Smart and sustainable, the future for laundries

Over 3,500 guests, representing 52 countries attended Kannegiesser's 2014 exhibition, the second time it has been held in the Bad Salzuflen Exhibition Centre rather than at the company's headquarters, which it has now outgrown.
Welcoming guests at one of the international banquets held nightly during the event, Martin Kannegiesser said that this year the exhibition represented his company's vision for reconstructing the industrial laundry as well as underlining Kannegiesser's position as market leader.
This vision had two main themes. First, it illustrated a logical extension of the way automation is progressing, the Smart Laundry Concept and second, it continued to show the importance of managing resources.
Ergonomics was also a strong focus for the exhibition with many practical solutions on display. Also notable was the engineering excellence evident in the machines and the continuing improvement of the quality of machine components.
The Smart Laundry Concept could prove a dominant influence in the future of the industry. It takes in a combination of machine technology, logistics and process technology.
The core factor is the recognition that laundries can only achieve their maximum productivity if they are designed not only to produce a smooth flow of work but also to accompany that workflow with an equally smooth flow of the relevant data at each stage of production. This requires automated or semi- automated systems, with interfaces between the individual machines.
As Andreas Langer, head of process technology, points out:"You can optimise a single machine but it won't be operating at its utmost efficiency unless you optimise the whole laundry."
So the software is important but Ralf Zimmerman, project manager, stresses that Kannegiesser is still a machine manufacturer and supplier not a software company.
He adds that the Smart Laundry is based on the one-stop shop principle. If all the machines come from one supplier you can make sure that each section interfaces with others. Kannegiesser designs and implements the software that allows this.
At no point should an employee have to go and look for the next load or for instructions as to what to do.
The concept is flexible in that allows for stages where work might be transferred by trolley. In this case scanning points with screens and printers maintain the flow, scanning and ticketing each trolley batch before it leaves one stage and scanning it into the system at the next.

Water is valuable
Resource management was also a recurrent theme. "We want to show that water is an important resource and underline its value," said Langer. This applies not only to fresh water but also to the disposal of waste-water where the value can be even higher because waste water contains heat that can be recovered and re-used.
As with the Smart Laundry Concept, optimising water savings in a single machine has limited potential.
To achieve the maximum benefit from water saving devices requires a system that can be applied to multiple areas of the laundry.
Optimised washing processes rely on recovering and re-using washing rinsing and extracting liquor. The saved water may not be required immediately; therefore Kannegiesser has designed the Special Tanks System to store large volumes.
This comprises a series of insulated modules enclosed in an outer insulated shell. The design prevents different water categories mixing and the combination of module insulation and outer insulation means that heat energy is retained for a long time.
The system can be used to increase storage capacity in a single tunnel washer or as a central link, allowing excess liquor from a tunnel washer to be used in other tunnels or in the washer-extractor line.
It can also act as an "energy link" supplying warm, fresh water for the wash, with the integration of a central waste-water heat-exchanger or by recovering energy from the vapours in ironing and finishing sections.

Washing innovations
The exhibition introduced several innovative machine developments. The drum for the PowerTrans tunnel washers has been redesigned to maximise capacity by using the whole area of the drum. It achieves this through a continual lift and drop action and by compressing the load. The benefits of the design include a high wash action that also reduces friction, so protecting the fabric and prolonging linen life. It also reduces roping and tangling in the load.
The new drum design is being used in both standard designs and in its Jet-extraction machines.
Tunnel washers are now used both for a wide range of applications and increasingly for a varied mix of load types. Kannegiesser's response to this is to offer a choice of load transfer systems, either with or without counterflow.
The standard counterflow system (known as counterflow rinsing) will suit those laundries that mostly process batches of the same colour and type of linen. Where the types of load vary continuously, dry transfer allows the laundry to sequence the loads in an order that take account of this continual variation.
In a dry transfer system, the main wash liquor drains away before the batch transfers to the rinse section. In this case it will transfer without any free water and this avoids the risk of recontamination. It also allows better dilution of the water within the load while needing less additional water to do this. (standing bath rinsing).
The PowerTrans Jet tunnel washers, which bring the extraction stage into the body of the tunnel, have been on the market for some time. Andreas Langer told LCNi that there are around 150 installations, mainly in Europe, with Germany the leader here, but also in Eastern Europe and beyond Europe.
However, the technology can still be seen as innovative, bringing greater efficiency in rinsing and also saving water. The exhibition provided a good opportunity to draw attention to the benefits. The Jet rinsing principle has more recently been applied to the washer-extractors, with a pre-extraction phase before the main rinse.
The finishing section featured demonstrations of the Speedline towel folder, described as "the most powerful dry-work folder available. It improves both productivity and quality. ?In its predecessor, there was a short pause between feeding and the start of the folding process. Its maximum rate was about 700/800 per hour.
The Speedline's vario-speed function allows feeding and folding in continuous flow, with no pause between the two operations as the speed adjusts to suit the item being folded this can raise productivity to around 1,100 to 1,200 pieces per hour. Folding is also much more precise and the Speedline can handle a variety of dry-work categories.
The AutoFold function is another important aspect. Continuous tracking means that the fold is defined precisely for each article. The length of air jet adjusts automatically, increasing performance and reducing the consumption of compressed air, in particular when handling mixed batches.
Developments in the SuperTrack sorting system and in garment handling were also highlighted.
The SuperTrack monorail sorting system can be seen as the starting point for the whole logistics system within the laundry and its display illustrated developments that improved ergonomics and its ability to adapt to change.
These included a modular platform, which allows for future expansion. It is now available in stainless-steel although GRP is still an option. The panels on the conveyor can now be removed in situ for more convenient maintenance and servicing.
SuperTrack provides continuous sorting with an intermediate bag that holds sorted pieces until the monorail system has a bag to take them. Monitors show the customer details and the weight and category of each bag.
Garment sorting has also further been developed, with the Xsort system. Traditionally in Europe garments are sorted after they have been washed but Xsort allows garments to be pre-sorted and presented to the wash section in batches and on hangers.
These are just some of the highlights of an exhibition that sought to "reinvent" laundry design and operation.
Martin Kannegiesser summed up the experience and its implications: "The continuing dialogue between users and suppliers of technology will set future standards. The demand for complete systems in the laundry industry is high.
"The consistency of concepts in machine technology and logistics will also determine the future competitiveness of textile providers.
"We all learned a lot from each other during this week of intensive exchange of ideas."

DRUM DESIGN: Andreas Langer, head of process technology, points out the features of new design for the drum in the PowerTrans tunnel washers