can tell you that the people in NCALC are above and beyond other groups for which I have been associated. Their selfless willingness to share from their experiences, their welcoming attitude and their reach-out to help a rookie newcomer and a stranger like myself made me know that this was one organization that I wanted to be and would be proud to be a part of. I was able to learn more about the regulations regarding PERC and what the association was doing to help Dry Cleaners using PERC. I learned more about employment law and how to stay out of trouble and I even learned a thing or two regarding pricing and profitability. I plan to continue my education by attending classes at the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute beginning in July. The social events were great as well. They provided an opportunity for my family to really get to know others in the business on a more personal level. We received many offers of assistance if we ever had questions, which I know we will. I know that if I need to know something or have questions about something that help is only a phone call away. I even had offers that others would come to my plant and help me with equipment repairs, purchases and you name it. Their assistance was offered and greatly appreciated. This is the reason we decided to join NCALC. As we saw it the cost of not joining far out-weighed the price of membership. I cannot imagine going into business and putting your entire financial future on the line and not being a part of your group if you are a Dry Cleaner. Again, I just wanted to say Thank You for the opportunity. We really feel that we have just left a weekend and became a part of a group that helped changed our lives for the better and we look forward to being a part of NCALC for many years to come. We are also looking forward to the next convention where, hopefully, we will have some experiences to share with others of our own. Keep up the good work and keep doing what you are doing. Alan & Patti Hargis A Cleaner Tomorrow Dry Cleaning and Laundry Angier, NC Membership Update THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR NCALC MEMBERSHIP PATRICK CARDENAS Cliffdale Cleaners Fayetteville STO FOX Fox Cleaners & Launderers Greensboro LEILA HELMES Elite Cleaners Monroe TOM HILKER Brothers Cleaners Raleigh LARRY HILL Dandy Drycleaners & Laundry Charlotte JOHN JONGHEE KIM Kim’s Alterations and Dry Cleaning Fayetteville ADRIA ROBBINS Oakland Cleaners Roanoke Rapids MARK SUGG Tops Cleaners Greensboro Member Matters We wish a speedy recovery to Bart Williams, Williams Cleaners, Wilmington, and Mrs. Hanna Cowell, mother of Keith Cowell, Cowell’s Cleaners, New Bern. Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Cindy Cheatham, Shallotte Cleaners, in the loss of her stepbrother, to W. C. Bullock who lost his mother in November and to Art Fatica who lost his father in April. We note the passing on March 22nd of Harry H. Clendenin, Jr., who was employed by W.P. Ballard & Company/Phenix Supply Company for 71 years until March 13, 2011. Congratulations to Millie Thomas, daughter of Marvin and Robin Thomas, Swannanoa Cleaners, Asheville, and to Elizabeth Cheatham, daughter of Allan and Cindy Cheatham, Shallotte Cleaners, Shallotte, on their graduation from high school. We missed you, Bill and Susie Sessoms. Sergeant at Arms Bill Sessoms missed his first ever Annual Convention (since the Civil War) due to overdosing himself on Alka-Seltzer in an attempt to kill off a summer cold. After a couple of days of bed rest, he’s back on his feet, back at the gym, and back on the golf course. So I guess he’s okay! Thoughts on the NCALC Convention by Larry Hill, President Dandy Cleaners & Laundry I always look forward to the NCALC convention. This year was no exception. The speakers were very informative. I enjoyed hearing from Mary Scalco, CEO of DLI, who gave her take on the industry. She has a tough job ahead. DLI is working hard to help our industry as we face future challenges. DLI has been a strong advocate in our fight to continue to use perc safely, but the reality is that it’s time to find another solvent because the pressure from environmental groups and the government regulators will not stop until it’s no longer in use. David Knight, a Kreussler representative, spoke of the latest alternative solvent, K4, which Kreussler has developed. To me, it looks like it has the potential to be a good replacement for perc. I’ve seen it in action, and I like the way it cleans. Time will tell, as it always does, how successful this solvent will be in the marketplace. Matt Sigmon of Matt Sigmon Productions gave a good talk on “Why You Shoud Have a Presence on the Web.” If you don’t have a website, he can get you started. He discussed the importance of drycleaners having a presence on the web, even though some still think they don’t need one. These days it is a necessity. Think about it – fewer and fewer customers use the phone book, read the newspaper, or look at direct mail any more. Your future customers will be looking for services via some form of web media. Elizabeth Johnson, a partner of Poyner & Spruill, LLP, spoke about protecting the personal information of employees and customers that we gather everyday from those who try to misuse it. I think most of us don’t realize the full extent of the responsibility we have to protect the personal information we collect. My eyes were opened to the dangers of this information being stolen and the liabilities that we assume if we don’t properly take care of it. Louis Meyer, a partner of Poyner & Spruill, LLP, spoke on the proper process to hire and terminate employees. It can be very costly if done carelessly or without thought. This was good information and very helpful. Lastly, Bill Bohannon, owner of Hollin Hall Dry Cleaners in Alexandria, VA, gave a very interesting talk on cost analysis. I haven’t heard anyone come at it quite the way he did. He pointed out that the difference in the cost of producing a dry cleaning item and a laundry shirt is about 25 cents, even though we clean a laundry shirt for about 1/3 the price of a pair of dry cleaning pants. He suggests that we probably are losing money on laundry shirts after discovering that his best laundry shirt customers don’t necessarily bring in dry cleaning, debunking the idea that laundry shirts bring in dry cleaning pieces and you can market them as a loss leader. His solution was to charge more for laundry shirts to customers who don’t bring in dry cleaning pieces. The NCALC convention is one business trip I don’t have to coerce my family to attend. Who can argue with the beach, hanging out at Molly’s snack bar, catching up with old friends, and learning better ways to run your business? As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the convention. Hats off to Sto Fox and everyone who helped make it a success. Networking 2011 Mardi Gras in May – Welcome to the Beach Seafood Feast Friday night. Multi-colored beads, mask or face painting, and Dixieland and Cajun music greeted young and old at Friday night’s family friendly social in the ballroom. Bidding was open for the more than 100 items surrounding the room, with special notice being directed to the tables covered in beach and pool toys for the young cleaners. Edwina Johnston was responsible for the interesting and entertaining selection available for one night only for use on the beach starting Saturday morning. One of the most interesting items was a couple of hermit crabs with their shells painted like beach balls in their own terrarium. I don’t know how they did it, but Edwina, Charisse Lassiter, Marie Davis, and my daughter Brandy Fox somehow got the auction set up and ready to roll Friday afternoon. As usual, Chef John Andreola’s Cajun buffet featuring oyster soufflé, crawfish étoufée, jambalaya, and red beans and rice also included fried chicken, whipped sweet potatoes, green beans, and a wonderful selection of pies and cakes for dessert. Saturday night was our annual journey to the islands for the Luau. Hawaiian shirts and colorful leis were in vogue. NCALC Life Honorary member and DJ extraordinaire Dave “The Bopper” Overby was in residence on the podium for his 11th personal appearance since 1999. Bidding at the Silent Auction continued and master face painters carried on their artistic work, as Young Cleaners honed their skills with the hula hoops in preparation for the contests later in the evening. Chef Andreola’s Island Buffet – featuring Gulf shrimp, famous Caribbean ribs, mahi mahi with pineapple relish, Polynesian vegetables, and tropical fried rice – had something for everyone, including a variety of desserts. COSTUME CONTEST 1st Place: Mildred Williams and Kyle Gibson Honorable Mention: Lee Miskelly and Chris Edwards Robin Thomas and Mack Davis HULA 1st Place: Kelsey Allan Winners: Claire Connelly, Megan and Emma Allan HULA HOOP 1st Place: Caroline Connelly Winners: Emma, Kelsey, Megan and Ben Allan; Jennifer and Mark or Eric Sommers; and Claire Connelly LIMBO 1st Place: Caroline Connelly Winners: Susie and Claire Connelly; Emma, Megan, Ben and Kelsey Allan; Emily