The event took place at Rusanen’s steam-free, low-energy laundry at Pieksämäki the end of May. Around 40 laundry managers and decision-makers attended and learnt about Rusanen’s eco-friendly energy-efficient approach to textile care.

The company has four production lines handling hotel and catering flatwork, workwear, mats and industrial cleaning cloths.

Visitors were able to see some of the energy and water saving equipment supplied by Ecolab. Water for the washer-extractors and tunnel washers is heated through Ecolab’s gas-operated Aquaheater. This allows the laundry to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions by at least one-third. Ecolab’s Aquacycler filtration system reduces water use and Rusanen makes further savings with Ecolab’s innovative Ozonit PERformance low-temperature washing process. The laundry’s managing director Jori Rusanen says that more customers are aware of a laundry’s environmental impact and eco compatibility has become a competitive factor in the market.

“Ecolab’s key aim is to rid laundries worldwide of inefficient steam boilers,” said Michael Brüggemann, European marketing manager at Ecolab Textile Care. He explained that while environmental legislation is tightening, more and more operators now see responsible handling of water and energy as essential to the future of the industry and an important aspect of a laundry’s marketing.