Krazee Klean Triples Productivity with ‘Bella’ – Compact 5-in-One
January 2014 | Download Testimonial
Business is booming at Krazee Klean Inc., an 11-year-old industrial dry cleaning & commercial laundry in Fort Kent, Alberta. Owner Wanda Ackert recently embraced two new commercial laundry accounts – both military bases – which complement her flagship industrial coverall cleaning business. To keep pace with customer demand, Ackert invested in a Girbau Industrial Compact 5-in-One – a machine with a small footprint that does it all – irons, folds and stacks.
Fondly named “Bella” and installed in August of 2012, the Compact has simplified business and ramped productivity. “Bella is the best purchase I’ve ever made,” said Ackert. “She’s compact and saves me manpower and time. I couldn’t have bid on these military accounts without her. She helps my staff because they aren’t fretting that they are behind; she saves us time and improves productivity.”
Krazee Klean is divided into two plants – one for drycleaning and the other for commercial work.
The Drycleaning Side
The drycleaning plant handles cleaning coveralls for the oil production industry. Crude oil soaked coveralls are worn by oilfield workers in Northeastern Alberta. To properly clean the coveralls, Ackert relies on three 90-pound capacity Continental Girbau soft-mount E-Series Washer-Extractors, a 50-pound capacity Unimac washer, two 75-pound capacity Multimatic Drycleaners, a 90-pound capacity Union Drycleaner, and five complementing drying tumblers. The cleaning process involves washing the coveralls in the E-Series Washers and then drycleaning them – a process Ackert has down like a science.
The Commercial Laundry Plant
The commercial laundry plant focuses on two military bases and their estimated 18,000-pound weekly influx of soiled bedding, kitchen whites, mop heads and rags. That’s where “Bella” comes in. This single piece of equipment automatically irons, folds and stacks 200 sheets per hour. It also neatly processes pillowcases and tablecloths, according to Ackert. Aside from “Bella,” the commercial operation relies on two 90-pound capacity Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors, a 50-pound capacity Unimac washer, two 30-pound capacity Unimac washers, a Continental 13-inch flatwork ironer, and a complementing team of five drying tumblers.
Before investing in “Bella” the Compact 5-in-One, Krazee Klean ran sheets through the smaller ironer eight to 10 hours per day, according to Terry Rosin of Coronet Equipment, in Edmonton, Alberta. Through the years, Rosin has helped Ackert select and install the majority of her equipment, including “Bella.” “Krazee Klean’s volume was increasing and quickly becoming far too much for its existing ironer,” said Rosin. “The laundry needed to add speed and production in a small footprint; thus the Compact.”
E-Series Washers & High-Speed Extract
To get base laundry its cleanest and brightest, Krazee Klean first sorts and runs items through the plant’s two 90-pound capacity Continental E-Series Washers. The washers are highly programmable by item type, which ensures the right type and amount of cleaning chemicals and softeners are automatically injected at the perfect time, temperature and water level. They are programmed to properly wash bed linens, blankets, table linens, mop heads and rags. “The items come out quite beautiful,” said Ackert. “We use an extra stain remover that is automatically injected into the wash cycle when we select the tablecloth program. We’ve geared each program to the severity of soil and stains.” Operators just load, select a program number and press start.
While being simple to use and providing a high quality clean is critical, so is great energy-efficiency and productivity. As soft-mount machines, E-Series Washers aren’t bolted to the floor and are simple to move and relocate if necessary. But, for Ackert, the real perk is that they generate extract speeds of up to 381 G-force.
By comparison, most traditional hard-mount washers only reach speeds of 75-200 G-force. By extracting water at significantly higher speeds, Ackert’s E-Series Washers remove more water from every load. In turn, resulting dry time is reduced by up to 50 percent. This bolsters laundry productivity and simultaneously cuts the natural gas used by the dryers. “I like my Continental soft-mount washers because items come out almost dry,” said Ackert.
Enter ‘Bella’ the Compact
Once washed, some items head straight to the dryers, but bed and table linens go directly from the washer into the Compact 5-in-One. “Bella” offers multiple programs, depending on the item being processed, and requires one or two operators. It also dries items as they are ironed.
“Bella” was the first Compact installed in North America, according to Ackert. And, she maintains, she’s fortunate to have it.
It provides Krazee Klean an all-in-one option for automated, quality ironing within a small space – offering one, two, or four working lanes, with one lane for sheets, two for table linens and four for small items, including napkins and pillowcases.
Operators simply feed double-sized sheets onto “Bella” and the machine does the rest – processing linens at nine to 32 feet-per-minute. It couldn’t be simpler.
So in a typical eight-hour day, Krazee Klean can successfully process up to 1,600 double-sized sheets. Thanks to “Bella,” laundry productivity has tripled, according to Ackert, allowing Krazee Klean to take on new accounts without stressing staff. “The Compact took the place of four people,” she said. It’s saved Krazee Klean labor hours and catapulted laundry productivity.
Isn’t it fitting, then, that “Bella” translates to “beauty” in Spanish and “nice” in Italian?
Find out more about Girbau Industrial and Continental Girbau equipment at www.girbauindustrial.com or www.continentalgirbau.com, respectively, or call 800-256-1073.