Demanding consistency in both accuracy and quality

5 June 2014



There is a growing requirement for laundries to handle a greater range of linen sizes and categories. Tony Vince examines the implications for the modern ironer line


The demand for higher production rates and greater reductions in energy use is placing greater demands on the laundry finishing line. Customer requirements will vary considerably from sector to sector - commercial,
healthcare and hospitality.
This clear distinction between the sectors is recognised by manufacturers and suppliers of finishing equipment. The ironer is the core product and a new generation of high performance machines is emerging as manufacturers respond to greater demands for increased quality combined with energy savings. However, greater energy efficiency is only part of the equation - automation and user-friendly controls can allow laundries to finish even the largest items with one operator, so reducing labour costs and raising productivity.
Len Hazell, industrial sales manager at Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems, says the sector has been "quite buoyant" over the past year, with a good number of enquiries being converted to orders. "Customers continue to look firstly for quality and reliability combined with ease of use and maintenance. Energy prices are still high so energy efficiency is also an extremely important factor and customers take great interest in this when they are considering replacing equipment. "We have installed many Lapauw gas-heated ironers in the last year, with customers telling us that it ticks all the boxes for them," says Hazell.
Armstrong recently supplied, installed and commissioned three Lapauw gas-heated ironers at White Knight Laundry Services in Caversham near Reading. This was the first refurbishment of the plant since 1987 and White Knight carried out a thorough investigation of the market, looking at all the main laundry equipment suppliers.
The Caversham plant handles linen from the hospitality, healthcare, education and industrial sectors, employing some 60 people and running two shifts.
Robert Adams, White Knight's managing director says Armstrong was selected to supply the ironers because there was no doubt that these were the best quality ironers on the market.
Armstrong supplied two Lapauw, gas-heated, TurboFan ironers of 1,200mm diameter and 3.3metre working width for large flatwork. It also supplied a further two-roll, gas-heated TurboFan machine for smaller pieces and this had 1,200mm diameter rolls and a working width of 400mm.
Featuring Lapauw's microprocessor and ELS controls, the TurboFAN ironers offer improved productivity and minimal energy consumption and can handle both bed and table linen direct from the tunnel washer.
The control system allows automatic monitoring of machine performance including production and maintenance requirements.

Delivery and installation
The Lapauw ironers were delivered to the plant direct from the factory in Belgium and then installed under the supervision of Armstrong engineers over the next two weeks. Adams says that the laundry did not have to close during the installation. He adds:"It was all carried out very efficiently and the engineers were excellent, keeping disruption to a minimum."
At Girbau UK Industrial Division, sales manager Richard Brown says he expects the UK market for flatwork technology to remain tight through 2014 and 2015, in spite of the uplift in the economy as a whole. "Companies are still finding it difficult to raise finance for major capital purchases," he says. "We do expect to see some growth, as investments that have been consistently postponed over the last few years, cannot be put off any longer."
Brown says that two factors are helping to boost the market for finishing equipment. First, the latest machines can achieve higher productivity with lower operating costs so they offer an excellent return on investment. Savings result not only from the increase in productivity but also from the reduction in energy consumption as the ironers are much more thermally efficient. Laundries are very aware that energy efficiency savings are essential to control rising costs.
Second, smaller industrial laundries seeking to grow can achieve significant savings to help productivity by investing in
all-in-one machines such as the Girbau Compact. This general purpose ironing line is ideal for smaller laundries, because it provides feeding, ironing, folding and stacking in a single, space-saving machine and has the flexibility to handle a wide range of items.
Girbau Industrial can also supply separate machines for the finishing line and reports two recent developments. The FS-Lite folder is designed for small pieces such as napkins, pillowcases, small towels and tea towels and is capable of processing up to 900 pieces per hour.
It can handle pieces of up to 1.1metres in length and 560mm wide. The automatic folder has five independent blades and can perform four folds (two lateral folds and two cross-folds). It can also produce French folds, when the piece is centred, and half-folds on napkins. In automatic mode, up to four FS-Lite folders can be used in combination to handle up to four lanes from a Girbau ironer.
Girbau's PC-80 flatwork ironer incorporates the proven engineering and features of the larger PC-120 ironer. It also has increased thermal insulation, which saves energy and prevents excess heat from escaping into the laundry and adversely affecting working conditions. The ironer also has a modem connection to Girbau's factory for remote diagnostics.
Built with one, two or three 800mm diameter cylinders and a working width of 3, 3.3 or 3.5 metres, the Girbau PC-80 flatwork ironer is available in steam and thermal -oil-heated versions. The one and two cylinder versions can also be supplied with an integral gas-fired boiler.
The PC-80 gas model is said to provide laundries with an energy saving of around 15% over flatwork ironers with separate boilers. The boiler can be adjusted for optimal speed, productivity and humidity to suit the type of linen being handled. The PC-80 ironer's bed has been designed to ensure improved fluid passage and optimum transmission of heat to the linen. The bed's S-coil design features four parallel circuits to ensure uniform heating of the ironer surface and prevent cold spots forming.
The view at Kannegiesser UK is upbeat. Selwyn Burchhardt says the company has been very successful with several new build projects in the past year. Kannegiesser recognises that the use of larger duvet covers has implications for laundry processing, especially feeding. In response the company has developed its EMQ Synchro four-station feeder, which uses servo drive for higher throughput and better quality.
The Kannegiesser EMQ Synchro has been successfully introduced into the UK and more than 10 machines have now been installed. He says that the combination of this feeder, the three-roll HPM ironer and the RFM folder can deliver results of the highest quality, especially on duvet covers.
"One customer commented that the quality coming from his Kannegiesser ironer line is the highest he has ever seen in over 30 years in the UK laundry business," says Burchhardt. He adds that with ever-changing linen specifications, it is important that the temperature of the ironer's heating surface can be adjusted to protect fabrics from one side but also improve performance from the other side.
The HPM.II ironer has several enhancements including the latest KannPress Plus ironer springs. Kannegiesser produces these in-house and uses high-strength stainless-steel for uniform surface area pressure.

