First the people, then the products

As the first Texcare Asia to be held in mainland China, the 2005 Beijing was of special interest.

So optimistic was the organiser that, even as the show opened, it was announcing an event in Shanghai in 2007.

The pace of development in China is getting faster according to John Yin, international business manager with the Jiangsu Sea-Lion Machinery Group, which has been operating for 36 years and is China’s oldest laundry equipment producer. Every year new technologies will come, he says. But China’s producers need to learn from other countries, not just about the equipment but also about after-sales service.

His company claims the top spot in the home market but to make a company stronger and bigger says John Yin, you have to look to overseas markets. “ We export to the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Singapore and Thailand.

Now is a good chance for world manufacturers to come to China, he adds, with the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.

The Jensen Group has a long history in the Asian market and has remained committed through economic downturns and the SARS epidemic says Kaj Andersen, managing director of Jensen Asia and regional director for Asia Pacific. It has set up its own Jensen Sales and Service centre in China some 18 months ago

Its one-stop shop approach, calling on group expertise in manufacturing and the commercial end of the market as needed is an advantage.

China, says Andersen, is now shifting to larger central laundries, and a flatwork supply market is also starting to emerge. One of the reasons for this shift is China’s new environmental awareness, a necessity given the high levels of pollution in its cities. Energy production has to rely on the coal industry but this must become more efficient.

The Government is also encouraging water saving, hence Jensen was highlighting the Senking Universal tunnel washerfor its low water use – 4.5litres/kg linen.

Space is also a concern, particularly on the East coast so the Xpress ironer with a flexible chest that achieves high productivity in a compact one-roll design scores on both this count and its energy efficiency.

A small piece folder, sold as the Butterfly Tematic in Europe has particular appeal for the hotel sector, one of the fastest growing. A typical hotel set comprises bathmat, face towel and bath towel. These different size items are collected and washed together. They need sorting for folding, but the machine does this automatically with sensors and feeds each piece to the correct lane.

Milnor has been active in China for more than 25 years and has installed washer-extractors in around 400 hotels says Karl Schubert managing director Milnor International.

In late 2004 the company started to manufacture two washers in China, although it keeps control of production standards. These machines, 9 and 18kg capacities, have been specially developed for the Chinese market, bur are also sold to certain sectors in the USA.

There is a shift to the next step in China says Schubert. Central healthcare laundries are being promoted through foreign investment. These will be equipped with tunnel washers and will generally handle about 20t/day.

At finishing specialist, Hoffman New Yorker, export manager Tom Bolan says China’s hotel sector is becoming exciting partly due to the the Olympics but also from a natural need for bigger and better hotels.

The company has two big Chinese distributors and a few minor ones but Bolan wants to build up a quality distributor base throughout China.“We are looking for well-established names who have a full line. We want to be part of that line because the market is being driven by establishments looking for a full range of equipment.” Hoffman’s extensive range allows it to match or exceed competitors’ standards.

Exhibits focused on key pieces for hotel laundries and for the drycleaning market included a legger that could finish both legs at once to a high standard.

The Spanish-based Girbau Group has established its own company Girbau China in 2005. The Chinese market needs good quality, good price and good service, says general manager Sammy Tung. In the last 10 years it has changed from reliance on imports to one where main share lies in locally made products. Imported equipment now operates at the relatively small top end. The sector will grow again but through new segments, big laundry factories, coin-op, launderette chains and hospitals.

Traditionally laundries have used washer-extractors but, spurred both by energy saving and a move to central laundries, they are now looking tunnel washers, particularly for big hotels. As one of nine tunnel manufacturers, Girbau has shown there are opportunities in this market. But with its portfolio commercial equipment can also provide total solutions.

This exhibition has been good says Tung. We have seen visitors from different provinces most of whom would find it difficult to go to shows outside China as the visa system is complicated. So this kind of show allows them to find out about imported equipment.

With this in mind he was in favour of a Shanghai show and next time would have more experience of how to approach this kind of exhibition.

Among the Chinese home market stands LCN visited, was Shanghai Yasen Washing Equipment Co which has been established for ten years. It claims to be one of the top laundry equipment manufacturers in China with offices and sales agents throughout the country. It has partners and products in international markets including the USA, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Egypt, India and Switzerland. Its users include star hotels, hospitals, universities andcolleges.