Royal; Catherine Cheatham; Marie Davis; Jennifer and Mark or Eric Sommers; and Briana Kincaid SHAG 1st Place: Mack and Marie Davis Winners: Alan and Patti Hargis, Marvin and Robin Thomas, Emma and Ben Allan Dancing and bidding continued furiously until the Silent Auction closed at 10 pm and the compilation process began so that the winners could pay for and claim their prizes Sunday morning. It was truly difficult for a lot of us to give up the beach to shower and dress for the Sunday evening festivities. However, the lure of the President’s Reception and a magic show by Captain Jim the truly peg-legged pirate in the courtyard brought us all together for an entertaining hour prior to dinner. While the Young Cleaners retired to the Bogue Sound room for pizza and chicken fingers, games, and movies under the watchful eyes of Brandy Fox and Elizabeth Cheatham, the adults promenaded into the ballroom for a wonderful dinner of medium rare filet mignon topped with béarnaise sauce or chicken breast stuffed with backfin crab topped with a tarragon cream sauce, followed by a special chocolate dessert. After dinner, NCALC President Marvin Thomas presented certificates of 2011 NCALC Honorary membership to speakers Mary Scalco, Acting DLI CEO, and Bill Bohannon, owner/ operator of Hollin Hall Cleaners in Alexandria, Virginia. Certificates were later mailed to Elizabeth Johnson and Louis Meyer, attorneys with Poyner & Spruill in Raleigh, who were unable to attend the banquet. President Thomas thanked N.S. Farrington & Company who sponsored the President’s Reception and Consolidated Laundry Equipment Company who sponsored this year’s Banquet. He presented certificates to the Allied Trades partners present who qualified as Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Business Partners for 2010. PLATINUM $4000+ Consolidated Laundry Equipment, Inc. GOLD $3000 TO $3999 Kreussler N.S. Farrington & Co. SILVER $2000 TO $2999 ATC Associates Irving Weber Associates Phenix Supply Company BRONZE $1000-$1999 Fabritec International Hart & Hickman, PC MCF Systems Poyner & Spruill, LLP Tri-State Laundry Equipment Co. UNX, Inc. URS Corporation W.C. Rouse & Son Wilson Insurance Associates In recognition of their extraordinary effort and contributions to NCALC’s projects and programs, President Thomas presented Presidential Certificates of Appreciation to: AUCTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS Gloria Cowell, Marie Davis, Sue Farrington, Charisse Lassiter, Zelda Young JOHN JONGHEE KIM, owner/operator of Kim’s Alterations and Drycleaners in Fayetteville, for his assistance with the inaugural Carolina Cleaners Open Golf Tournament DSCA PROGRAM STAKEHOLDERS GROUP Chris Edwards, Mack Davis, Rita Foley, Denny Shaffer, Martin Young MARTIN L. YOUNG, JR. for his service as the District 2 Appointed Committee member of the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute Board of Directors. Following a brief intermission, we benefited from a recently discovered talent of NCALC’s newest member (yep, he joined Sunday night), Alan Hargis, who is a licensed auctioneer. Colonel Davis graciously relinquished the microphone, and Alan took us on a wild ride raising over $900 in less than thirty minutes for a beach bucket, empty picnic hamper, and a couple of gallons of Smith’s Drygester. All in all, this year’s auction raised right at $5000. Thanks to all the folks who contributed items and purchased items to support NCALC’s projects and programs! DSCA Stakeholders Meeting Report Chris Edwards, NCALC VP Governmental Affairs, reported that the DSCA Stakeholders Meeting was held June 2, 2011. The DSCA staff reported that: • The DSCA website has been updated with their presentation and public comments from the March 29th public hearing on the Durham BB&T site at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/dsca/bbt_updates. • Fifteen sites have now been issued No Further Action letters. • A new DSCA staff member has been hired who will be leading the GIS and paperless initiatives. She will focus on maintaining the website, including the information posted on Google maps at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/dsca/remediations. • The Department of Health and Human Services report on perc is back from external review by the scientific community. We will have access once it becomes a public document. DSCA management expects this to be toward the end of June. Once the report is issued, work on the alternatives study can proceed. • The next working group meeting is scheduled for September 8th at 10 a.m. • Attached fund statistics were distributed Fund statistics 6-1-11.pdf. A Look at the 2011 Clean Show by Jimmy Lee, Jones Cleaners Larry Hill, Cooki Patel and I (aka “The Three Amigos”) traveled to Las Vegas for the 2011 Clean Show, Monday June 6th to Thursday June 9th. We started our journey Sunday, June 5th on a hot summer day. As we boarded the airplane, we ran into some of our NCALC friends – Chris Edwards, Kevin Lawson, Simon Vick, David Knight and Bill Ford. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, the weather was hot but the air was dry. Having only been to Vegas once many years ago, I was really excited to see all the magnificent buildings and entertainment that made up the main strip. It’s hard to attend a show in the middle of the week, but fortunately I was able to because of my wonderful co-workers. After arriving in Vegas, we walked around after lunch and looked at some of the fine shops. There was more shopping than you could imagine. The only limit was how much you could spend. We arrived at the show early Monday morning all excited. The crowd was large in the convention center. Vendors were busy greeting attendees. The show also turned out to be a great place to just catch up with several friends that I have made in the industry. We all shared some of the same issues with sales being down over the last few years, problems with equipment, issues with employees and how or what should we be doing in the future to make a better business. These are just a few things that I saw at the Clean Show: Kreussler K4 Solvent –There was a lot of excitement around the Kreussler booth because of the new K4 Solvent. Union, Realstar, Multimatic and Permac featured dry cleaning machines capable of using the K4 solvent. I’m sure there were other dry cleaning machines at the show that were compatible with K4 that I did not see. Union was the only dry cleaning machine actually cleaning garments with K4 at the show. The garments that came out looked and felt pretty good. There was a slight K4 aroma in some of the heaver garments when first taken out of the machine, but over time the K4 aroma pretty much dissipated in the air. ASKO Concord Systems had a very interesting wet cleaning process. A cleaner who uses only ASKO and who specializes in high–end garments was at their booth showing a video of the many fine garments he has cleaned in the ASKO machine. It was quite interesting to see thousand-dollar garments being wet cleaned with no issues. Electrolux “Lagoon” Wet Cleaning system has an exclusive endorsement from Woolmark if you use their complete cleaning and finishing equipment. Spector Textile has designed some new route bags, marketing material to capture new customers, and promotions for new route customers. CompassMax Maineline, a pos software company, demonstrated new updates to their software with assembly integration enhancements, mobile coupons, smart phone applications for employees or customers, and cloud computing hosting services. HMC – sorting conveyor and 24/7 Kiosk – had a really neat 24/7 Kiosk that seems to be very customer user friendly. The kiosk could automatically notify the customers when their orders were ready. If for some reason the customer left the orders in the kiosk, the system would automatically reload the orders on the conveyor and send a message to the customer to let them know that the orders were left in the kiosk. Metalprogetti had an all-in-one automatic sorting conveyor, bagging machine and racking. Basically, once you loaded the garments onto the sorting conveyor, the conveyor sorted the garments for each order. Next the garments in the individual orders would go to the automatic bagger. After bagging, a customer ticket would be applied to the garment bag. The orders would then be racked automatically to the conveyor. Nothing else needed to be done until the customer came to pick up. Now that’s really high tech and efficient. I wish I had one of these complete systems. GreenEarth Cleaning has been around, but what was interesting to me was the professional marketing program that comes with being a GreenEarth affiliate. Unipress and Sankosha both had new redesigned pressing equipment. Some equipment taking less space and others offering a new way to keep the heat away from the operator were being demonstrated. RR Street showed new cleaning products for alternative cleaning solutions. A.L Wilson has developed step-by-step videos on their website on how to correctly use their individual products. Remember, this is only a small sample of the many vendors that I