The washer-extractor market covers many sectors, from the smallest commercial on-premise laundry to the largest industrial installations.
Many of the manufacturers that will be represented next month’s Clean Show in New Orleans are confident that after three or four years of concentrating on repairing their washers, laundries are ready to invest in replacements.
At Milnor, Karl Schubert says that this present demand for washer-extractors is not just confined to heavy-duty laundries upgrading their lines. He explains that there is regular business with new hotel projects in Asia, especially in China as well as good replacement business in developed markets.
He agrees that resource saving is still an important factor in the purchasing decision. "Milnor is investing time and money to develop systems that will make washers more efficient in their use of energy and water."
The company’s RinSave is a standard feature on small- and medium-sized machines and provides programs that will rinse efficiently with less water. Milnor now plans to introduce other water-saving systems on larger washer-extractors during Clean 2013.
Controls are also important, says Schubert. The MilTouch controller is already available on machines up to 60kg and will be gradually introduced to all other models.
MilTouch formulae can be developed on a PC, saved to the USB external memory and uploaded via the touchscreen. With intuitive fault diagnosis and relevant troubleshooting suggestions, the MilTouch control streamlines employee training and eliminates operator guesswork.
John Balman at Alliance Laundry Systems says that heavy-duty laundries are indeed upgrading their lines with more energy-efficient equipment and achieving payback through lower utility bills. He adds that OPLs in the hotel and hospitality sector and hospital laundries are also still investing.
However, in those Western European countries that have suffered from the Eurozone crisis, budgets have been frozen or reduced.
Alliance has dedicated research and development to ensure that products are created to comply with environmental regulation but that it also "goes above and beyond those requirements to ensure that customers have the most sustainable equipment on the market today."
For example, Alliance/Ipso’s D-Line washer-extractors feature SmartWAVe technology that minimises consumption while maximising performance.
SmartWAVe uses high-tech sensors to measure the absorption capacity of the load, taking into account both the type of fabrics and their total weight. It then dispenses the exact level of water needed and in this way reduces consumption of water, energy and detergents.
The D-Line also features Ipso’s Cygnus control system, which is available in four tiers: Standard, Commercial, Premium and Professional.
Whereas many competitive control systems only have three water levels for operators to choose from – low, medium or high – the controls on Alliance machines offer up to 30 different water levels. This applies to all Alliance control systems: Ipso’s Cygnus, UniMac’s UniLinc, Speed Queen’s Quantum Gold and Huebsch’s Galaxy.
These changes help to retain optimum wash quality while reducing annual water consumption by thousands of gallons.
At Lapauw, Wim Demeyer says that the company still sees interest in the large, open-pocket machines of 100kg and over for heavy-duty applications such as dustmats. He adds that laundries tend to favour the use of washer-extractors for garments and workwear.
"However, we see the market for the Pullman Barrier washers expanding," he says. While hospitals are still the target sector for these machines, the barrier-washer concept is finding its way into other applications. He points out that laundries that process workwear for the food industry face stringent hygiene regulations that prompt them to seek barrier-wall solutions.
Demeyer also notes demand for more sophisticated control systems that allow programs to be matched to different classifications and soil levels.
"Traceability is the key word now," he says and he adds that it is required on three levels – operator, maintenance and reporting.
Operators benefit from the use of easy-to-understand symbols and graphics on the display screen that presents process information clearly.
Maintenance managers can take advantage of the ELS, Electronic Lapauw System, which is offered as an option, to monitor the whole washer-extractor line and plan their work schedules.
The ELS can also be used to report on the wash process. Lapauw already has a project in a hospital laundry in France where the ELS system is used to extract and record vital wash data, such as process times, wash parameters and quantities of detergents.
Lapauw is working with Siemens to develop the next generation of washer control systems.
At Girbau, Marc Caralt, product manager for the commercial laundry division, also acknowledges that research to reduce water and energy consumption will be ongoing.
Reducing these costs and the ability to make precise adjustments to program settings are still high priority.
The Eurozone crisis has further highlighted the need to improve machines in terms of productivity to boost the customer’s profitability, says Caralt. Laundry managers and those running businesses that own an OPL are aware of the need for more efficient equipment with lower consumption.
Despite this awareness, funding remains a problem and Caralt says that many projects are still on hold till funding becomes available.
As well as working to reduce the consumption of machines, Girbau has developed its control systems. The company says it is essential that the control system allows the user to program all wash parameters to achieve the best results on all types of work and all soiling levels. Controls must also make sure that water levels, temperature, time, detergent and chemical dosing can all be adjusted precisely so that each load uses only what is necessary.
Caralt recognises that controls must also be user friendly. He says that the company’s aim is to make it possible for operators to make the fullest use of the controls to obtain the best performance and to reduce or adapt consumptions.
Girbau’s versatile INTELI control makes machines easier to program by using easy to understand icons.
This year Electrolux is introducing its next generation of washers as part of its Line 5000 range which covers capacities from 6 – 60kg (13 – 135lb)
The range features easy-to-use Compass Pro controls and the machines are available with control panels in 18 languages.
