In this reportage, we will approach the professional ironing topic from a slightly different perspective. How is the professional ironing changing in relation to the new challenges of the society, new lifestyles, new habits, new ways of organizing work. The revolution of casual, informal, and increasingly bold clothing styles, have brought us to a change. Also, the use of new fabrics is generating new needs. There is no longer the strictness of the past, however, elegance and style continue to work hand in hand. Certainly, the arrival of millennials in the work environment has certainly rejuvenated the style of office dressing, clearing the path of outfits that were once considered unthinkable. There is always a style pattern to be inspired by, and today the young people seem to be influenced by Mark Zuckerberg, the world’s most powerful entrepreneur, who has conquered the world with his social but also with his outfits
We inaugurate this reportage meeting engineer Corinna Mapelli, the co-Owner of Trevil, who illustrates us her company’s perspective. “We are observing this change, especially in the central-northern part of Italy, the area with the largest concentration of the most developed and forwardlooking dry-cleaners. I would like to emphasize this aspect because from our standpoint the most relevant trends are those which drive the demand for technology and automation. Seen from the professional ironing perspective, the type of fabric has limited impact, because technical textiles, multi-layered fabrics, etc. are more challenging for the washing process, not so much for finishing: from cashmere to goretex, the process is always the same, the only difference being the quantity of air and steam used. We have always implemented features to treat safely delicate and stretch fabrics to avoid deformation. The main evolution can be witnessed in the types of garments. We see a stable, or rather increasing demand for automated shirt finishing, because there is a profit-loss account that needs to be balanced.
The shirt does not create a great profitability to the laundry, but it is an item that not only allows to have large numbers, but also to attract some other garments to be processed. Cleaners must iron large volumes of shirts, each of them does not really bring so much profit, so it is necessary to shorten up treatment times as much as possible, to increase the numbers. There is a rather low request for suit jackets and creased trousers. However, form finishers are still requested because they are widely used for ironing casual jackets. Generally speaking, processing volumes are returning to the ones from pre-covid times, as work has mostly returned in presence. A relevant trend, noticeable especially in the cities, where many singles live, is the increasing volume of casual wear, such as T-shirts and polo shirts. We can say that the work of Italian cleaners is changing, becoming more and more similar to what we see abroad.
“We have noticed in the recent years a higher interest in the request of processing jerseys, T-shirts, polo shirts, and therefore all informal and casual clothing”, we discuss about it with Eleonora Cartabbia, the Marketing Manager of Macpi. “Due to this tendency, we are offering machinery related to informal clothing ironing. During Covid, this trend was naturally amplified by the fact that most of the people were in smart working, and therefore the casual clothing was becoming allencompassing. Even some large fashion retail companies, our customers, have also created ad hoc divisions to develop more “comfortable collections”. Compared to the dress, the knitwear has changed the trend.
Our machines range for this field includes the model 174, a rectangular ironing table for knitwear with inclined steam adjustable heated buck shape; the 314.40 finisher for ironing the multifunctional knitwear, as well as mod. 379.70 electropneumatic rotating dummy that guarantees a greater versatility, as it is height-adjustable it can process shirts and also outerwear. These are all our models that we are counting on, for processing the casual garments. The shirt continues to be the most popular formal item of clothing in the city. But besides the geographical location, there is also an age trend: the young persons are not ironing their shirts at home and they continue to be the driving force of the laundry. That is why the “pick-up points” have the tendency to exploit the flywheel effect of the competitive price of the shirt… And for this treatment, the model 291 is the most suitable one, by now. Even the most refined or difficult textiles such as cashmere, silk, etc. are never being treated at home and the customers rely on the laundry services for their care.
We move on now to Paolo Fumagalli, the Sales Manager of Pony S.p.A., who explains how, “the return to the social life and the desire to share time together with some other people, in presence, has generated a higher interest for the way how we dress, but at the same time the minimalist and comfort styles, already booming before the pandemic, continue and will continue to be successful also in the upcoming years. This comes in a moment when the strategy of the European Commission is to have a more ecological and sustainable textile sector, promoting and facilitating the access to higher quality, long-lasting, more repairable and more recyclable products, in opposition to the “fast fashion”. Therefore, it is expected higher quality clothing, but also more comfortable and more body (and nature) friendly, such as those in cotton fibres, woven fabrics and wool, that will continue to dominate the textile market on the near-term.