visited at the show. We started the show on one side of the convention center and decided to walk one aisle at a time, hoping to complete all the aisles in one day. We were not able to complete the show on the first day but did finish on the second day. DLI’s acting CEO Mary Scalco was on the convention floor. She was definitely working hard trying to meet and greet at the show. We were able to talk for a few minutes. She gave a very informative presentation at our NCALC Memorial Day annual convention. Martin Young and David Silliman were also busy at the show. I feel fortunate that I was able to attend the 2011 Clean Show this year. Visiting the vendors’ booths was one part of the show. But while attending the show, I also reconnected with friends I have not seen in many years. Some had pictures of newborns, some shared how their children were finishing school, and others had children who are now married. It’s always great to hear about other dry cleaning operations, vendors’ new and improved products, and the latest in equipment, but the best part was being able to reconnect with everyone in person. I did learn a few new things at the show, but the best part of my trip was spending time with two of my best friends in the dry cleaning industry - Larry Hill and Cooki Patel aka The Three Amigos. Clean Show Report by Martin Young, DLI Dist. 2 DCM The Clean Show was in Las Vegas this year. A city that is best described as sensory overload set in a sun drenched valley. Surrounded by lights, buildings, people and excess; the city has a heartbeat of its own, twenty-four/seven. The convention center filled with cleaners and equipment was tame by comparison. Monday morning opened with industry icon, Sid Tuchman, receiving DLI’s Diamond Achievement Award. He was genuinely overwhelmed as he recounted his early beginnings that eventually grew into over thirty drycleaning stores and years spent as an industry motivator. I was impressed that he began taking notes immediately upon taking his seat as marketing consultant Al Lautenslager addressed the Seal of Approval program. His Tuesday educational session is the best attended session I have ever seen at a Clean Show. The show floor contained about the same number of exhibitors, but many appeared to have reduced their booth space. The drycleaning machines being shown were dominated by “multi-solvent” type machines. Across the board, manufacturers are trying for the broadest appeal. You had to look hard to find a perc machine on display. Spin-disk filtration was first offered as a way of reducing the waste stream on perc drycleaning machines. With the rise of the alternatives it is “back-to –the- future” with two companies offering powder filtration. The most prominent alternative process from New Orleans; Solvair, was not found on the floor. System K-4 was the most prominent new solvent offering, overshadowing the return of Rynex. Rynex Technologies did announce an association with Christeyns’ detergents to develop and distribute chemicals for their re-introduced solvent. As is their custom, Greenearth had a sand sculpture, this time in the shape of a half-size car. Two chemical companies, Streets and Seitz, have developed additions to the complementary chemistry for GreenEarth solvent, giving greater options in using the solvent. 6 The consolidation of the ADCO and Laidlaw chemical lines was obvious. It seems that the ADCO line will be a premier line, while Laidlaw was presented as a service type line. There were several offerings that caught my attention. Unipress had a modification on the back of their shirt buck that would apply downward tension to the back of the shirt as the press closes. The “Touch Stain” is a video aid at the spotting board, at a reported price of $5500.00. That price is a lot more than the cost of continuing education. The next Clean Show date is June 21-23 2013 in New Orleans. Make plans to be there to be among the first to view the latest advances in drycleaning technology. Tornadoes Damage Cleaners Saturday, April 16th, is a day four NCALC members and their families will not soon forget. That’s the day a band of thunderstorms raced across the state from west to east, spawning tornadoes from Raleigh to the coast. Five NCALC members suffered extensive damage to their businesses and in one case to their home as well. A tornado touched down in Fayetteville about 4:05 p.m., lifting the roofs off of two nearby buildings containing drop stores belonging to Young Bang/One Hour Koretizing and John Kim/Kim’s Alterations & Drycleaning. No one was hurt in either store, although they were both open for business at the time. The same tornado also damaged John Kim’s home, which is nearby. Both buildings will have to be rebuilt before the businesses can reopen. The building occupied by Mr. Bang actually belongs to NCALC member Denny Shaffer, from whom Mr. Bang purchased One Hour Koretizing. The good news is that none of the customers’ goods in either store were ruined. A couple of hours later the front spawned another tornado over Wilson that lifted the roof off Exclusive Cleaners’ 8000-square-foot American Drycleaner™ magazine’s Grand Prize award-winning plant and collapsed one side wall onto Exclusive’s delivery vans. Although there were over 5000 orders on their four up-and-down conveyors, none of the customers’ goods were lost or damaged. However, Exclusive Cleaners was temporarily out of business. Offers of assistance came from NCALC members Rita Foley/Regency Cleaners in Durham, Rich Volk/Bowen Cleaners in Greenville, Simon Vick/Vick’s Cleaners in Kinston, and Exclusive’s competitors Joel and Chuck Williamson/Williamson Cleaners in Wilson. Fortunately, NCALC’s endorsed insurance provider IWA and Argonaut-Great Central were Johnny-on-the-spot with technical assistance (i.e. a structural engineer) and the checkbook so that Billy Whitfield and his sister Joan Bartlett were able to move fast in obtaining a site close by as a call office and reactivating their original plant across town. Around 8:30 p.m. the front reached Jacksonville and Greg Johnston’s Southern Cleaners plant and laundromat just outside the main gate at Camp Lejeune. Greg said he had passed the store less than thirty minutes before he got the call from the laundromat attendant at about 8:30 p.m. reporting that all the windows had been sucked out. In addition, there was damage to the drive-through canopy, the sign (8” poles bent), and the attendant’s Lincoln Navigator SUV, which was picked up and deposited upside down in the street. Although Greg and crew spent Sunday boarding up the windows so they could open on Monday, the city refused to let them reopen until the windows were replaced on Wednesday. Fortunately, no one was injured in any of these severe weather issues, and all of the victims appear to have dodged the bullet in terms of loss or damage to customers’ goods, which can lead to loss of customer confidence. Also, reports indicate that although none of us enjoy cleaning up a mess or dealing with uninvited interruptions to our normal routine, assistance and offers of assistance were immediate. Although it never seems to happen quickly enough, insurance companies, adjusters, and even public officials have not been unreasonably difficult to deal with and in some cases have been downright helpful. It does point out the potential benefits of having a disaster recovery plan: Keep copies of important documents [insurance policies, leases, loans, titles, emergency phone numbers, and A/R] in at least two places. If you lease, know what your landlord’s options are in case of damage to their property. Do you have or should you have business interruption insurance? Allied Trades Attorneys Poyner & Spruill, LLP, Rick Kane 919-783-6400 Credit Card & Payroll Processing & Bad Check Collection Check Collection & Recovery 912-638-9979 Heartland Payment Systems – Jolene Handysides 704-649-7772 Environmental Consultants ATC Associates, Gena Olson 919-871-0999 Hart & Hickman PC, Christie Zawtacki 704-586-0007 Mid-Atlantic Associates, PA, Jeff Tyburski 800-486-7568 Shield Engineering Inc., Greg Icenhour 800-395-5220 URS Corporation, Rob MacWilliams 704-522-0330 Equipment Sales & Maintenance Consolidated Laundry Equipment, Inc. 800-227-6149 Tri-State Laundry Equipment Co. 866-885-5218 WC Bullock & Assoc., W. C. Bullock 919-320-4893 WC Rouse & Son, Inc., Mike Halford 336-299-3035 White Conveyors, Jim Pomeranz 919-363-8380 Hazardous Waste Disposal MCF Systems, Russ Kent 800-828-3240, x 44 In Plant Training Haralson Consultants, Sandra L. Haralson 843-813-3106 Insurance Irving Weber Associates, Keith Camacho 800-243-1811 Wilson Insurance Associates, Darrell Wilson 800-215-7630 Supplies Cleaners Supply, Inc 800-568-7768 Fabritech International, Wes Brunson 859-653-5609 Fuller Supply Co., Inc 800-222-3699 Kreussler, David Knight 919-280-1040 N.S. Farrington & Co 800-722-0374 Pariser Industries, Inc., Art Fatica 973-930-7540 Phenix Supply Co 800-272-0540 R.R. Street Co., Ron Provencal 980-322-1277 UNX Inc., Harold Smith 919-880-3234 Wholesale Services Joseph Krow Furs & Leather/The Suede Shop 800-366-5769 Home