It is one of the first in the industry to pass ISO9001:2000 and its products have been rated trustworthy by the Chinese Consumer Association.

As well as laundry products it also showed a perc drycleaning machine with recovery system. It has applied for a patent.

Foshan Guohang Laundry Equipment is based in the Guangdong province near Hong Kong. It makes its own products but also sells those of other manufacturers and exports to Bangladesh, Indonesia, USA. A first timer at Texcare, it wanted to enlarge its market.

Castic SMP is an OEM company a joint venture company that holds licences from international companies. It was presenting its machines to the home market and felt it was important to be able to say these machines are made in China. “Our partners are the best in the world.”

Kannegiesser has been active in China for around five years through a joint venture with SailStar but John Hacker, director of sales Asia pacific, stresses that SailStar only has a marketing and sales role not a manufacturing one.

His company has recently installed a central laundry in Ningbo, about four hours drive from Shanghai, for the Nanyuan Hotel Group. It uses the Kannegieser PowerTrans tunnel, and its washer-extractors and Setra flatwork ironers and folders. As well handling the group’s work it will also take work from other hotels and restaurants.

Kannegiesser came in relatively late to the Chinese market. Texcare was helping to underline its position there as a premium manufacturer that could automate the laundry line. Despite China’s low labour costs, says Hacker, it’s the only way to achieve productivity in large scale laundries.

Lapauw showed a 110kg Pullman-style barrier washer and an 800mm ironer representing two main areas of interest. Executive director Geert Braeckman said there was a huge interest in barrier washers in China because of the increased awareness of the need for stricter hygiene. He believed that most local producers only made open pocket machines.

Currently the Chinese market is largely based on steam-heated ironers, so by showing an electrically heated model in one of the two most popular sizes, he was hoping to demonstrate further options. Electrically-heated ironers would help laundries save energy. They provide more control over temperature settings as the steam pressures here are fairly low, but an electric model can be set as the customer wants.

Ipso-LSG has started to renew its interest in the Chinese market. managing director, Jean-Marc Vandoorne, said the drycleaning market was huge and the company was showing machines suitable for the laundry services on offer in these outlets. A typical combination would be the HF185 18.5kg washer with the DR35 dryer.

While for the OPL sector the HF730 73kg washer would cater for typical applications.

Vandoorne also predicted an emerging demand for more hygienic washing and the company had a couple of projects with hospitals.

Alliance Laundry Systems has long been a firm supporter of Texcare Asia, and vice-president of international marketing Lee Wilson was enthusiastic about the show.

The OPL market was important. but the vended or coin-op sector was also growing in China, led by demand in student housing – students are very open to new ways of doing things. “This is our opportunity to get in on that side.” said Wilson.

Alliance has Chinese distributors but has also appointed area sales manager, Kity Zhang, based in Shanghai, to be responsible for the whole of China. She reinforced Wilson’s view about the coin market. Central laundries would be a more competitive area with more brands, but Alliance thebrand was well known, with good service back-up.

Several Italian companies were exhibiting. Dario Cais area manager Asia and the Far East at laundry equipment producer Imesa says knowing how to approach the Chinese market is very important. “They need to know the people first, and then the product.” This makes it difficult for Europeans and the USA. But there are more than 200 laundry manufcturers in China and importers need to differentiate on quality.” So Imesa’s mission here is to find a company that believes in its product to get morerepresentation.

The drycleaning machine group FMB, representing Union, Firbimatic and Realstar, set up its own company in Shanghai in 2003 with James Yu as general manager. It has a network of distributors for each of the brands.

Representing the Italian parent at the show Valerio Gatti said that while the drycleaning market was large , about 90% was very low end, low- tech with petroleum still being the solvent in many cases.

Perc machines tend to be at the higher end.

The total market for high end machines is perhaps only around 300 per year. FMB through its three brands achieves around 50% of these and the aim is to grow this share and, as a result, the high end market. Demand was increasing particularly through francihises and hotels both of which required more quality.

Most of the machines FMB sells are in the 10 to15kg range and the stand had a n example machine from each brand, a 3-tank 17kg Realstar franchises, a 3-tank, 15kg Union and a 18kg 2-tank Firbimatic machine designed for alternative solvents.

