Oregon Dry Cleaners Assoication
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From the Editor's Laptop... On January 26th, the ODCA Board met at the Phoenix Grand Hotel in Salem for its first meeting of the year. As I sat there, I couldn't help but remember my first Board meeting so many years ago. I was appointed District Director to fill the position that was vacated early. At that time, it was up to the President of the Association to appoint replacements. Our new by-laws now require the Board approve a replacement. A very wise change I think. I attended my first Board meeting the very next morning, timid and filled with anxiety. I had been told that the Board was made up of "Big" dry cleaners uninterested in the little guys. I was the epitome of the little guy.
I learned quickly that the Board was a good mix of large and small operators. I would like to point out that it has remained that way and I am extremely pleased at that. Regardless of the size of your operation, the Board is getting input that reflects your concerns. I sat at that first meeting listening and learning. Someone said to me afterwards, "You didn't say anything", I simply replied, "Give me time". As time passed, I began speaking up. I think one of the most important things I have learned over the years is to not take anything personally. When you realize that each of us, in our own right, is a successful business person, that each of us, in our own way, runs a successful business, and that each of us does this in a way completely different from the other, differences of opinion on how the Association should run are inevitable. This single most important thing I have learned is that all of us, each with our own opinions and ideas, are valid. Please remember that next time you are contemplating attending a dry cleaners function. It will change your entire experience and empower you to get the most out of it. Have a spectacular February! DrySolv UPDATE Last month I had not received the proper gaskets for my BowePermac P300 to give you a true reading on solvent mileage. I am happy to report that the gaskets needing replacement have been installed, tightened appropriately and are containing the solvent and vapors without leaking. Getting decent solvent mileage came down to the still maintenance. With the lower steam pressure the machine would not run the manufacturers program properly and I was losing a lot of solvent in my still sludge. I by-passed the steam regulator and brought the pressure up so that the still would cook out at the required temperature. This resulted in solvent mileage of 1022 pounds per gallon on the high end and 987 pounds per gallon on the low end. I don't think I could ask for anything more than that. I did have one problem garment. An off white cotton/spandex rain coat with a flocked backing labeled Dry Clean Only. No other instructions. The manufacturer decided that the seams inside this unlined garment should be bound with an orange fabric. Worried about the flocked backing, I ran the coat on what is called a "Splash" load. This is the DrySolv version of a short delicate cycle. When I took the coat out of the machine the orange had bled along every seam. I figured I had nothing to lose so I re-ran it on a regular cycle. All the fugitive dyes were removed and it came out just fine. I also made some adjustments to the program as an experiment. I shortened the wash cycle by 30 seconds, down to four and a half minutes and extended the dry cycle to seventeen minutes. The complete cycle now finishes in just 29 minutes. I am extremely happy with my decision to try DrySolv. No need for filter maintenance, reduced waste, shorter running times and ease of use have made my life much easier. I also think with the great solvent mileage, DrySolv will be much more affordable to run than PERC even at the higher price per gallon. I will let you know in the future if my opinion changes, but somehow I don't think that is likely.
Contact Brian
Olson
at
bolson@oregondrycleaners.org.