North Carolina State Sales Tax Changes

STATE SALES TAX RATE SCHEDULED TO

DECREASE BY 1% JULY 1, 2011

The current NC state sales tax rate is 5.75%. In late May the NC legislature passed a budget that allows the temporary 1% state sales tax rate increase enacted by the 2009 General Assembly to expire. The state sales tax rate will decrease from 5.75% to 4.75% as of July 1, 2011. The general state and local sales tax rate in all 100 NC counties will decrease. The chart below shows the current and pending general state and local rates for each county.

The following 17 counties levy a local sales tax at: 2.25%

Alexander, Catawba, Cumberland, Duplin, Haywood, Hertford, Lee, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, Sampson, Surry, Wilkes

The current general state and local sales tax rate is: 8.00%

Effective 7/1 the general state and local sales tax rate will be: 7.00%

Mecklenburg County’s local sales and use tax rate is: 2.50%

The current general state and local sales tax rate is: 8.25%

Effective 7/1 the general state and local sales tax rate will be: 7.25%

The remaining 82 counties levy a local sales tax at: 2.00%

The current general state and local sales tax rate is: 7.75%

Effective 7/1 the general state and local sales tax rate will be: 6.75%

If you have any questions, contact the NC Department of Revenue Taxpayer Assistance Division Toll-Free: (877) 252-3052.

Poly Bag Recycling Program Introduced

N.S. Farrington & Company, in conjunction with NCALC, introduced a poly bag recycling program at NCALC’s 105th annual convention in Atlantic Beach on Memorial Day weekend.

David Farrington, President of N.S. Farrington & Company, presented this new program to the membership at the Sunday morning business session. David pointed to data found in several surveys that describe typical traits found in consumers who actively recycle. Generally, they are middle to upper-middle class, employed, college graduates, and homeowners. It was noted that these traits fit similar models of dry cleaning customers. Also noted was the fact that not only do consumers 40 and younger actively recycle, but they expect those businesses they patronize to actively be involved in recycling the materials they generate.

N.S. Farrington & Company, along with several other proactive distributors in other areas of the U.S., has made a long-term commitment to assume a leadership role in the “greening” of the laundry and dry cleaning industry and to continue to work with interested vendors in product development of eco-friendly products for their customers to use. Every ton of poly film that is collected will save the equivalent of 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of clean water, 4100 kilowatt hours of electricity, or 89 cubic feet of landfill, according to Mr. Farrington.

As part of this recycling program, N.S. Farrington & Company will offer, at their cost of $25, start-up kits that include one printed cardboard recycling bin with lid, two posters, a recycling program member certificate suitable for framing, one press release/media announcement, and a roll of green tinted poly bin liners.

N.S. Farrington & Company will pick up recycled material at no charge when making regular scheduled deliveries to its customers’ locations. Materials must be in green tint bags only. Replacements for worn or faded bins and posters and additional green tint bin liners will be available through N.S. Farrington & Company.

What makes this recycling program different from past recycling programs is that the cleaner is not required to restrict which poly type products can be deposited or required to go through the returns to take out small pieces of paper or other items that a typical consumer may deposit in the bins.