Though most of the high end is perc at the very top there is a requirement for the latest technology that may lead to interest in alternatives.

Italclean has been selling drycleaning machines in China since the early 1990s and been represented through its current dealer since 2003. In general, says Eugenio Boni, the Chinese market is not high quality. There are a lot of new manufacturers appearing making cheap and simple machines “at ridiculous prices.” But there is a quality end that wants to buy Italian machines. Percentage is small but numbers are large due to market size.

Umberto Malavasi, executive vice president of Malavasi says his business has changed gradually. It started as a laundry press maker but now makes machines also for the garment industry and also special machines for jeans pressing.

He had two reasons for being at the show, first to find business beyond Europe , and also because many garment makers were moving production to Asia. This was the company’s first time in China, and his impression was that it was a big market, and a good one, though not easy.

Roland Fleischman, sales manager of Ghidini, explained that the company’s local agent in Shanghai had a strategy of selling complete product lines to Drycleaning shops that had been set up specifically as Italian style. The usual Chinese approach is to set up with low investment but drycleaning does need investment and Duonin Trading recognised this

Ghidini showed six machines, two presses, an ironing table, a spotting table, a form finisher and a cabinet that were all currently being sold in China.

Pony was showing its best-selling machines, presses and spotting tables. Massimo Sanvito, said the company had had a Chinese representative since 2001 and before that had been selling to Hong Kong. The show gave him an opportunity to meet end users as well as to look for chances to expand distribution in China and to learn more about the market.

The Turkish finishing specialist Malkan was, like many others, exhibiting with a view to finding agents and had a good selection of equipment on show including shirt, collar and cuff press, shirt topper and trouser toper, the Rodeo finishing machine, a steam generator, ironing table with vacuum, air and steam, and and a spot removing machine.

Export manager Mutlu Alkan said the company had sold to China but at the time of the show didn’t have an agent, which was her preferred method of dealing with other markets. We have a network of exclusive agents in 23 countries she said, but dealers must reach certain quotas to gain this status.

Beijing Fornet Laundry Services is one of China’s largest laundry and drycleaning companies. It operates as a franchise and, says chairman Mr Pai has 430 franchises offering laundry and drycleaning services under the Fornet name, being represented in nearly 150 cities and 29 provinces. It supplies these with equipment including Firbimatic drycleaning machines and is the exclusive agent for both Kreussler and Primus. It also has a factory producing spotting and finishing tables and packaging.

Fornet and suppliers Primus and Kreussler brands had put together a wetcleaning package.

He thought that wetcleaning would be particularly suited to China because there were a lot of delicate garments to be cleaned.

Kreussler’s Thomas Zeck says that the company has been co-operating with Fornet since 1998 in its aim to bring European quality to the Chinese market. The company was aiming at the top end, (around 10-15% of the market) and at that level, says Zeck, there is little difference between European and Chinese operations.

Kreussler was focussing on two products the comfort drycleaning detergents and the Lanadol range for wetcleaning.

Primus provides the machines for the Fornet’s wetcleaning package. But area manager Wim Opsomer said the company was also looking at other options for the market. It had sold three barrier machines to a hospital and had sold several OPL machines to a high -end chain of hotels.

His company had come to the show, partly to explore these options for he is aware that opportunities for high-end western products are opening up; and also to see what kind of benchmarks are being set in the Chinese market.

Böwe was exhibiting with its parent group, Shanghai Sailstar. Edwin Schmutz explained that the company recently launched the Premium line of machines at its German headquarters and was now explaining the benefits to the Chinese market. Böwe was also aiming to extend the company’s prospects in the whole Asian market.

The Chinese market was growing he said, and very important to Böwe, and of course to the parent group though SailStar has its own organisation and aims it machines at the mid-market sector whereas Böwe manufactures for the higher end and also provides the research and development centre for the whole group.

Drycleaningmachine co Multi-tex is in a joint venture with the Penglai Washing equipment co and was showing its alternative solvent machine of the stand.

Multi-tex ‘sGerman distributor Erwin Biessinger was exptalking about the machine to visitors and explained that the Chinese partner was part of a big group XIAOY and the machine was built at a brand new factory with modern production. He stressed that the technology came from Multi-tex.

