After experiencing the impact and challenges of the epidemic, many enterprises in the washing industry began to return to the basic plate. They pursue “saving” as the first word, pay attention to open source and throttling, pursue fine management, start from the business mode in line with their own development, and seek more possibilities. However, it is proved that such a way of operation can indeed make enterprises successfully break the industry, just as Sichuan Guangyuan Washing Service Co., LTD., which serves nearly 90% of local hotels, does.
Construction of New Factory
A good leader can respond effectively no matter what kind of environment, and lead the company to keep moving forward. Mr. Ouyang, who has been deeply engaged in the laundry industry for more than ten years, is such an excellent business leader. In his view, the automation and intelligence of laundry plants are the trends of the times, and fine operation and quality management are imperative. Therefore, he decided to build a new factory that integrates the advantages of automation, intelligence, efficient production, and high energy saving.
Therefore, Jialong Laundry and Guangjie Laundry merged to form Zhaofeng Laundry Service Co., LTD in September 2019. In April 2020, the construction of the new factory began. In November of the same year, the new factory covering an area of more than 3,700 square meters was officially put into operation.
Operation during the Pandemic
Operating in a pandemic can be stressful. The industry trough period of “irregular sealing control”, “business volume reduction” and “energy price rise” tests every laundry enterprise. The difficulty of this period is the same for every laundry company, and it is the same for Mr. Ouyang. However, by virtue of many years of experience in the industry, he believes that the construction of direct-fired laundry factories is not wrong. As a result, the Zhaofeng laundry bought new equipment under the pressure of almost loss during the epidemic period. It achieved a profit, which fully proves that he was not only not wrong, but also forward-looking in the prediction of its own development. Some foreign laundry colleagues said that the efficiency of Zhaofeng laundry could be one of the highest even in Australia.
Advantages of Direct-fired Equipment
“At present, our factory has two 16-chamber 60kg tunnel washers, a rear hanging bag system, eight direct-fired dryers, and a storage direct-fired high-speed ironing line. When the direct-fired equipment was not used, our factory needed to open two gas boilers. Now, only one boiler is enough for washing. The establishment of the direct-fired laundry plant allowed us to survive the most difficult period of the epidemic. Not only did we not make a loss, we made a small profit.” Mr. Ouyang is happy to share his experience with his peers.
❑ Reasons
Regarding the original choice, he said that it was not a rush, but a careful consideration: “When purchasing equipment, our goal is very clear. We will choose the direct-fired laundry equipment because of the heat conversion of steam equipment, heat loss of pipe and condensate water, and so on. I roughly calculated that the actual heat utilization rate of steam-heated laundry equipment is only about 60%. At the same time, it is commonly acknowledged that the tunnel washer is more energy-saving than the single machine, so we chose the CLM tunnel washer as our new equipment in the factory.”
❑ Actual use experience
The tunnel washer does bring tangible cost savings to the Zhaofeng Laundry. 16-chamber 60 kg CLM tunnel washer can press 27-32 linen cakes in 1 hour. The special counter-current drift design has achieved great savings in energy costs such as water and electricity. Water alone has saved at least 30%. Electricity and gas have been significantly saved.
❑ The number of linen cake
For the amount of linen cake, Mr. Ouyang has his own choice: "It is not important how many cakes the tunnel washer produces in an hour, the important thing is the coordination of the post-finishing line and tunnel washer. Even if you can make 32 linen cakes in an hour, you are still restricted by the post-finishing process. Therefore, the number of cakes in an hour is actually determined according to the post-finishing process. Why not extend the pressing time so that the moisture content is lower? It’s actually more reasonable, more cost-effective, and more cost-effective.”
Conclusion
Due to the high quality and low-cost operation of the direct-fired equipment and the gradual opening of the epidemic, the amount of washing in Zhaofeng Laundry is increasing. In 2021, with the increase of the Zhaofeng Laundry business, another CLM direct-fired tunnel washer and a CLM storage direct-fired chest ironer were added to the factory. Since then, Zhaofeng Laundry has become the largest direct-fired laundry factory in the local area.
Post time: Feb-19-2025