Brian Olson CED, Director, District 1 - Newsletter Editor
The first month of the New Year has now come and gone. I am sure that the weather we have been having has affected us all in one way or another. The word I have from many dry cleaners is that sales are down and I think this is a combination of two things; First the weather that we have had in the last month has certainly put a damper on things. Also I believe that we are deeply into a slowing economy. The cost of food, utilities, and gas are on the rise and that means less dollars to spend on dry cleaning. The housing market has gone bust and current estimates are that the inventory of unsold homes is at 2 years, the highest level in 25 years. Tax collection is dropping and when that happens, local governments starts looking for new sources of revenue. This is happening in Portland right now and I touch on that subject in a separate article in this newsletter. What can you do to prepare yourself for this downturn? Look around you and see if there are any ways that you can conserve energy you might be losing from un-insulated steam pipes to air leaks in windows and doors. Keep your equipment maintained by regularly greasing fittings, cleaning of your stills on a regular basis, by this I mean getting inside and cleaning the side walls well with a scraper and wire brush as the buildup on the sides tends to slow the cooking process. Good maintenance will yield less dollars spent on repairs and less down time. You might decide to stay open two hours more a day or maybe Sundays if none of your closest competitors offer those hours. You can cut employee hours but that is something I would only do as a last resort. You could start offering pickup and delivery. There are a lot of things we can do to control costs or add revenue; we just have to decide to do them. On Saturday January 26th, your board had a meeting to name committees for the coming year and decide the direction of this association. I am pleased to announce that this year's convention will be held at Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino in Canyonville on September 26 and 27th. I think this year's convention will be full of new and exciting things and a great set of speakers. This will all be put together to provide a complete experience for everyone that attends with the leadership of Claire Anchick as committee chair. Leading the Education committee are Leslie Kettenhofen and Kathey Butters and I am sure that they will bring us a full schedule of seminars. We also formed a new committee this year; the Community Outreach Committee will be co-chaired by Brian Olson and Kathey Butters. I will report in next month's newsletter just what we want this committee to accomplish and how every one of you can help in your own community. I believe that positive action by this association's members, be it helping a non-profit group collect clothes for the less fortunate, helping with food drives, supporting your local schools, (and the list goes on), is exactly what we need to combat the negative news that only hurts us. You can help us make this committee a success and contribute your time and ideas.
Contact Scott
McClure
at
smcclure@oregondrycleaners.org.
Portland dry cleaners, we need your help! The City has passed a Transportation Fee ordinance. This ordinance will assess a monthly fee on each residence and business within the city limits of Portland for at least ten years. On homes, the proposed rate is only $4.54 per month. Your businesses will be charged according to your NCIS number and the square footage of your building to determine your impact on transportation. Based on that information the City will determine the number of estimated trips your customers make to your business. You will pay up to $125.00 each month in fees to repair roads. Most disturbing about this is the cap on the amount a business will have to pay. Big Box, Department and Grocery Stores will pay a disproportionately lower amount per customer than small business. This is being done without you having a vote and they don't want you to have a vote. Recent action by a coalition of business associations to collect petitions to put this on the ballot in May was met with normal backdoor politics. With only 28 days to collect 25,000 signatures, Commissioner Leonard has made a motion for this week's city council meeting to remove this ordinance and replace it with three separate ordinances that Commissioner Adams will put forth. No public comment will be allowed and will result in the need to collect three times as many signatures in less than 25 days to refer this to the ballot. As well, it will require three different petitions. They don't want you to have a say in this! This is Taxation without representation and we must stop it. We need Portland area dry cleaners to join this fight. Call me for a petitions and I will personally deliver them to you just as soon as they are available. Find out more in the following links. . . http://search.oregon live.com/sp?aff=100&keywords=sam+adams
Call me at 503-317-0125
Front Row: Tammy Thompson, District 3 Director, Campbell's Cleaners, Corvallis. Karen Shinabery, Secretary, Astoria Cleaners. Claire Anchick, District 4 Director, Towne and Country Cleaners and Laundry, White City. Second Row: Michael O'Connor, District 1 Director, Position 1, Continental Cleaners, Portland. Brian Olson, District 1 Director, Position 2, 45th Avenue Cleaners, Portland. Scott McClure, President, Tip Top Cleaners, Portland. Bill Thomason, District 2 Director, Forest Grove Cleaners. Gary Campbell, Treasurer, Campbell's Cleaners, Corvallis. Camera Shy: Leslie Kettenhofen, President Elect, Bob's Dry Cleaners, Florence. Eric Arbak, District 5 Director, Central Oregon Dry Cleaners, Bend.
Convention committee chair, Claire Anchick announced at the January Board meeting, that convention this year will be held at the Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort. Seven Feathers is located in Canyonville Oregon just off Interstate 5. The dates are September 26th and 27th so be sure to mark your calendar. After polling the Board at the January meeting, Claire left with a good idea of what worked for us in the past and what didn't. She would now like your input! If you have ideas, or better yet, if you would like to serve on the Convention Committee, let Claire know. You do not have to be a Board Memeber to serve on this committee and your thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated.
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Retiring from the Board this year:
Dan Bittick,
District 4 Director, 