In addition, materials collected by N.S. Farrington & Company will be placed in the hands of companies that will recycle them into other plastic items such as fencing, soft drink crates, and other plastic products.

Those cleaners wishing to participate in this program should contact the N.S. Farrington & Company customer service department at 1-800-722-0374 or see their local Farrington representative.

Welcome to Our New Members

Why We Becamer a Member of NCALC

My wife and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you for the hospitality you and the entire group of members of the NCALC showed to us at the recent convention in Atlantic Beach. We are new to the Dry Cleaning business. We are in the process of purchasing our first Dry Cleaners and Laundromat and we should be open in early August. I have done tons of research on the industry before making the decision to get into the business. I have even had the opportunity to work in a couple of Dry Cleaners to get some hands-on experience before jumping in with both feet. I would also like to say a special thank you to Allan Cheatham, one of your board members and owner of Shallotte Cleaners, for all of the support and knowledge he has given me over the past several months. I can truly say that we would not have been able to make the decision to get into this business without his help and guidance.

Needless to say, when we arrived at the convention we really did not know what to expect. We basically went to the convention just to find out what the NCALC was all about. Frankly, we really didn’t have any expectations other than to hopefully learn more about the industry from the educational classes. Well, our expectations were certainly met and far exceeded. Not only were the educational classes great but the people we met were great as well. To a person, everyone we encountered was friendly and made us feel like we belonged and were already a part of their family. Everyone was willing to share with us some great ideas for success and they all had a genuine attitude of caring and a desire for us to be successful.

I come from a 20 year background of Sales and Financial Services and I don’t even remember how many countless conventions I have attended over the years. However, I can tell you that the people in NCALC are above and beyond other groups for which I have been associated. Their selfless willingness to share from their experiences, their welcoming attitude and their reach-out to help a rookie newcomer and a stranger like myself made me know that this was one organization that I wanted to be and would be proud to be a part of. I was able to learn more about the regulations regarding PERC and what the association was doing to help Dry Cleaners using PERC. I learned more about employment law and how to stay out of trouble and I even learned a thing or two regarding pricing and profitability. I plan to continue my education by attending classes at the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute beginning in July.

The social events were great as well. They provided an opportunity for my family to really get to know others in the business on a more personal level. We received many offers of assistance if we ever had questions, which I know we will. I know that if I need to know something or have questions about something that help is only a phone call away. I even had offers that others would come to my plant and help me with equipment repairs, purchases and you name it. Their assistance was offered and greatly appreciated.

This is the reason we decided to join NCALC. As we saw it the cost of not joining far out-weighed the price of membership. I cannot imagine going into business and putting your entire financial future on the line and not being a part of your group if you are a Dry Cleaner. Again, I just wanted to say Thank You for the opportunity. We really feel that we have just left a weekend and became a part of a group that helped changed our lives for the better and we look forward to being a part of NCALC for many years to come. We are also looking forward to the next convention where, hopefully, we will have some experiences to share with others of our own. Keep up the good work and keep doing what you are doing.

Alan & Patti Hargis

A Cleaner Tomorrow Dry Cleaning and Laundry

Angier, NC

Membership Update

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR NCALC MEMBERSHIP

PATRICK CARDENAS

Cliffdale Cleaners

Fayetteville

STO FOX

Fox Cleaners & Launderers

Greensboro

LEILA HELMES

Elite Cleaners

Monroe

TOM HILKER

Brothers Cleaners

Raleigh

LARRY HILL

Dandy Drycleaners & Laundry

Charlotte

JOHN JONGHEE KIM

Kim’s Alterations and Dry Cleaning

Fayetteville

ADRIA ROBBINS

Oakland Cleaners

Roanoke Rapids

MARK SUGG

Tops Cleaners

Greensboro

Member Matters

We wish a speedy recovery to Bart Williams, Williams Cleaners, Wilmington, and Mrs. Hanna Cowell, mother of Keith Cowell, Cowell’s Cleaners, New Bern.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Cindy Cheatham, Shallotte Cleaners, in the loss of her stepbrother, to W. C. Bullock who lost his mother in November and to Art Fatica who lost his father in April.

We note the passing on March 22nd of Harry H. Clendenin, Jr., who was employed by W.P. Ballard & Company/Phenix Supply Company for 71 years until March 13, 2011.

Congratulations to Millie Thomas, daughter of Marvin and Robin Thomas, Swannanoa Cleaners, Asheville, and to Elizabeth Cheatham, daughter of Allan and Cindy Cheatham, Shallotte Cleaners, Shallotte, on their graduation from high school.

We missed you, Bill and Susie Sessoms. Sergeant at Arms Bill Sessoms missed his first ever Annual Convention (since the Civil War) due to overdosing himself on Alka-Seltzer in an attempt to kill off a summer cold. After a couple of days of bed rest, he’s back on his feet, back at the gym, and back on the golf course. So I guess he’s okay!

Thoughts on the NCALC Convention

by Larry Hill, President

Dandy Cleaners & Laundry

I always look forward to the NCALC convention. This year was no exception. The speakers were very informative.

I enjoyed hearing from Mary Scalco, CEO of DLI, who gave her take on the industry. She has a tough job ahead. DLI is working hard to help our industry as we face future challenges. DLI has been a strong advocate in our fight to continue to use perc safely, but the reality is that it’s time to find another solvent because the pressure from environmental groups and the government regulators will not stop until it’s no longer in use.

David Knight, a Kreussler representative, spoke of the latest alternative solvent, K4, which Kreussler has developed. To me, it looks like it has the potential to be a good replacement for perc. I’ve seen it in action, and I like the way it cleans. Time will tell, as it always does, how successful this solvent will be in the marketplace.

Matt Sigmon of Matt Sigmon Productions gave a good talk on “Why You Shoud Have a Presence on the Web.” If you don’t have a website, he can get you started. He discussed the importance of drycleaners having a presence on the web, even though some still think they don’t need one. These days it is a necessity. Think about it – fewer and fewer customers use the phone book, read the newspaper, or look at direct mail any more. Your future customers will be looking for services via some form of web media.

Elizabeth Johnson, a partner of Poyner & Spruill, LLP, spoke about protecting the personal information of employees and customers that we gather everyday from those who try to misuse it. I think most of us don’t realize the full extent of the responsibility we have to protect the personal information we collect. My eyes were opened to the dangers of this information being stolen and the liabilities that we assume if we don’t properly take care of it.

Louis Meyer, a partner of Poyner & Spruill, LLP, spoke on the proper process to hire and terminate employees. It can be very costly if done carelessly or without thought. This was good information and very helpful.