Trevil of Italy has been selling its finishing equipment to China through the Rong Chang Laundry Co for almost 20 years, said business development director Corinna Mapelli.

The market is growing fast but Mapelli sees the growth of a middle class in towns and cities as a big change and influence on the market. Rong Chang was promoting the franchising concept as a way to growth.

Trevil had just two machines on show the Combi-Vapor cabinet finisher and a finishing table with steam gun, sleeve arm and a steam-electric iron on a hanging system.

The Electrolux group had a large stand divided by sectors, the first devoted to equipment for hotels the second to the Lagoon wetcleaning system. Product manager Oliver Wu stressed that this was an advanced system and the only one to have the Woolmark endorsement, which meant meeting stringent regulations.

Concern about the environment is rising in China with the Government beginning to encourage water saving. Wetcleaning hence has attractions and benefits.

The Lagoon washer has special programs and alongside this the company also offers a multi-finisher also with different programs, and featuring simple-to use controls.

In the small hotels sector the company offers two washers, the W3180H, high spin and the W330M mid-spin, plus a tumble dryer, T4350.

Through a strategic partnership, Stiro Service supplies spare parts and accessories for the drycleaning and laundry finishing and has over 4,000 items available. Exhibiting at the Chinese show was something of a departure, but Antonio Bracci said he had been contacted about appearing in the Italian pavillion and had decided to make the move. He was reasonably happy with the show and was looking at how to approach this market.

American Dryer Corporation, ADC has been selling to China through Hong Kong for a long time and international sales manager Mauricio Lima said that as the market was opening up, the long term plan would be to build up a network of distributors. It was a question of finding partners who were capable both of supply and service.

ADC’s range of dryers is extensive covering products from 20 to 670lb so it can cover all sectors of the market.

Cissell manufacturing, (part of the Laundry Systems Group ( LSG) has been in the Chinese market for some 30 years and today has some representation in the mainland as well as through Hong Kong. Senior vice president Fred Quarles says the company is probably one of the market’s most recognised laundry equipment manufacturers. Cissell crosses all sector lines, and that he felt was a main advantage. He was exhibiting pressing equipment, washers and dryers, and vacuum spotting boards.

The market is now growing rapidly and although the equipment is pretty well standard, there is demand for energy and labour saving appliances.

Quarles was enthusiastic about the show which had exceeded expectations both in numbers and from the international visitor angle. Beijing is rapidly becoming a world class city with an extensive hotel building programme, he noted.

Two European companies concerned with ironer clothing were exhibiting.

At Fanafel, Denis Begasse described the show as “very interesting and a new experience in China, a fantastic country.” It had been very successful for the company bringing a lot of new contacts. All machine manufacturers in China are now focussing on producing chest ironers, which offered good opportunities for Fanafel’s technically advanced, hydrolosis-resistant felt.

At Springpress, the manufacturer of ironer spring padding , Alex Callant reinforced the opportunities in the market. To date it has been dominated by cylinder ironers, with a relatively small number of chest types but there is now a lot of interest in chest ironers so the potential is huge. But would that interest turn into sales? However, Springpress’s distributor is excited about the way the market is developing.

The Japanese ironer springing manufacture San-Ai was also exhibiting and demonstrating its ultrasonic, tape welder that makes fixing guide tapes a quick and simple job. It was also talking about its spring padding system.

Chemicals specialist Bufa has entered into a production joint venture with SailStar. Dominique Suttheimer said the company had two aims at the show.

First , by exhibiting in the German pavillion it would underline the company’s origins and the fact that German know how went into the joint venture products made in Shanghai. More importantly, Bufa wanted to make new distributor contacts in China and felt that it had made contacts both with franchise groups and distributors. Now it would wait for the results from those discussions.

On the stand it had been focussing on products for spotting and leather cleaning, currently the two most popular areas for this market.

White Conveyors has been supplying both the hotel and drycleaning sectors of the market for a couple of years. Sales and marketing vice president Paul Mullen felt that that both the market and the economy were developing to such an extent that companies could afford the next level of sophistication in handling systems.

The show had been worthwhile in helping the company look for distributors in the pacific rim.

More generally he commented that the range of products from all companies and the show’s accompanying seminars made it worthwhile for visitors. His company had given a presentation at the seminar. Shows should be a combination of products, sales and education.