When we think about how the industrial ironing market has evolved, we need to step back from the current global health crisis itself and consider the ways in which the pace of life, our habits and social interactions might be affected by the pandemic. For example, imagining that smart working will end after the pandemic is over, is pure fantasy.
According to a study published in March by Nomisma, a market research company, if companies choose to continue remote working for three days a week in 2021, businesses that serve the public could lose 5.1 billion in income. The businesses most affected would be restaurants (2.6 billion decrease in income) followed by bars/coffee shops (1.4 billion less), fast food and pizzerias (1.1 billion drop).
Another revealing figure relates to the office rental market in big cities. Demand is declining significantly in every major urban center and the spaces are being converted to mixed use. Some large hotels in the center of Milan have adapted some of their available space to co-working stations. Demand for this type of use has increased in recent months in all major cities.
In the post-pandemic future, remote working may very well coexist with on-site office work. Therefore, it is crucial to envision countermeasures the professional ironing and wet and drycleaning sectors can take to relaunch market demand.
We spoke with Corinna Mapelli, co-owner of Trevil, located in Pozzo D’Adda, near Milan. “Let’s begin by saying that lifestyles had already begun to change before the pandemic and, since February of last year, the pace has accelerated. Over the last 20 years, we have witnessed an increase in casual wear – synthetics and technical sports fabrics that do not require any professional maintenance – because these types of garments
can be laundered at home, Similarly, there is a growing trend toward inexpensive, short-lifecycle clothing, which is definitely not going to be brought to a drycleaner’s. Trying to imagine ourselves in a post-pandemic climate, when weekly remote work days are combined with on-site office days, we believe that won’t have any effect on ironing
techniques, but rather that the quantity of work will simply decrease. All this leads us to believe we will see a major push to reorganize the wet and drycleaning market toward diversification and specialization of services. In terms of professional ironing, some innovations are going to be expanded, which is actually already taking place. The latest state-of-the-art machines dramatically boost productivity and can be operated by non-specialized staff. Coming up with a timeline is always tricky but, at Trevil we currently have several projects under development that are focused on product automation. We have upgraded the software features of individual machines and have also focused on Italy’s efforts in terms of Industry 4.0 product development that translates to some tax benefits.
In the words of Michele Battistella, Sales Manager for Battistella B.G. based in Rossano Veneto in the province of Vicenza. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do; and the world is the same wherever you go.” That may sound like an oxymoron but it sums up the concept of ironing around the world, “Every country has its own needs that vary based on certain circumstances. For instance, an ironing table used in a hot country requires less power than an ironing table used in a cold climate, like Siberia in Russia.
All these needs boil down to two simple elements – ironing quality and machine lifetime. Technology, digital solutions and high-speed communications have transformed the world of
ironing. Today, clients expect an HD video of the machine and a tutorial on how it should be operated, as well as extremely fast response times and assistance, if needed.
Battistella B.G. includes an electronic control panel on all its industrial and semi-industrial machines so clients can constantly monitor its operation. Apart from tracking the usual technical specifications, the panel allows real-time diagnosis of any problem that arises.
This kind of speed is, clearly, linked to quality, the kind of quality that has consistently set our products apart,” added Battistella.
Ghidini Benvenuto Srl, headquartered in San Giuliano Milanese, on the outskirts of Milan, produces a range of industrial ironing machines from drycleaning to laundry, garment manufacture, and hotels/institutions We spoke with Sales Manager, Roland Fleischmann, “We have developed some new products: for instance, an improved performance shirt finisher, part of a high-end product range, that caters to the needs of laundries invested in specializing more in shirt maintenance.
We have also focused on a new height adjustment system for ironing tables, which reflects market demand for improved machine ergonomics, a need more commonly felt in Northern
European countries. We are currently installing an industrial laundry in Romandy (French-speaking), Switzerland, part of a public aid program aimed at recovery of troubled youth and we are providing them with these new tables. Initially, the table could only be adjusted mechanically, then we added an automated compressed air function and today, we have an industrial version of it as well. The table is called Tornado and the base level comes with vacuum and blowing functions; a steam option is also available.”
The Rotondi Group, located just outside Milan, produces high-tech ironing machines for jackets, trousers, jeans and shirts. We asked for their thoughts on putting this period of crisis behind us and relaunching the market.
According to Rotondi Group Vice President, Andrea Rotondi, what makes a difference today and what will make even more of a difference in the future, is focusing on service. “During these months of lockdown, we saw a leap in demand for garment home delivery by wet and drycleaners. Laundries will need to acquire faster machines and earmark part of the workday for deliveries.
As far as ironing is concerned, laundries will need to invest in automation; laundering and drying have been automated for a long time now. The pandemic has also increased the (already growing) demand for automated ironing machines. Our aim is to offer our clients automated laundry systems – a “4.0 laundry” – that will allow the businesses that want to relaunch to do it right, including taking advantage of the tax incentives made available
by the government. There may be less work in the future but with growing demand for specialized services, we need faster, more versatile machines to meet these changing needs. Moving forward, the 4.0 laundry is what we should be focusing on,” he concluded.
“For many years, Renzacci has been a key player in ironing calenders, servicing clients from mid-size industrial laundries to the Ho.Re.Ca. sector and institutions,” commented Marco Niccolini, General Sales and Marketing Director for Renzacci SpA, headquartered in Città di Castello (PG).
“Renzacci manufactures calenders that range from the smallest, with 1.4 meters of ironing surface, to the largest, at 3.2 meters.