Lastly, Bill Bohannon, owner of Hollin Hall Dry Cleaners in Alexandria, VA, gave a very interesting talk on cost analysis. I haven’t heard anyone come at it quite the way he did. He pointed out that the difference in the cost of producing a dry cleaning item and a laundry shirt is about 25 cents, even though we clean a laundry shirt for about 1/3 the price of a pair of dry cleaning pants. He suggests that we probably are losing money on laundry shirts after discovering that his best laundry shirt customers don’t necessarily bring in dry cleaning, debunking the idea that laundry shirts bring in dry cleaning pieces and you can market them as a loss leader. His solution was to charge more for laundry shirts to customers who don’t bring in dry cleaning pieces.

The NCALC convention is one business trip I don’t have to coerce my family to attend. Who can argue with the beach, hanging out at Molly’s snack bar, catching up with old friends, and learning better ways to run your business? As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the convention. Hats off to Sto Fox and everyone who helped make it a success.

Networking 2011

Mardi Gras in May – Welcome to the Beach Seafood Feast Friday night. Multi-colored beads, mask or face painting, and Dixieland and Cajun music greeted young and old at Friday night’s family friendly social in the ballroom. Bidding was open for the more than 100 items surrounding the room, with special notice being directed to the tables covered in beach and pool toys for the young cleaners. Edwina Johnston was responsible for the interesting and entertaining selection available for one night only for use on the beach starting Saturday morning. One of the most interesting items was a couple of hermit crabs with their shells painted like beach balls in their own terrarium. I don’t know how they did it, but Edwina, Charisse Lassiter, Marie Davis, and my daughter Brandy Fox somehow got the auction set up and ready to roll Friday afternoon.

As usual, Chef John Andreola’s Cajun buffet featuring oyster soufflé, crawfish étoufée, jambalaya, and red beans and rice also included fried chicken, whipped sweet potatoes, green beans, and a wonderful selection of pies and cakes for dessert.

Saturday night was our annual journey to the islands for the Luau. Hawaiian shirts and colorful leis were in vogue. NCALC Life Honorary member and DJ extraordinaire Dave “The Bopper” Overby was in residence on the podium for his 11th personal appearance since 1999. Bidding at the Silent Auction continued and master face painters carried on their artistic work, as Young Cleaners honed their skills with the hula hoops in preparation for the contests later in the evening. Chef Andreola’s Island Buffet – featuring Gulf shrimp, famous Caribbean ribs, mahi mahi with pineapple relish, Polynesian vegetables, and tropical fried rice – had something for everyone, including a variety of desserts.

COSTUME CONTEST

1st Place: Mildred Williams and Kyle Gibson

Honorable Mention: Lee Miskelly and Chris Edwards

Robin Thomas and Mack Davis

HULA

1st Place: Kelsey Allan

Winners: Claire Connelly, Megan and Emma Allan

HULA HOOP

1st Place: Caroline Connelly

Winners: Emma, Kelsey, Megan and Ben Allan;

Jennifer and Mark or Eric Sommers; and Claire Connelly

LIMBO

1st Place: Caroline Connelly

Winners: Susie and Claire Connelly; Emma, Megan, Ben and Kelsey Allan; Emily Royal; Catherine Cheatham; Marie Davis; Jennifer and Mark or Eric Sommers; and Briana Kincaid

SHAG

1st Place: Mack and Marie Davis

Winners: Alan and Patti Hargis, Marvin and Robin Thomas, Emma and Ben Allan

Dancing and bidding continued furiously until the Silent Auction closed at 10 pm and the compilation process began so that the winners could pay for and claim their prizes Sunday morning.

It was truly difficult for a lot of us to give up the beach to shower and dress for the Sunday evening festivities. However, the lure of the President’s Reception and a magic show by Captain Jim the truly peg-legged pirate in the courtyard brought us all together for an entertaining hour prior to dinner.

While the Young Cleaners retired to the Bogue Sound room for pizza and chicken fingers, games, and movies under the watchful eyes of Brandy Fox and Elizabeth Cheatham, the adults promenaded into the ballroom for a wonderful dinner of medium rare filet mignon topped with béarnaise sauce or chicken breast stuffed with backfin crab topped with a tarragon cream sauce, followed by a special chocolate dessert.

After dinner, NCALC President Marvin Thomas presented certificates of 2011 NCALC Honorary membership to speakers Mary Scalco, Acting DLI CEO, and Bill Bohannon, owner/ operator of Hollin Hall Cleaners in Alexandria, Virginia. Certificates were later mailed to Elizabeth Johnson and Louis Meyer, attorneys with Poyner & Spruill in Raleigh, who were unable to attend the banquet.

President Thomas thanked N.S. Farrington & Company who sponsored the President’s Reception and Consolidated Laundry Equipment Company who sponsored this year’s Banquet. He presented certificates to the Allied Trades partners present who qualified as Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Business Partners for 2010.

PLATINUM $4000+

Consolidated Laundry Equipment, Inc.

GOLD $3000 TO $3999

Kreussler

N.S. Farrington & Co.

SILVER $2000 TO $2999

ATC Associates

Irving Weber Associates

Phenix Supply Company

BRONZE $1000-$1999

Fabritec International

Hart & Hickman, PC

MCF Systems

Poyner & Spruill, LLP

Tri-State Laundry Equipment Co.

UNX, Inc.

URS Corporation

W.C. Rouse & Son

Wilson Insurance Associates

In recognition of their extraordinary effort and contributions to NCALC’s projects and programs, President Thomas presented Presidential Certificates of Appreciation to:

AUCTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Gloria Cowell, Marie Davis, Sue Farrington, Charisse Lassiter, Zelda Young

JOHN JONGHEE KIM,

owner/operator of Kim’s Alterations and Drycleaners in Fayetteville, for his assistance with the inaugural Carolina Cleaners Open Golf Tournament

DSCA PROGRAM STAKEHOLDERS GROUP

Chris Edwards, Mack Davis, Rita Foley, Denny Shaffer, Martin Young

MARTIN L. YOUNG, JR.

for his service as the District 2 Appointed Committee member of the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute Board of Directors.

Following a brief intermission, we benefited from a recently discovered talent of NCALC’s newest member (yep, he joined Sunday night), Alan Hargis, who is a licensed auctioneer. Colonel Davis graciously relinquished the microphone, and Alan took us on a wild ride raising over $900 in less than thirty minutes for a beach bucket, empty picnic hamper, and a couple of gallons of Smith’s Drygester. All in all, this year’s auction raised right at $5000. Thanks to all the folks who contributed items and purchased items to support NCALC’s projects and programs!

DSCA Stakeholders Meeting Report

Chris Edwards, NCALC VP Governmental Affairs, reported that the DSCA Stakeholders Meeting was held June 2, 2011. The DSCA staff reported that:

• The DSCA website has been updated with their presentation and public comments from the March 29th public hearing on the Durham BB&T site at:

http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/dsca/bbt_updates.

• Fifteen sites have now been issued No Further Action letters.

• A new DSCA staff member has been hired who will be leading the GIS and paperless initiatives. She will focus on maintaining the website, including the information posted on Google maps at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/dsca/remediations.