Professional ironing will, as always, have to take part to these changes and PONY is ready to support the professionals from the sector with the widest range of products to satisfy every need in the best possible way: suction, blowing and steaming ironing tables, designed with universal, maxi and bottle-neck boards; universal and tensioned form finishers for both dry-cleaning and waterwashing, shirt finishers with the highest quality/productivity ratio, six lines of ironing presses with the widest variety of tops suitable for every need, spotting tables and cabinets, steam and ozone sanitising products and a wide range of steam generators. PONY is also offering space- and energy-saving solutions such as, finishing stations with integrated boiler composed of: an outerwear form finisher and an ironing table, a trousers topper and a table (or a press) for ironing the pleats. Finally, all PONY hightech machines are equipped with PLC TOUCH SCREEN allowing total control of the machine, even remotely for additional comfort and more time saving: productivity control, diagnosis, test mode, program settings and adjustments; and the possibility to access to the tax benefits of Italy’s 4.0 Industry incentives.
PONY is committed in the continuous research of innovative solutions regarding the technological evolution. Research, product development and new cutting-edge solutions are the main goals of the highly qualified team of technicians analysing the development alternatives starting from possible improvements of already existing products up to the design of new machinery. After their designing, the structural parts of our machines are fully manufactured in our Carpentry, Painting and Assembly departments, up to the testing stations before shipping. We are using the best pneumatic, electrical and electronic components to complete our projects, guaranteeing the highest reliability and longevity. Thanks to the vertical production process, and having the entire production chain under a strict control, PONY is able to ensure the most efficient solutions and cutting-edge alternatives for adapting to new fabrics, new rhythms of life, new habits, new market trends in the shortest time possible “.
“Thanks to our 50 years of experience in the clothing industry and to our daily relationships with the major Italian and international fashion groups, we are able to anticipate new fashion trends that allows us to design the machinery for the laundry requirements, much more in advance,” says Davide Rotondi, Sales Director of Rotondi Group Srl. “The pandemic has certainly changed the Italians’ dressing style with a more casual and informal fashion, even though for the laundries, the formal clothing (shirt, jacket and trousers) still remains a large percentage of the items to be washed and ironed because they are more difficult and more time-consuming for processing them at home. Especially when it comes to jackets, the casual jacket in cotton or wool jersey has now gained more terrain over the classical wool suit jacket.
This has led the Rotondi technical department to redesign the jackets tensioning form finisher; the 2060 PLUS model uses new, more flexible software that also allows the electronical adjustment of the blowing quantity. The shirt remains an indispensable basic clothing item and, therefore, our SR-1000 or SR-3100/V shirt finishers are among the most popular machines on demand in the laundries. The most popular trousers, like the jackets, are the casual ones, made from cotton instead of wool. Consequently, the laundries are moving towards the use of toppers with a blowing iron such as the TF/AL ELC+TP-1 model, which has always been the most popular machine used by the casual trousers manufacturers compared to the basic, slow, manual ironing table. Fortunately, I can see that smart working is no longer so much extensive, otherwise it would have meant a serious problem for us as ironing machines manufacturers, and for the laundries, as well. There is an increasing tendency for informal and comfortable clothing. So that the fashion companies must compulsorily promote more complicated and expensive clothing, as the profit margins are higher on a more elaborated garment than on a sweater. Let’s imagine a fashion show with only sweatshirts and jumpsuits… it would be the break-up of fashion and made in Italy style. Certainly, the arrival of millenials in the labour world has brought a change in the direction of informality in the way of dressing. For some jobs, however, it is still not possible to present yourself at the office in casual clothes. The competitiveness of the labour world leaves us no time for home ironing. Let’s not forget that the end of the pandemic has brought back the ceremonies requiring some formality and evening events such as, theatres, concerts and other social occasions back to normal levels, definitely contributing to the return to the formal dress.”
