LCN spoke to two UK drycleaners who are already up and running with the system
Groom Textile Care in Huddersfield was the first to sign up and John Lockwood installed his Firbimatic machine, shortly after the launch, in July 2004.
The GreenEarth machine replaces a hydrocarbon model that was past its best. Lockwood said he had been researching GreenEarth for some time both on the Internet and through talking to industry contacts. A visit to the Johnson site in Hexham where he talked to staff using the solvent impressed him and by the time of the official launch in June his mind was almost made up. Having discussed the subject further, he decided to go ahead and asked Firbimatic to make the necessary adjustments to the multisolvent machine he had ordered.
He has now been using GreenEarth for around four months and feels that he has made the right decision. Turnover has improved month by month, and he believes the switch is partly responsible.
As a result, he is considering installing GreenEarth at a second store, Lockwood’s Textile Care in Cleckheaton, this spring.
Ben’s Drycleaners in Beckenham, Kent has also completed the process and the Böwe GreenEarth machine was commissioned on 1 October 2004
Paul Agius said the shop had previously used perc but he had been thinking of switching for some time, as he disliked the smell. When he first started researching alternatives, Green Earth was only available in the USA but its launch in the UK coincided with his final decision to purchase a new machine. He says that he is happy working with the new solvent and staff also find it pleasanter to work with.