OPL demand
With its focus on customers in the on-premise laundry (OPL) sector, Miele Professional reports good demand for its equipment, mainly from hotels and nursing homes.
The company has extended its PM series of flatwork ironers with three models - PM 1318, PM 1418 and PM 1421 - that meet the requirements of both large OPLs and of commercial laundries.
The standard versions can be enhanced with optional features such as the Plus infeed table, which includes a vacuum device to keep the linen in place as it moves onto the ironer roll, helping to ensure a smooth, crease-free result.
The PM series of ironers covers working widths from
1,680 - 1,900mm and is available in electric- and gas-heated versions. The use of aluminium in the trough conducts heat around four times faster than steel. The smooth surface and a contact angle of 167degrees ensure a large contact surface and good contact pressure. Heat is introduced on the infeed side to evaporate large proportion of the linen's moisture quickly. This is where most heater elements are located on electrically heated models. On gas models, dual-burner technology ensures rapid heat transfer at this point. This results in ideal heat distribution and reduces energy consumption in comparison with older models by over 10%.
The PM ironers can handle up to 96kg linen per hour, depending on the model and the linen's residual moisture.The surface of the ironers outfeed tables consists of a series of sculpted hexagons. Perforations at the point where the hexagons meet draw in cooler air to replace the heat rising from the flatwork. This allows textiles to cool down while still on the outfeed table and so fixes the finish in place. In addition, the optional heat-retaining cover prevents heat loss and ensures lower temperatures around the roll.
These PM flatwork ironers are designed for use by two people but a return-feed module can be fitted as an option to allow solo operation.
Laundry feed belts are also available as accessories, preventing laundry slippage during the feed-in operation.
Electrolux Professional reports a significant rise in OPL numbers in recent years, as the benefits of moving the costs in-house are becoming more widely recognised.
Michael Williams, segment manager B2C for the laundry division of Electrolux Professional, says that the UK market is a key area of growth. Because OPL requirements are very specific and every customer is different, Electrolux aims to work with each customer to create a bespoke solution. In devising these it considers volumes of work, space available, utilities, operators' skills and access.
"Industrial ironing equipment can be intimidating for investors, and can seem dangerous due to high temperatures and heavy rolls, but this need not be the case," says Williams.
He points out that ironers can now be tailored to customers' individual requirements, with controls that allow various finishes to be achieved. Programs can be selected and modified so operators can achieve particular results at the touch of a button.
The Electrolux C-Flex range is available with one, two or three rolls, with 900mm and 1,200mm diameters, a wide selection of ironing widths.
OPL investors also have the choice between steam, thermal oil, natural gas, LPG gas, liquid petroleum fuels or ethanol.
To help process work such as duvet covers, manufacturers have expanded ironer capacity by significantly increasing the diameter of the roller. Williams explains that in the 1980s, it was standard practice to use 500mm diameter chest type ironers with up to five rolls. Now the market standard is 800mm and goes up to 1,200mm models, such as the Electrolux C-Flex 1200.

Patented design
The patented Electrolux Dubixium cylinders avoid the loss of production that results from uneven temperatures. The patented thermal oil system ensures that heat is always evenly distributed throughout the length of the ironer. "This kind of machine can be used with both traditional and modern fabrics and offers up to 50% more through-put," says Williams.
Electronic controls are a feature of the C-Flex, so that the ironing temperature and speed can be adjusted at any point. A large panel displays all necessary information needed to operate the machine and make adjustments where needed - an indicator lights up if the linen has more than 8% residual moisture after ironing and this feature ensures optimum dryness and hygiene.
The control panel can also be networked via CMIS (Certified Management Information System) to track and record every step in the drying and ironing process. Williams says that most features on Electrolux's ironers use patented technologies. "The Direct Ironer Advanced Moisture Management System (DIAMMS), is the first true moisture management system on the market. Operators have automatic control of an ironer's speed, guaranteeing the optimum productivity regardless of the fabric type."

MAJOR REFIT: Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems supplied and installed three Lapauw gas heated ironers at White Knight Laundry Services in Caversham near Reading

IRONER LINE


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