Roland Fleischmann, the Sales Manager of Ghidini Srl, emphasises how “the events of the last few years have changed, among some other things, also the professional ironing sector. Home office and smart working, besides becoming common use expressions, have radically changed the people’s lifestyles, pushing them towards more casual and less formal clothing, and fashion, following the trend, has therefore turned towards the use of more technical fabrics that require less special care. All of this, in addition to the prolonged period of forced shutdown, has severely strained the standard laundry, forcing it to frequently redesign its machinery or reduce its activity.
Today, after a slow recovery, there are basically two possible directions: the first one, pursued by the small neighbourhood laundry shop, is leading to more simple, user-friendly and versatile machinery that even a less experienced operator can handle for ironing different types of garments; the second one, being more of a niche, is leading to laundries that manage to balance large numbers with a high quality and therefore can invest in more complex and expensive professional ironing machinery that will be amortized through a continuous production. On one hand, we have therefore a high demand for the ironing tables that are frequently equipped with different functions in order to optimise various ironing methods on a single machine; and on the other hand, we have specific form finishers for shirts or coats, garments that still cannot be treated at home, but to the laundry”.
We are moving to the North East, and more specifically to Rossano Veneto in the area of Vicenza, and we are talking with Michele Battistella, the Sales Director of the company with the same name. “In recent years, the labour world and the daily habits has undergone major changes, that also affected the professional ironing sector. The transition from a formal clothing to a more casual and informal dressing style, has led to a different approach of the ironing process, with different requirements from the consumers. Particularly, today’s fashion focuses more and more on less rigid and softer fabrics, that require a specific treatment. Moreover, increasingly bolder styles and the informal approach to clothing are driving the consumers to look for an alternative to the traditional carefully ironed shirt.
This change is not only dictated by the fashion trends, but also by the direction the society is evolving. Remote working, for instance, is changing the conception of professional clothing. Many employees choose now to dress more comfortably and more casually, creating the need of a higher flexibility in offering professional ironing services. This clothing offer diversity, has determined the laundries to equip themselves with “flexible” machines capable of combining ironing speed and adaptability to all types of clothing. In fact, in the BATTISTELLA catalogue, under the section “industrial machines”, you will find a complete range of for finishers for ironing shirts, jackets and trousers, capable of adapting to any type of garment, fabric and size. Another extremely important aspect of the modern world, is that of economical and eco-sustainability: BATTISTELLA machines are equipped with the latest energy-saving technology, which also allow significant economic savings. Like for all the sectors, the crucial point for the laundries is to follow the market demands instantaneously, in order to avoid being excluded”.
We will conclude our reportage with Angela Barbanti, the Managing Director of Barbanti Srl, a company based in Mirandola, in the province of Modena, who states that, “if it is true that the arrival of millenials in the labour world has modernised the clothing style, eliminating the details and accessories such as ties, cufflinks, etc., it is also correct to say that the iconic items distinctive for elegance and class have remained the same, if we are thinking to jackets, shirts, and suits. In the recent years, an ever-increasing awareness on sustainability and a healthier planet, has forced the fashion industry to return to more natural and green materials as protagonists of more expensive but also more long-lasting clothes than the fast-fashion garments.
In this context, the laundry can play an increasingly important role. Highly committed customers will prefer a quality, long-lasting garment that, if washed and ironed properly, quickly and at a reasonable price, can be worn many times. A comfort and help that is difficult to give up. The secret to a forward-looking professional laundry is therefore the optimisation. Barbanti has been working for years in this direction, constantly improving this goal. Investing in ironing machines capable of improving performance and staff work is a fundamental asset. Our technologies make it possible to have a highly reliable range of machines capable of an excellent ironing quality and high productivity, and are perfect for finishing after dry-cleaning, and absolutely essential after wet-cleaning.
The new energy-saving systems are also optimising resources and allow you to pay only for what you consumed, and the interconnection to the “CB smart” platform facilitates the full control of the entire ironing cycle, increasing the efficiency and the earnings. In a special moment like the one we are currently experiencing, amidst all this external chaos and in the delirium of a World dominated by uncertainty, one thing is certain: a laundry, if well-organised and equipped, is able to offer a service that will potentially become increasingly crucial in the society of the future,” concludes Angela Barbanti. •
by Marzio Nava
DETERGO Magazine # April 2023
