Shipshape and seaworthy

EDRO Corporation has established itself as a leader in the marine and shipboard laundry industry, and its washer-extractors and tumble dryers are a brand of choice for this market’s main laundries throughout the world.

Shipboard and marine washer-extractors from EDRO operate with its own latest DynaTrol HMi technology. Software-specific operating systems based on EDRO-proprietary ELC washing logic allow for the most intuitive operator interface available, says the company, while providing programming security and managerial reporting for washroom efficiency. Precise function of the control means consistent results, while the machine designs save on space and water consumption. Shipboard and marine tumbler dryers feature superior machine insulation for low heat radiation, as well as high CFM air flow with efficient electric and steam heat sources.

Main shipboard and marine laundries on larger vessels challenge the throughput of land-based industrial laundries, processing a variety of laundry including table and bed linens, bath and pool towels, uniforms, and other miscellaneous goods. The diverse programming capabilities of the machinery controls linked with EDRO’s DynOzone disinfecting and sanitising laundry system, a washer-extractor option that combines a built-in, on board ozone generator with a high-speed machine reduces utilities usage and saves valuable wash water. Ozone is recognised as an efficient disinfecting and sanitising agent by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

With such prestigious clients as the Carnival Corporation – including the world’s most famous cruise liner, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, pictured, right – cruise ship lines like EDRO’s innovative design techniques allow for larger-capacity machines in smaller spaces. Three pocket models prevent tangling and bundling of bed and table linens. 

EDRO, for more than 50 years, has been supplying the US Navy’s laundry needs. The US Navy utilises 20-200lb capacity Edro washer-extractors and 20–110lb tumbler dryers for surface shipboard laundries, and the ultracompact DS16-SUB and M16-SUB specifically designed for submarine laundries.

The equipment installed on aircraft carriers provides laundry services for up to 6,000 personnel on a daily basis. During a standard six-month deployment, aircraft carrier laundries will operate 16 to 20 hours per day, six or seven days a week, and process nearly 150,000 pounds of laundry a week. Since deployment schedules may require Naval ships to remain at sea for sustained periods, it is imperative laundry operations remain at 100% capacity. The inability to provide efficient laundry service due to equipment down time has a severe detrimental effect on the crew’s morale. EDRO washer-extractors are predominant on both east and west coast aircraft carriers in addition to amphibious and surface combatants.

Special shipboad and marine features from EDRO include:

• Tear down, modular machine designs that require no access cuts required for installation;
• Compact design with small footprints and low overhead clearances;
• Capability to tie into water reuse systems and heat exchangers.

FIRST RESPONDER

“As a tier-one laundry equipment supplier to the United States Defense Department, several of EDRO’s ‘Battleship Quality’ washer-extractors are currently onboard the USNS Comfort assisting the staff in maintaining a hygienically clean environment,” said EDRO’s managing director Scott Kirejczyk. USNS Comfort is a hospital ship thas has been used to take the pressure of US hospitals inundated with Covid patients. At its core are 12 operating rooms and 1,000 beds to support the numerous levels of care required. It is also home to a dental clinic, four X-ray machines, a CT scanner, two oxygen-producing plants, an optometry lab, and coolers to hold 5,000 units of blood.

Driving the beating heart of the Comfort’s laundry room are four 150lb and two 60lb washer-extractors, partnered with five 110lb and two 75lb tumbler dryers manufactured by the EDRO Corporation’s dedicated workforce in East Berlin, Connecticut. When the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived at New York City Harbor’s Pier 90 on 30 March 2020, hundreds of people momentarily forgot about social distancing and stood shoulder-to-shoulder to witness its arrival. The Comfort – a beacon of hope for a beleaguered city – arrived in port to give surge capacity to an overwhelmed hospital system as it reeled under pressure from the global Coronavirus pandemic.