United States
A laundry operator in Salt Lake City, Utah, is determined not to stand in the way of disasters such as pandemics and earthquakes. Three months after life-changing events affected his business, Rick Taft is almost ready to turn on new, more efficient Lavatec appliances at Textile Care Services, its commercial laundry facility on the south side of Salt Lake City.
Impressed by the previous Lavatec tunnel system, which provided 30 years of reliable service, he expects a two-phase installation process to be completed by July 1st.
Before Taft started his project, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook the Salt Lake City area on March 18. The epicenter was about 15 miles west of the facility, but did not cause any damage to its building. The president and CEO of the company was already thinking about the start of the Covid 19 pandemic. It started on March 6th when the governor of Utah declared a state of emergency and reached unprecedented levels three weeks later when the "stay home" order was issued on March 27th.
In the first phase of Textile Care Services, a 30 year old Lavatec LP571 press was removed. The productive 30 bar unit was still in operation and was replaced by an improved and new 132 pound hydraulic 40 bar Lavaspeed LP572 suction press. This was necessary before the second phase and the installation of the new tunnel system could begin.
"The second phase went smoothly to this point," said Jim Slatcher, Lavatec's regional sales manager for the western United States. "The old tunnel system was still producing at a high level and was sold to another laundry operator who will install it in his facility." later this year. "
In addition to the Lavaspeed LP572 press and the new LT60 floor transfer tunnel with 14 compartments, Taft ordered additional new devices that are expected to make his system even more efficient. The tunnel will be connected to six Lavatec TT745, 292-pound natural gas dryers, a press discharge conveyor and discharge system, and a two-stage shuttle system. All of this is controlled by the osLaundry management system.
Due to the lower energy consumption, savings in electricity, gas and water usage costs are expected. The TT745 dryers are equipped with infrared technology that detects when the laundry is dry, thereby reducing dryer times and energy consumption. osLaundry is a platform and technology independent software program that provides operators with faster real-time information and enables them to adjust daily production data in seconds or minutes instead of hourly.
"We looked at devices from other manufacturers, but we had a great 30-year term and Lavatec has always looked after us well." You are a very good company with good people, ”said Taft. "I can't wait to turn on the new devices. We'll be with our healthcare customers in Utah for the next 10 or 20 years."
The photo in the top right shows Rick Taft welcoming the delivery of his new Lavatec tunnel system to Textile Care Services.