• The Department of Health and Human Services report on perc is back from external review by the scientific community. We will have access once it becomes a public document. DSCA management expects this to be toward the end of June. Once the report is issued, work on the alternatives study can proceed.

• The next working group meeting is scheduled for September 8th at 10 a.m.

• Attached fund statistics were distributed Fund statistics 6-1-11.pdf.

A Look at the 2011 Clean Show

by Jimmy Lee, Jones Cleaners

Larry Hill, Cooki Patel and I (aka “The Three Amigos”) traveled to Las Vegas for the 2011 Clean Show, Monday June 6th to Thursday June 9th. We started our journey Sunday, June 5th on a hot summer day. As we boarded the airplane, we ran into some of our NCALC friends – Chris Edwards, Kevin Lawson, Simon Vick, David Knight and Bill Ford. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, the weather was hot but the air was dry. Having only been to Vegas once many years ago, I was really excited to see all the magnificent buildings and entertainment that made up the main strip.

It’s hard to attend a show in the middle of the week, but fortunately I was able to because of my wonderful co-workers. After arriving in Vegas, we walked around after lunch and looked at some of the fine shops. There was more shopping than you could imagine. The only limit was how much you could spend.

We arrived at the show early Monday morning all excited. The crowd was large in the convention center. Vendors were busy greeting attendees. The show also turned out to be a great place to just catch up with several friends that I have made in the industry. We all shared some of the same issues with sales being down over the last few years, problems with equipment, issues with employees and how or what should we be doing in the future to make a better business.

These are just a few things that I saw at the Clean Show:

Kreussler K4 Solvent –There was a lot of excitement around the Kreussler booth because of the new K4 Solvent. Union, Realstar, Multimatic and Permac featured dry cleaning machines capable of using the K4 solvent. I’m sure there were other dry cleaning machines at the show that were compatible with K4 that I did not see. Union was the only dry cleaning machine actually cleaning garments with K4 at the show. The garments that came out looked and felt pretty good. There was a slight K4 aroma in some of the heaver garments when first taken out of the machine, but over time the K4 aroma pretty much dissipated in the air.

ASKO Concord Systems had a very interesting wet cleaning process. A cleaner who uses only ASKO and who specializes in high–end garments was at their booth showing a video of the many fine garments he has cleaned in the ASKO machine. It was quite interesting to see thousand-dollar garments being wet cleaned with no issues.

Electrolux “Lagoon” Wet Cleaning system has an exclusive endorsement from Woolmark if you use their complete cleaning and finishing equipment.

Spector Textile has designed some new route bags, marketing material to capture new customers, and promotions for new route customers.

CompassMax Maineline, a pos software company, demonstrated new updates to their software with assembly integration enhancements, mobile coupons, smart phone applications for employees or customers, and cloud computing hosting services.

HMC – sorting conveyor and 24/7 Kiosk – had a really neat 24/7 Kiosk that seems to be very customer user friendly. The kiosk could automatically notify the customers when their orders were ready. If for some reason the customer left the orders in the kiosk, the system would automatically reload the orders on the conveyor and send a message to the customer to let them know that the orders were left in the kiosk.

Metalprogetti had an all-in-one automatic sorting conveyor, bagging machine and racking. Basically, once you loaded the garments onto the sorting conveyor, the conveyor sorted the garments for each order. Next the garments in the individual orders would go to the automatic bagger. After bagging, a customer ticket would be applied to the garment bag. The orders would then be racked automatically to the conveyor. Nothing else needed to be done until the customer came to pick up. Now that’s really high tech and efficient. I wish I had one of these complete systems.

GreenEarth Cleaning has been around, but what was interesting to me was the professional marketing program that comes with being a GreenEarth affiliate.

Unipress and Sankosha both had new redesigned pressing equipment. Some equipment taking less space and others offering a new way to keep the heat away from the operator were being demonstrated.

RR Street showed new cleaning products for alternative cleaning solutions.

A.L Wilson has developed step-by-step videos on their website on how to correctly use their individual products.

Remember, this is only a small sample of the many vendors that I visited at the show.

We started the show on one side of the convention center and decided to walk one aisle at a time, hoping to complete all the aisles in one day. We were not able to complete the show on the first day but did finish on the second day.

DLI’s acting CEO Mary Scalco was on the convention floor. She was definitely working hard trying to meet and greet at the show. We were able to talk for a few minutes. She gave a very informative presentation at our NCALC Memorial Day annual convention. Martin Young and David Silliman were also busy at the show.

I feel fortunate that I was able to attend the 2011 Clean Show this year. Visiting the vendors’ booths was one part of the show. But while attending the show, I also reconnected with friends I have not seen in many years. Some had pictures of newborns, some shared how their children were finishing school, and others had children who are now married. It’s always great to hear about other dry cleaning operations, vendors’ new and improved products, and the latest in equipment, but the best part was being able to reconnect with everyone in person. I did learn a few new things at the show, but the best part of my trip was spending time with two of my best friends in the dry cleaning industry - Larry Hill and Cooki Patel aka The Three Amigos.

Clean Show Report

by Martin Young, DLI Dist. 2 DCM

The Clean Show was in Las Vegas this year. A city that is best described as sensory overload set in a sun drenched valley. Surrounded by lights, buildings, people and excess; the city has a heartbeat of its own, twenty-four/seven. The convention center filled with cleaners and equipment was tame by comparison.

Monday morning opened with industry icon, Sid Tuchman, receiving DLI’s Diamond Achievement Award. He was genuinely overwhelmed as he recounted his early beginnings that eventually grew into over thirty drycleaning stores and years spent as an industry motivator. I was impressed that he began taking notes immediately upon taking his seat as marketing consultant Al Lautenslager addressed the Seal of Approval program. His Tuesday educational session is the best attended session I have ever seen at a Clean Show.

The show floor contained about the same number of exhibitors, but many appeared to have reduced their booth space. The drycleaning machines being shown were dominated by “multi-solvent” type machines. Across the board, manufacturers are trying for the broadest appeal. You had to look hard to find a perc machine on display. Spin-disk filtration was first offered as a way of reducing the waste stream on perc drycleaning machines. With the rise of the alternatives it is “back-to –the- future” with two companies offering powder filtration. The most prominent alternative process from New Orleans; Solvair, was not found on the floor. System K-4 was the most prominent new solvent offering, overshadowing the return of Rynex. Rynex Technologies did announce an association with Christeyns’ detergents to develop and distribute chemicals for their re-introduced solvent. As is their custom, Greenearth had a sand sculpture, this time in the shape of a half-size car. Two chemical companies, Streets and Seitz, have developed additions to the complementary chemistry for GreenEarth solvent, giving greater options in using the solvent. 6

The consolidation of the ADCO and Laidlaw chemical lines was obvious. It seems that the ADCO line will be a premier line, while Laidlaw was presented as a service type line.

