LATEST ISSUE / Editorial

Interesting what people are looking for ... the past couple of weeks I have had phone calls from three small laundries, all looking for single roll ironers. One even wanted something just for pillow cases - a meter wide would do.  If you have equipment you aren't using, don't forget to advertise with us. Our Classifieds section gets hits from some surprising places.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Greetings dear reader! I trust your Christmas and New Year break provided you with a restful end to the year and a great jumping off point for 2012. The next issue of the NATIONAL publishes at the end of February. If you have items for inclusion - editorial or advertising - please direct these to my email address. I am currently on annual leave and return to the office Monday 30th January. Oh boy ... I can hardly wait to see what 2012 holds!   

OFFICE OF NDCL

In this age of technology, and particularly with my business being largely conducted by email and telephone, I have decided that operating a business office is largely a waste of money and travel time and like a lot of IT people, I now work from a home based office.  The NDCL business line has been disconnected and will be rerouted direct to my mobile number. Please delete the office details and replace with telephone +61 (0) 408 600 312 (International callers: please change your telephone contact details for NDCL to +61 (0) 408 600 312). Thank you!  
Mail to: PO BOX 920   SYLVANIA SOUTHGATE   NSW  2224  AUSTRALIA

PDA - WA ... FABULOUS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SAW RENEWING MEMBERS RECEIVE iPAD2

Yes, those amazing people on the PDA Inc. - WA Committee have thought of a new and clever way to give back to their Membership.  They have bought iPad2 in bulk, and given one to each Member renewing their Membership for 2011/12. I was there on August 10th to join in the fun, and talk to Members. (There were 85 people present on the night.)  I think there should be a "Get To Know Your iPad2 Seminar" coming up shortly. :)

This was not just a cute gift ... it's a valuable working tool. Industry Awards, Customer Complaint Forms, information from previous meetings ... it's all there on the iPad. What if an Award rate changes, for example. Content can be updated instantly for the whole Membership via the control DropBox.  So clever! And the iPad2 is only being given to RENEWING Members ... it's a thank you, not a ploy to attract new Members.

Meanwhile, PDA Inc. WA is serving as a Guinea Pig for the NATIONAL.  In addition to receiving their magazine in the mail, the .pdf of the NATIONAL will become available to them via the Member DropBox which is controlled by Secretary Linda Ashburner. I will be surveying Members in 12 months time to ascertain how they feel about reading their magazine online. 


More Help for Mature Age Workers – At last some funding for those who are normally ineligible   

Finally some funding for those who own/manage a laundry/dry cleaning business to get either their cert III in dry cleaning operations or cert IV Frontline Management. The Australian Government is making $30 million available over the next three years, so that 7500 mature age workers with trade relevant skills but no formal qualifications will have the opportunity to have their skills assessed and formally recognised. More Help for Mature Age Workers is aimed at workers aged 50 years and over and provides a focus on skilling up mature age workers to address both productivity and skills shortages.
 
LDCT Laundry Dry Cleaning Training can help those who own or run a laundry/dry cleaning business to apply for this funding and provide the necessary tools for an RPL (recognised prior learning) to achieve their trade qualifications in  either cert III in Dry Cleaning Operations or Cert IV Frontline management for those who already have their trade qualifications.
 
The Federal Government is offering $2200 to successful applicants per qualification.   LDCT can then provide Fee for Service, the necessary RPL/Skills recognition to achieve the qualification Australia Wide.  This offer is for all industries across Australia so first in best Qualified.
 
