Healthcare, hospitality, laundromat, commercial laundries, hostels, construction, railways and manufacturing industries including pharma, automobile, food processing and others sought laundry solutions at the Clean India Show. In a major initiative to provide an exclusive platform for the nascent laundry industry in India, the Clean India Show had a Special Laundry Pavilion.
The growing demand for laundry solutions in India can be ascertained with big players like Indian Railways setting up tunnel laundry system, IT companies like Infosys having in house laundry set up besides several hotels and industries investing in laundry solutions for white linen and clean uniforms. The Show also hosted a two-day Seminar for the Laundry segment on topics like Laundry Design, In house vs Outsourcing in Laundry, Setting Hygiene Standards and Sustainability, 
Dry Cleaning in 21st Century and Laundry Management: Myths and Facts which were addressed by national and international experts. Supporting the Clean India Show for the Laundry Pavilion were Girbau India as Industry Partner and ADD Laundry Concepts as Knowledge Partner. In an exclusive talk Enric Saavedra, International Area Manager, Girbau and Akash Dharamsey, Director, ADD Laundry Concepts, appreciated the efforts of the Clean India team and said that this platform will help in educating the clients and improving standards of the industry.
“India is a very important market for Girbau because of the growing economy and the responses we are getting from the market. Some FM companies are planning to include Laundry Services too. We are receiving a lot of enquiries, particularly from new entrepreneurs, commercial laundries, hospitals and FM companies. Most of them do not have experience and it is a matter of educating them in the right direction. We are open to collaborate with any Indian company who wants to do set up a long term business in Laundry,” said Enric.
Sharing his views about the Show and laundry pavilion,
N Srinivas, Director, Sunrise Garment Machinery Pvt Ltd said, “In a broader perspective, overall the Show was very good and specifically, the creation of a laundry pavilion will give a boost to the industry. We majorly cater to the hospitality segment and we received decision makers who were looking for varied solutions right from washer to steam irons. Even though the Show was in Bangalore, there were more visitors from neighbouring States of Andhra and Kerala than Karnataka.”
“It has been a very unique experience at the Clean India Show. We have received a lot of attention in terms of being in the Laundry pavilion,” said Akash. It has exposed participants to newer markets which, in the normal course, may have happened at a much later stage than now. “We have seen a lot of interest being generated which is going to be beneficial in the long run. As far as the equipment is concerned, from an 8kg washer an hour to 1500kg an hour washers, the entire range is available to the Indian market. It is a matter identifying what the client wants and how we can customize it for them to meet their needs. The primary natural resource that is being used in Laundries is water. These equipment being highly energy efficient will be an ideal choice for people who are thinking about investing. Besides, the technology being offered will last for 15 to 20 years.”
“The market is a little immature at present but is slated for exclusive growth in the near future. If you look at the market dynamics today, there is a lot of interest that is being generated from various quarters which were not even expected. This is just the beginning.”
What is important in terms of laundry industry’s growth is to partner and create a platform, awareness and camaraderie between the people from the industry. “There are a lot of misnomers within the industry that a washing machine only washes. It is not true. Setting up a commercial laundry or huge on premise laundry is different in every aspect. It is not just simply buying a washing machine. You need to buy a washing machine which is efficient, saves water, energy, reduces human involvement and is safe for the personnel operating it so on and so forth. All these things are part of the technology that is evolving in India, the awareness of it which has already evolved and is available in the European and American markets. It is only a matter of adopting that technology and implementing it.” ADD Laundry Concepts represent Girbau in India.
Sharing his views Daniel Ries, Business Development International, Kreussler, who addressed the seminar on Dry Cleaning in the 21st century, said, “Laundry is a huge business worldwide and is growing at a fast pace. There is a lot of interest particularly where newer solutions and dry cleaning are concerned. The show has helped us to create awareness about detergent solutions and technologies in the laundry and dry cleaning per se.”
Read more about the Laundry Sessions and Pavilion
in the forthcoming issue of Clean India Journal.