The Electrolux Power Balance system ensures Line 5000 washers have optimum stability for quieter operation while its Automatic Saving System adjusts the water level to the weight of the laundry. This produces water savings of up to 50% on a half load with the resultant savings in energy.
The Line 5000 washers also feature an Efficient Dosing System that automatically calculates the appropriate amount of detergent.
Barrier washers are another important area for the company, which says that these machines provide the best defence against the spread of micro-organisms and cross infections. They are therefore the ideal solution for applications where hygiene is paramount.
The Electrolux Evolution barrier washers are designed to offer the high productivity combined with the best hygiene standards. The Evolution range comprises three models, the WSB5180H (with 180litre drum volume), the WSB5250H (250litre) and the WSB5350H (350litre). All three feature an integrated efficient dosing system with Compass Pro controls.
OPL focus
With its focus on customers in the on-premise laundry (OPL) business, Miele reports good demand for washer-extractors, mainly from hotels and nursing homes.
Innovations for this year will include a 100litre washer-extractor and a new product range for the facility management market.
Miele has developed flexible control systems to make its washing machines suitable for a wide range of diverse applications. Much of its research work is focussed on the development of market-specific wash programs that can be further customised at the point of installation.
The company has designed wash cycles for different fabrics and soiling levels and the choice includes programs for mop cleaning, hotel towels and for work in nursing homes.
At Swiss manufacturer Schulthess, export manager Sven Bögeholz reports that on-premise laundry operators in Europe’s hospitality, hotel and retirement home sectors are showing growing interest in small and medium-sized washers.
He says that Schulthess washers with their fast programs and low water and energy use, offer a viable return on investment for operators that want to reduce costs by taking laundry on site rather than outsourcing the service.
The company’s Spirit industrial WSI washer can be supplied with an optional water recovery system for a significant reduction in both water and energy consumption.
The Spirit topLine and proLine washers can be equipped with a water tank that has an integrated lint-trap drawer, which is easily accessible for cleaning.
To suit different applications, work classes and soiling levels, Schulthess offers 50 to 70 profiClean programs across its ranges of topLine, proLine and WSI Industrial washers. On installation it will provide 10 programs that been specifically tailored to the customer’s requirements.
A one-touch start function makes machines easy to use and a further touch of the control selects the EcoExpress function.
Industrial laundry requirements
Kannegiesser says that in the industrial laundry sector, continuous pressure on textiles and the increasing costs of water, energy and labour is leading to increasing demand for its washers.
The German manufacturer offers three washer-extractors ranges: The FavoritPlus barrier machines, Futura open-pocket washers and the PowerSwing series which provides automatic loading and unloading options.
The company has transferred some of the ideas used in its tunnel washers to the washer-extractor sector.
The machines benefit from an evaluation and control system that can provide a complete overview of the wash process.
Its Favorit plus washer-extractors are available in sizes up to 270kg loading capacity. These use the latest water management software together with the JET rinsing process, already proven in the PowerTrans JET batch washer, to achieve very good water and energy consumption figures.
Kannegiesser’s Futura open-pocket washer-extractors are available in sizes from 110 – 260kg loading capacity.
Both the Favorit plus and Futura ranges can be equipped with weigh scales to allow the process to be adapted according to load weight.
Danube reports that specialist barrier washers are a growing requirement for large healthcare laundries but that demand is also spreading into other sectors. Following the success of its Medical 15 and 22kg barrier machines, it is now introducing the Med 33 (33kg) series, which has excellent mechanical action and gives high quality results.
Stahl says that its customers request machines that provide high quality cleaning with a significant reduction in the energy costs and service costs.
These requirements are met by Stahl’s latest generation of Atoll high-spin washer-extractors (with 5.5 – 110kg load capacities), its normal spin WS washer-extractor (10 – 60kg load capacities) and its Divimat D barrier washer (14 – 200kg load capacity).
The company reports that in the main demand is coming from the hospitality sector, especially in those countries where tourism is strong and particularly from the private sector laundries. Public sector laundries remain underfunded at present.
Environmental protection is an everyday issue in Germany for those industries that use large amounts of energy or water. Stahl foresaw this development early on and is well-positioned to deal with these demands.
The Atoll and WS machines benefit from Stahl’s integrated FREEpro micro-processor control unit and both this and the wash performance function allow the operator to control the wash parameters for each load according to the type of linen and the level of soiling on the load.
Domus of Spain produces washer-extractors for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and communities and its machines range from 10 – 120kg capacities. The company believes in constant innovation in both its machine design and in its manufacturing processes.
Water and energy savings are key factors for the customer in this environmentally conscious world and Domus carries its commitment to this by monitoring consumption throughout the manufacturing process.
Domus also invests in developing its microprocessor control systems so that they can be adapted to suit all types of customer.
The company plans to show its latest range of low spin washer-extractors at Clean 2013. These machines range from 10 to 36kg and are available in versions for the OPL and vended markets.
At Clean 2013, Renzacci of Italy is introducing the HS Ecocare series of high-spin washing machines and all these models are equipped with water recovery systems that can save up to 40% on water consumption and up to 15% on energy consumption.