For more details or help with applications please contact Kerryn Rizza 0416052528
 
Kerryn J Rizza Grad Dip Industrial Education & Training  TAE  CertIV FLM
Head Trainer
LDCT Laundry Dry Cleaning Training
PO Box 608
Cardiff NSW 2285
0416052528 Mobile
02 49 588817 BH
02 49 588877 Fax
kerryn@ldct.com.au
www.ldct.com.au

 
MANY BLOOD BANKS ACROSS AUSTRALIA ARE REPORTING CRITICALLY LOW LEVELS OF STOCK - PLEASE GIVE YOUR BLOOD TODAY
http://www.donateblood.com.au
How many family members do you have? Workmates? Friends? Do you know that 1 in 3 Australians will need a blood product during their lifetime? Heart surgery, cancer treatment, road accident victims, fire and burns, pre-term babies .... the list is endless. Do you know only 1 in 30 Australians donates blood? Find your nearest Blood Bank today and make a deposit.  We need more blood donors of whole blood and it doesn't matter what type you are.  Note to Happy Wanderers: my time to donate again came up and the Red Cross phoned me as usual. In establishing a date they asked if I had been overseas lately. I said to the US, and they advised an eight week non-donation period from the date of return. And if I'm out of the mix to the end of August YOU need to make up for it!!! You are needed NOW!   Recent news example below:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/what-if-this-had-happened-at-home-she-wouldnt-be-here-20110716-1hj1r.html


WANTED: LAUNDRY SOFTWARE PACKAGE. PLEASE REPLY SHIRLEY   shirley@nationaldrycleaners.com.au

Hi Shirley, 


 We are looking to upgrade our laundry software from Quickbooks to something more specific to our industry and I was wondering if you know of any software that would be appropriate for us being a commercial laundry without any dry cleaning?



Kind Regards,
 
A Commercial Laundry 
 

FILTERFAB ON SAFETY AND IRONER TRAINING    
"Our ironer training freely available on http://www.filterfab.com/training and "Germstop" is now on here too. All the posters can bedownloaded from here as a pdf BUT Filterfab are happy to send out a laminated poster in A3 – Free of Charge – on request to any customer who wants it. 

GreenEarth Cleaning Wins Australian Award

The United Nations Association of Australia announced GreenEarth Cleaning and its Affiliates as finalists in this year's national World Environment Day Awards.  The Virgin Blue Business Awards - Best Specific Environmental Initiative selected "GreenEarth Cleaning Australasia - 'Eco Friendly Cleaning For Your Entire Wardrobe'" as one of the outstanding initiatives in bringing an eco-friendly process to Australia to help replace hazardous alternatives.   Please see EVENTS this website for full details.

 
NEWSFLASH! CHECK OUT THE NEW GARMENT ALERTS FROM DCCAS, LOCATED IN THE ORANGE BOX ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THIS HOME PAGE.  ADDITIONAL BACK COPIES OF ALERTS ARE BEING LOADED PERIODICALLY. 

As regular readers of the NATIONAL would be aware, Steve Pyott, (B.Sc., M.Sc., CText A.T.I., Grad.Cert.Ed., Adv.Dep.Ed) and Chartered Textile Technologist contributes a regular column to the NATIONAL magazine over the banner of his company, DCCAS (Dry Cleaning Complaints Arbitration Services).   I was so delighted to hear from Steve this week when he wrote to advise a Queensland drycleaner had phoned to say he had Hugo Boss suit on his counter which corresponded to the latest Alert, and wondered if Steve had a copy of the article as published in the NATIONAL magazine. Of course, Steve had the .pdf which he promptly emailed to the drycleaner. It is this sort of interlinked activity in the industry, where different bodies work together, that is so practical and beneficial.

UPDATE: Check out the attached .pdf with the Update on this story at DCCAS at left.

Then, there is the same old struggle which our industry continues to face where helpful information is provided – in this instance by both Steve Pyott and DIA - only to find it printed under the banner "Don't get taken to the Cleaners".  Nothing more than a lazy way of attracting readers with a headline that has little to do with the content. 

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/dont-get-taken-to-the-cleaners/story-fn6ccy9u-1226024020076

YOU ARE INVITED
If you have News and Views to share, please forward to shirley@nationaldrycleaners.com.au or www.nationaldrycleaners.com.au
 
 

Meanwhile, don't forget to click the heading bars above for EVENTS, CLASSIFIEDS, and the like as this website is updated practically daily! We also have an additional two new pages on our site, while breaking news is still at the forefront on the front home page, recent news is now split off into both Laundry and Drycleaning News Archives. If you have any suggestions for the site, don't hesitate to drop me a line!
 