There were several offerings that caught my attention. Unipress had a modification on the back of their shirt buck that would apply downward tension to the back of the shirt as the press closes. The “Touch Stain” is a video aid at the spotting board, at a reported price of $5500.00. That price is a lot more than the cost of continuing education.

The next Clean Show date is June 21-23 2013 in New Orleans. Make plans to be there to be among the first to view the latest advances in drycleaning technology.

Tornadoes Damage Cleaners

Saturday, April 16th, is a day four NCALC members and their families will not soon forget. That’s the day a band of thunderstorms raced across the state from west to east, spawning tornadoes from Raleigh to the coast. Five NCALC members suffered extensive damage to their businesses and in one case to their home as well.

A tornado touched down in Fayetteville about 4:05 p.m., lifting the roofs off of two nearby buildings containing drop stores belonging to Young Bang/One Hour Koretizing and John Kim/Kim’s Alterations & Drycleaning. No one was hurt in either store, although they were both open for business at the time. The same tornado also damaged John Kim’s home, which is nearby. Both buildings will have to be rebuilt before the businesses can reopen. The building occupied by Mr. Bang actually belongs to NCALC member Denny Shaffer, from whom Mr. Bang purchased One Hour Koretizing. The good news is that none of the customers’ goods in either store were ruined.

A couple of hours later the front spawned another tornado over Wilson that lifted the roof off Exclusive Cleaners’ 8000-square-foot American Drycleaner™ magazine’s Grand Prize award-winning plant and collapsed one side wall onto Exclusive’s delivery vans. Although there were over 5000 orders on their four up-and-down conveyors, none of the customers’ goods were lost or damaged. However, Exclusive Cleaners was temporarily out of business. Offers of assistance came from NCALC members Rita Foley/Regency Cleaners in Durham, Rich Volk/Bowen Cleaners in Greenville, Simon Vick/Vick’s Cleaners in Kinston, and Exclusive’s competitors Joel and Chuck Williamson/Williamson Cleaners in Wilson. Fortunately, NCALC’s endorsed insurance provider IWA and Argonaut-Great Central were Johnny-on-the-spot with technical assistance (i.e. a structural engineer) and the checkbook so that Billy Whitfield and his sister Joan Bartlett were able to move fast in obtaining a site close by as a call office and reactivating their original plant across town.

Around 8:30 p.m. the front reached Jacksonville and Greg Johnston’s Southern Cleaners plant and laundromat just outside the main gate at Camp Lejeune. Greg said he had passed the store less than thirty minutes before he got the call from the laundromat attendant at about 8:30 p.m. reporting that all the windows had been sucked out. In addition, there was damage to the drive-through canopy, the sign (8” poles bent), and the attendant’s Lincoln Navigator SUV, which was picked up and deposited upside down in the street. Although Greg and crew spent Sunday boarding up the windows so they could open on Monday, the city refused to let them reopen until the windows were replaced on Wednesday.

Fortunately, no one was injured in any of these severe weather issues, and all of the victims appear to have dodged the bullet in terms of loss or damage to customers’ goods, which can lead to loss of customer confidence. Also, reports indicate that although none of us enjoy cleaning up a mess or dealing with uninvited interruptions to our normal routine, assistance and offers of assistance were immediate. Although it never seems to happen quickly enough, insurance companies, adjusters, and even public officials have not been unreasonably difficult to deal with and in some cases have been downright helpful.

It does point out the potential benefits of having a disaster recovery plan:

Keep copies of important documents [insurance policies, leases, loans, titles, emergency phone numbers, and A/R] in at least two places.

If you lease, know what your landlord’s options are in case of damage to their property.

Do you have or should you have business interruption insurance?

Allied Trades

Attorneys

Poyner & Spruill, LLP, Rick Kane919-783-6400

Credit Card & Payroll Processing & Bad Check Collection

Check Collection & Recovery912-638-9979

Heartland Payment Systems – Jolene Handysides704-649-7772

Environmental Consultants

ATC Associates, Gena Olson 919-871-0999

Hart & Hickman PC, Christie Zawtacki704-586-0007

Mid-Atlantic Associates, PA, Jeff Tyburski800-486-7568

Shield Engineering Inc., Greg Icenhour800-395-5220

URS Corporation, Rob MacWilliams 704-522-0330

Equipment Sales & Maintenance

Consolidated Laundry Equipment, Inc.800-227-6149

Tri-State Laundry Equipment Co.866-885-5218

WC Bullock & Assoc., W. C. Bullock919-320-4893

WC Rouse & Son, Inc., Mike Halford336-299-3035

White Conveyors, Jim Pomeranz919-363-8380

Hazardous Waste Disposal

MCF Systems, Russ Kent 800-828-3240, x 44

In Plant Training

Haralson Consultants, Sandra L. Haralson843-813-3106

Insurance

Irving Weber Associates, Keith Camacho800-243-1811

Wilson Insurance Associates, Darrell Wilson800-215-7630

Supplies

Cleaners Supply, Inc800-568-7768

Fabritech International, Wes Brunson859-653-5609

Fuller Supply Co., Inc800-222-3699

Kreussler, David Knight919-280-1040

N.S. Farrington & Co800-722-0374

Pariser Industries, Inc., Art Fatica973-930-7540

Phenix Supply Co800-272-0540

R.R. Street Co., Ron Provencal980-322-1277

UNX Inc., Harold Smith919-880-3234

Wholesale Services

Joseph Krow Furs & Leather/The Suede Shop800-366-5769

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NCALC New Member Rewards

NEW MEMBER REWARDS

MORE THAN $2000 IN GOODS & SERVICES

IF YOU JOIN NCALC/DLI NOW

A PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE INSPECTION by Greg Icenhour, CED of Shield Engineering

A PLANT MAINTENACE CHECK-UP By Tri-State Laundry Equipment Co.

A SUPPLY INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM from N.S. Farrington & Co.

A FULL REGISTRATION to CAROLINA CLEAN '09 from NCALC

"QUALITY SHIRT FINISHING" IN PLANT TRAINING VIDEO OR DVD IN ENGLISH OR SPANISH from DLI

20,000 CUSTOM INVOICES AT STOCK PRICES from Liberty Pittsburgh

A STANFORD SPOTTING KIT from Fabritech

A 10% DISCOUNT ON SECONDARY CONTAINMENT TRAYS from MCF Systems

THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE SERVICES OF AN NCALC MENTOR

Access to Scholarship for DLI Resident Courses

In order to qualify as a new member you or your cleaners cannot have been a member of NCALC/DLI in the past year and you must pay your annual dues in the correct dues category in full with your membership application.

North Carolina Association

of Launderers & Cleaners

The Source of Official Information

for NCALC

Carolina Clean

June, 2011