Mikkelin Keskuspesula is one of Finland’s oldest “state laundries”, but on a recent visit, Nicholas Harper discovered it had modern ideas that UK laundries could usefully take on board.

The current plant is a model of cleanliness. As is common in Scandinavia, a built-in vacuum cleaning systemis staffed by a full time operator who removes lint and other debris from the tumbler screens and under the ironer and folder, cutting fire risks and ensuring work trolleys always move freely.

The laundry has recently installed a new Jensen ironer liner comprising the Jenfeed 2030 feeder, for large and small pieces,with two stations and three lanes. the Jenroll 2/1200, 3000 ironer and the Jenfold Universal multi-purpose folder with three lanes.

While working in a state-of-the-art environment, operations manager Viljio Tuomia still has a keen interest in past traditions and his farmhouse home houses a varied collection of antique laundry equipment from soap boxes to mangles.