Shirley Naylor,


Editor

PS:  http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/style/men-dressing-badly-20110406-1d3oy.html
Check out the comments .... 

 

EVENTS / Upcoming

CLICK ON THE "EVENTS" BAR AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE FOR THE LATEST LISTINGS.
DON'T FORGET THESE LISTINGS ARE FREE, PLEAE ADVISE ME AS SOON AS YOU HAVE YOUR DATES LOCKED IN.
AND WITH THREE EVENTS IN MAY 2012 ALREADY, IT MIGHT BE AN IDEA TO LOOK AT JUNE. 


OUR CLASSIFIED ADS. ARE UPDATED REGULARLY, SOMETIMES MORE THAN ONCE A DAY!
AND POSITIONS VACANT ARE FREE. CHECK THEM OUT NOW!
REMINDER TO ADVERTISERS - IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVISE US WHEN YOU HAVE SOLD YOUR ITEMS SO WE CAN REMOVE THEM FROM THE SITE. TO LEAVE THEM THERE CAN BE IRRITATING FOR PEOPLE LOOKING. THANKS!

FOR SALE
Vertical Watertube Steam Boiler
East Coast Steam
75 HP with blow down tank
and all extras
In very good condition
just decommissioned
Phone Barry Watts
0408 071 631


Visit CLASSIFIEDS for regular updates. If you find your company is missing from the Directory, drop me a line and we'll fix that. No charge.

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CLOTH NAPPIES ... PEOPLE REVISIT WHAT WORKS.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/cloth-nappies-make-a-comeback-20110905-1jst5.html#ixzz1X30kgRG4

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MORE ON THE SOCIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS WHICH THREATEN THE DRYCLEANING INDUSTRY

http://www.startupsmart.com.au/planning/2011-05-16/business-casual-on-the-increase-among-start-ups.html
 

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FUNNY CARE LABELLING

Hi Folks,  
This may not be all that funny to people outside the circle of professional cleaners that I normally deal with in my day job as a textile consultant but I'll give it a try anyway as I thought it was hilarious. This Puma garment has the care label which says: 'Wash This When Dirty' which, needless to say, conforms with none of the legal requirements of any care labelling system. Cheers, Steve Pyott

http://www.drycleaningcomplaints.com

 

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I suggest you bone up on your training if the following news item is to be believed!

LAUNDRY STAFF TO EARN MORE THAN PM!
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/money/laundry-staff-on-420k-a-year/story-e6frezc0-1226027858419

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NEW SERVICE TO OUR READERS!  DCCAS GARMENT ALERTS NOW AVAILABLE AS PDF ON OUR WEBSITE - LOOK LEFT!

Steve Pyott has very kindly allowed us to feature the Drycleaning Complaints Arbitration Services (DCCAS) Garment Alerts and Reports on our website. You'll see his logo in the orange box on the left hand side of the Home Page. It is good to see drycleaners using their NATIONAL magazine – Steve sent a note earlier this week …

Hi Shirley,
I forgot to tell you the piece de resistance - about a week after the mag came out, I got a phone call from a dry cleaner in Townsville who had had exactly the same issue with another Hugo Boss jacket and he wanted a copy of the Alert to give to his customer. I sent him a copy of the pdf version of the Alert from the magazine that you had sent me. I think this may be the first time that I have had this type of response to a Garment Alert!  
Cheers,
Steve
PS:  Update, also a Victorian drycleaner has had the same problem – sent them a copy of the PDF.

spyott@bigpond.net.au

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SEE "EVENTS" IN THE NAVIGATION BAR FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING AVAILABLE PDFs OF REGISTRATION FORMS REGARDING THE FOLLOWING INDUSTRY MEETINGS. (DON'T FORGET TO LIST YOURS – ANOTHER FREE SERVICE FORM NDCL)
 

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GreenClean 2012 – Friday 31st August through Sunday 2nd September 

Somewhere exotic in Queensland - details coming. 

