Special joining of forces: Profit in laundry

There is a lot to gain in the food industry in washing company clothing and other textile, such as cost reduction, hygiene and quality. Three experts talk about how to approach that: Wouter Paas from Paas Westerbork, Matthias Odink from Laundry Expert and Anthony Hendriks from Christeyns.

At a special location, the company Paas High-Care Laundry Cleaning in Westerbork, the three experts provide their vision. The location was chosen well. Each of them, from their own expertise, have contributed to the design, the construction and the process of this industrial laundry. The specialised laundry serves as an example for what they have to offer the food industry. 

Airsocks 

Born entrepreneur Paas: “In our high-care laundry, we focus on washing only air socks (air distribution hoses) and shoes for the food industry, including for FrieslandCampina. Those products leave our laundry 100% sterile, well packaged and fully checked. We also disassemble and assemble the air socks and replace or repair worn ones, so that the air management remains optimal. The interest in our service is growing. More and more companies are choosing air socks. But more importantly: the industry is dealing with hygiene in an ever more professional way and sees the importance of a high-care laundry for applications in a food environment. “Anyone who takes a look here will discover how we can guarantee that the products are returned to companies 100% sterile. And that we, for instance, have a ‘dirty’ side in our laundry. It is separated from the clean side by a wall, where the cleanroom is located.”

No loose ends

That brings us to the designer and builder of the laundry. Sales manager Matthias Odink was involved in both on behalf of Laundry Expert. “We, too, are super specialists; only we can build and maintain a laundry as a specialist and provide it with chemistry. We provide all equipment for professional laundries and the right products for washing and cleaning in the industry. We also take care of the design and installation of complete laundries, from the engineering up to the last pipeline. The major advantage of our approach: the client receives custom work and is not left with any loose ends. We take care if everything.” Laundry expert also looks at the total costs of ownership of the machine. “For instance, for this laundry, it proved to be more favourable to place a boiler to heat the water for washing. That not only saved costs for the electrical installation; it was also more sustainable because it consumes less energy. Sustainability is an important theme for us. We look at the costs of the entire washing process, from investment and water/energy consumption up to the wear and tear of the textile. 

It is all about the right type of machine/process, the temperature choice and the right chemistry. We work together closely with Christeyns in the optimisation of the washing result and washing process. They are also the manufacturer of the professional detergents we sell.” 

Detergents and measurements

Together, Christeyns and Qleantec-Christeyns are the specialist for hygienic concepts for food. For an industry where, according to sales manager Anthony Hendriks, hygiene is a first priority. “Manufacturers that are allowed to supply to supermarkets and foodservice meet the strictest requirements.” Christeyns contributes to that with the use of the right professional detergents and periodic checks of the washing result and the hygiene, and with written reports and advice regarding the optimisation of the process. “This can be advice for improvement of the hygiene, but it may just as well be about limiting costs. We continuously work on smart innovations that allow for washing more and more efficiently and at lower costs. Automatic dosing equipment is certainly part of that.” In the advice to Paas, Christeyns works together with its partner Laundry Expert. 

No concessions to quality

Just as many other companies in food, Christeys performs microbiological measurements and checks whether the hygiene still meets the standard. “If we find deviations from the standard, this can have multiple causes. It can be due to the dosage of the detergents, or it may be caused by the machines. Thanks to our collaboration, the client is never sent from pillar to post. After all, together, we take full responsibility for the entire process of the professional laundry. Hygiene is a top priority, but cost reduction is just as important for anyone who wants to deliver to retail and foodservice. Together with Laundry Expert, we can help entrepreneurs reduce the costs of washing their company clothing and other textile; without any concessions to the quality.”

www.paaswesterbrokbv.nl
www.laundryexpert.nl/en
www.christeyns.com/en

Photo washingmachine: Washing machine unloading side in high care area
Photo installation: Automatic detergent dosing

From left to right: Wouter Paas, Matthias Odink and Anthony Hendriks