“Sorting out the labyrinth of rules and regulations imposed by the government while facing Phase 2 (the coexistence with the virus) has been hard. However, we are back on our feet to re-start the production following the manufacturing safety regulations and define both our future and that of our company, and we are doing all this with a new, different state of mind”. Stella Fumagalli, the Marketing and Communication Manager at PONY SpA, a producer of ironing equipment based in Inzago near Milan, explains ”we re-opened the business completely on 4 May with the objective of protecting our collaborators and our company”.
To manage this stage and to follow the safety regulations, PONY SpA has changed the way the business is organized following some fundamental guidelines: “the workspace has been re-organized so that we can guarantee at least two meters of a distance between one person and another while at work. Many Pony’s collaborators keep working through the smart working formula, while those who come to the headquarters follow flexible working hours which allows to avoid gatherings at the entrance to the building.
Every employee has been provided with the PPE according to the safety standards and the company has provided an OZONE cabinet for garments sanitizing available to the staff. Offices sanitizing is carried out once a week while hand-sanitizing gel is distributed in various points at the company”. These are the changes carried out at the company’s headquarters.
As far as customers are concerned, PONY has underlined a crucial element in facing Phase 2 and the coexistence with COVID-19 as far as laundries are concerned: sanitizing. PONY introduced ozone-based technology into their range of products more than 5 years ago. Ozone allows to sanitize and disinfect objects and rooms completely and safely as it eliminates bacteria, viruses, mould, mites and fungi. It also eliminates odors from fabrics without damaging them. The ozone cabinet called OZOCAB by PONY, as explained by Antonio Donvito, the Engineering Manager at Pony, can disinfect and sanitize an infinite number of objects and garments such as workwear, shoes and boots, clothes, hats and helmets as well as home objects and textiles like cushions, duvets, bed covers, curtains, etc.
The machine is especially useful in treating high fashion garments or theatre costumes that cannot easily be cleaned nor ironed. Therefore, the sanitizing action by OZOCAB is turning out very useful at this particular moment, not only as far as the new services for customers go but also in terms of the preventive sanitization of everything that is brought to a laundry. As a matter of fact, the moment of accepting a garment at a drycleaner’s today is the most delicate stage as far as operators’ health is concerned. The PPE will become mandatory over the next few months, whereas carrying out a preventive sanitizing cycle of garments in the OZOCAB will become equally critical as garments will be directly managed by operators in further stages (e.g. pre-spotting). An important occasion for dry-cleaners is reflected by the recent regulation on tax credit (50% non-repayable grant) on investments in sanitizing systems. What appears to be a necessary but not profitable expense for businesses in order to protect the health of employees, turns out to be a tempting occasion for laundries to invest (paying half the price), which will then inevitably enable them to further extend the range of services offered to customers.
The possibilities arising from the use of this technology are countless. In the near future, these services will be strongly requested by final clients, by clothes stores that will need to sanitize the garments that have been tried on, and by companies that will need to sanitize employees’ work uniforms. OZOCAB, our closed-circuit ozone cabinet uses the CORONA system that offers numerous advantages if compared to the UV ray system:
• High ozone productivity (10gr/h);
• Fast cycles (6 minutes minimum);
• High ozone concentration (up to 10 times higher than the UV system) which guarantees the maximum efficiency of a sanitizing process;
• Quick destruction of ozone at the end of the cycle. Ozone is decomposed and replaced by an intense and fresh scent of activated oxygen;
• Large loading space to be able to keep an adequate distance between garments inside the cabinet;
• Longevity of the corona cells that can last over 10 years;
• No maintenance required, only filter cleaning;
• Low energy consumption.
“The sanitizing quality of our OZOCAB cabinet has been tested and certified by the Microbiology Lab, Newcastle University (GB)”, adds Antonio Donvito.
Steam is another powerful sanitizing and cleaning means. PONY proposes a wide choice of steam generators with different capacities and power range. We have equipped our steam generators with nozzles, steam guns and brushes in order to develop valid tools also in the sanitization of working environments. Our steam generator PONY BABY is perfectly suitable for fabrics and garments finishing and sanitization as it allows to quickly replace the iron with a steam brush.
The sanitizing quality of
OZOCAB
has been certified by the
Microbiology Lab
at Newcastle University (GB)
Keeping Phase 2 regulations in mind, also laundries will need to assure the correct distance between the operators in order to guarantee their safety. For this reason, PONY has developed real “work isles”, work stations where operators can work completely autonomously while keeping the safety distance according to the latest ministerial decree.
The way the machines are arranged in these working isles translates to a significant reduction in energy waste which also leads to substantial savings in energy and steam costs.“What is more, our system called PONY TOUCH allows to control the machine from remote limiting the operators’ movements. Thanks to the system, it is possible to: check the machine’s productivity, carry out the diagnostics, receive maintenance alerts or troubleshooting notifications that identify the problem precisely which reduces technical interventions. All this is possible simply using an ethernet cable or a wireless connection” explains Paolo Fumagalli, the President of the company. “It is also possible to customize the software, set the statistics, function analysis and testing. All this is always at the disposal of clients anytime and anywhere” adds Paolo Fumagalli.
PONY has always been greatly focused on environmental issues and people’s wellbeing. The company is about to complete the installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of the factory. It will produce about 300.000 kWh/year. This important figure will guarantee an almost complete autonomy in terms of energy (about 90% of the consumption) and, most importantly, it will lead to a decrease in CO2 emissions of 150.000 kg/year. The 
attention towards the ecology and environment is also reflected by the design of the machines. The entire range of PONY shirt finishers have been equipped with HARS, a patented hot air recovery system. It allows, for example, to reduce energy consumption and the finishing time. What is more, the system makes it possible to limit the heat dispersion within the work environment which is more healthy for the operators.
“One of the main objectives of our engineering department is the constant research for materials or components that will allow to reduce the consumptions, e.g. the application of Energy Saving pneumatic valves or condensate recovery tanks as well as many other solutions applied” says Donvito.
We are speaking with Michele Plebani, the Area Manager at Pony, who underlines the importance and the constant attention of the company towards the wellbeing of operators. “With the focus on this aspect, we are continuously testing and studying the best solutions that help avoid wrong body postures or useless fatigue of machines operators without affecting the productive efficiency in any way but actually managing to increase it. PONY offers machines able to adequately meet such requests”.
The entire range of shirt finishers
has been equipped
with HARS,
a patented heat recovery system
Among the solutions that help avoid wrong body postures, there is the adjustable height of almost all the machines by PONY so that the operators will make the least possible effort while at work as well as the rotation of the placket press device in shirt finishers and the automatic sliding of the front paddle that contributes to an easy dressing of the shirt.
In conclusion, given such a complex current situation, we can only quote one of the phrases by Paulo Coelho: “There are moments when problems enter our lives and we cannot do anything to avoid them, but they are there for a reason. Only when we overcome them, will we understand why there were there.”
PONY, an established business renowned for its solid reliability all over the world for more than 60 years, is looking towards the future with optimism and trust putting the customers first.
PONY S.p.A.
Via Giuseppe Di Vittorio 8 – 20065 Inzago MI (Italy)
Tel./Ph +39 029549901
info@ponyitaly.com – www.ponyitaly.com
edited by Marzio Nava
DETERGO
MAY 2020