GreenClean 2012 is an International Conference open to all dry cleaners in their pursuit of a prosperous future. Following a successful 2010 conference in Queenstown New Zealand, GreenClean moved to Adelaide for 2011, in 2012 they are heading to FNQ. Details soon.  Diarise the dates now!
 

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ANOTHER INDUSTRY TRAGEDY, OVERSEAS NEWS  (I THINK "INDUSTRIAL STEAMER" IS WHAT WE WOULD CALL AN IRONER)

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/dry_cleaner_horror_xq4CX5mUmnh8fsiczfOtWJ

"A woman loading towels into an industrial steamer at a Queens dry cleaner was crushed yesterday when her scarf became caught in the machine, police sources said.

Limin Min Huang, 32, was left brain dead after the freak accident at 4:45 p.m. at An Huan Laundry Service on Tuckerton Street and Liberty Avenue, an industrial strip in Jamaica, the sources added.

"She was looking into the machine and she forgot she had something on her neck. The machine pulled her and then the machine stopped," said manager Hong Zhang.

The married woman had worked there for three years, he said."

Don't forget your duty of care to your employees: enforce safe dress codes and uniforms at all times.

UPDATE: "American Drycleaner"
http://www.americandrycleaner.com/Article.cfm?articleID=18309
 

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DEPARTMENT ENVIRONMENT CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER (DECCW) AKA EPA ON THE MOVE IN SYDNEY 

Attn:  Mr XXX
XYZ Drycleaners
Shop XXX, ABC Street, 
XXXXVILLE NSW

Dear Mr XXX,

Notice to provide information and records – Perchloroethylene solvent and waste

I am writing to you concerning your responsibility to ensure the lawful disposal of perchloroethylene (PERC) drycleaning waste generated at your business.  I refer to the site inspection conducted at the premises Shop XXX, ABC Street, XXXXVILLE NSW, by authorised officers –––––––– and ––––––––– on November 3rd, 2010.

Please note that although the Environment Protection Authority (“EPA”) is now part of the Department Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW), certain statutory functions and powers continue to be exercised in the name of the EPA.

During the inspection the shop manager was unable to provide authorised officers with appropriate receipts for disposal of PERC waste. The EPA has issued you with a Notice to Provide Information and/or Records under Section 191 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act 1997 (please find attached Notice No. 1122147).

Please submit the requested information and/or records to Mr Andrew Hawkins, Manager Chemicals Technical Policy Unit, Department Environment, Climate Change and Water, PO Box A290, Sydney South NSW 1232 by Friday 25th February 2011. I would like to remind you that failure to comply with this Notice, without reasonable excuse, is an offence incurring a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00 for corporations and $250,000.00 for individuals. A further penalty of $120,000.00 for corporations and $60,000.00 for individuals is incurred for each day the offence continues.

In addition to this; PERC solvents and waste were being stored inappropriately at the premises not in line with industry expectations as per fact sheet (http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/waste/0943drycleaning.pdf) You are required to advise Dr Luke Formosa in writing (Fax no 02 9995 6603) when appropriate PERC solvent/waste storage is installed, by no later than Friday, 14th January, 2011.

If there are any issues with providing the information and/or records by the nominated date, please contact Luke Formosa on (02) 9995 5955.


The above is an extract from a letter received by a drycleaner in Sydney’s west, following an inspection. I have been advised by allied traders that these ‘EPA’ visits are becoming more frequent and that drycleaners are now contacting them in a panic seeking to obtain back dated documents for non-existent waste collection. This of course is not possible. Your time is up, comply today, you could be next.
 

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Okay ... this might depend on your sense of humour ...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/epa-stubborn-environment-refusing-to-meet-civiliza,17418/
 

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DOES YOUR PLANT NEED SMARTENING UP?

The NATIONAL is offering four A2 posters for the amazing price of $77.00 delivered anywhere in Australia by Australia Post. See the icon on the lower right hand side of this page for order form!