These calenders also have a drying function; that is, ironing and drying occur simultaneously. This machine is known for its high throughput because linens do not need to be dried before ironing. This translates to significant gains in energy efficiency as
well as a much speedier production process. Our calenders are also computerized, so ironing temperature and speed can be set to meet the client’s needs,” added Niccolini.
We spoke with Enrico Cartabbia, Sales Manager for Macpi, based in Palazzolo sull’Oglio, near Brescia. “Macpi is thrilled to announce the launch in Italy of its model 291 shirt ironer.
Well-established in Europe, this innovative technology is now available in Italy. Designed to simplify shirt ironing operations in industrial laundries, it can be programmed to suit the client’s needs, for extremely customized results.
Shirts are currently the garment with the highest demand for professional laundering, primarily because they take time and precision to be ironed properly.
Given today’s frenzied lifestyles, more and more people prefer to trust their shirts to laundries which, thanks to the new Macpi machine, can significantly reduce ironing time, reaching outputs of 150 shirts per hour.
Organized in four work stations (loading – steam – blowing – automatic unloading), the shirt ironer delivers wrinkle-free, flawlessly finished garments. Easy to use, thanks to the active
blowing system, even during rotation of the finishers, the technology is engineered to optimize all work stages to ensure increased productivity and a dramatic reduction in down time.
Its benefits include:
• automatic loading of hangers;
• four rotating finishing units that blow hot air, even during rotation;
• steaming function for thorough sanitization and superb end results;
• adjustable tensioning clamps specifically designed to carefully position sleeves to avoid wrinkles;
• hot-air recovery for re-use in blowing;
• simplified cleaning of air filter;
• automatic unloading of shirts onto their hangers.
Aside from the automatic loading and unloading features, there are many other functions that simplify the machine operator’s duties. These include finishing units with lower height than the competition to make the operator’s movements less burdensome, handy foot pedals and a touchscreen to set the work cycle based on your needs”, concluded Cartabbia.
We also spoke with Alessandro Rolli, Managing Director of Kannegiesser Italia with headquarters in Opera (MI), a company that designs and develops technology for industrial laundries. “During this long pandemic year, he said, there has been a clear pattern of far-reaching changes in the way we work. Setting aside the industrial laundries that work with the tourism and food services industries – which have experienced the disruptive effects of more than a year of business closures – I would like to focus on laundries in the healthcare sector. The Covid assault produced what we could call a psychological impact on healthcare professionals who have had to change their scrubs, coats, pants and uniforms, much more often. There are companies that only two years after they had invested in updated machinery, are now redesigning their laundries to meet the new demand. The focus is now on hygiene and we believe this trend could extend to other sectors as well, like industry and food. In terms of ironing – whether we’re talking PPE or other apparel – the fabrics and fibers are primarily made of cotton and polyester, which can be treated with exceptional quality by the Kannegiesser XMT tunnel finisher. The old-fashioned press has been replaced by tunnels that use air pressure and steam to iron the fibers. The cost benefit in updating to such systems lies in the fact that with tunnels like this, four people can iron up to 1000 pieces per hour while, with the old presses at equal effort expended, no more than 200 pieces can be achieved, a conspicuous difference in output. The XMT tunnels come with 1 to 6 modules, in both gas and steam versions, and are equipped with a patented ventilation system that blows exhaust in the opposite direction to that of the garments. This system eliminates the burner in the tunnel modules and allows for significant savings, thanks to energy recovery,” concluded Rolli.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted both the classic and industrial laundry markets, but in different ways. Both saw a drop in revenue due to smart working and losses in the hotel and restaurant sectors,” explained Paolo Fumagalli, President of Pony SpA, manufacturer of professional ironing equipment, based in Inzago, on the outskirts of Milan.
“Like all coins, even the pandemic has two faces. To date, we have only experienced the negative impacts; yet we are beginning to see some positive outcomes for our industry. We believe that the pandemic led people and families to a greater awareness of and focus on personal hygiene, the environments in which they live and the clothing and accessories that are worn every day.
As a result, we anticipate there will soon be a return to consumption and an increase in hygiene and sanitization services.
Taking advantage of this pandemic-induced period of reduced operations, Pony has continued to develop and improve its products. It made changes to boost energy efficiency, integrated new lines to service the hygiene of indoor spaces and garment sanitization To assist its clients in coping with the new market challenges, PONY opened its own showroom with all the new models to help customers make in-person assessments of:
• Shirt finishers with patented heat recovery system.
• Toppers for ironing all types of trousers, classic, jeans, corduroy, stretch fabrics, especially if water-washed.
• Finishers with front, back, side and height tensioners for outstanding ironing of water-washed or drycleaned jackets and coats.
• The most extensive range of presses for all needs, from steam presses to those with polished heads for the industrial sector.
• Steam or ozone sanitizing of garments and interiors.
All this and much more is on display at our showroom in Inzago (Milan),” concluded Fumagalli.
In conclusion, we would like to point out how the pandemic produced opposing trends in the sectors we reviewed. In the use of personal garments, there was a reduction in treatments that initially caused a reduction in work for the smaller laundries.
Instead, the opposite trend was found in industrial laundries, but only for those specialized in healthcare and workwear, where the need for sanitization and cleanliness in general has multiplied, along with the need to change uniforms/clothing more often and, in some cases, it caused problems for the laundries themselves. •
by Marzio Nava
Detergo Magazine, April 2021
