By all appearances Neighborhood Wash’s store owner, Boyd Woodward, already had an enviable career – as an engineering manager working for one of the most desirable companies on the planet. However even with his corporate success something remained amiss for the Southern California native. “I always wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Boyd divulged. “And I couldn’t shake the feeling of urgency – that if I didn’t figure out something soon, I may never fulfill my dream.”

It was during this research phase where Boyd secured two vital pieces of industry information: that the Electrolux brand had a great reputation among seasoned laundry owners; and the name of a highly regarded distributor of Electrolux Professional equipment – Sterling Phillips from SES Laundry, Inc. “Based on my initial findings, I was already leaning towards Electrolux Professional equipment,” explained Boyd. “Yet after hearing praise after praise from so many laundry professionals, well, it just confirmed that Electrolux was the only choice for me.”

Boyd purchased a Laundromat located 35 miles away from his residence. Yes, it created some operational challenges and inconveniences. However, it also offered up exceptional opportunity that Boyd felt would pay off. Boyd named his store Neighborhood Wash due to its prime location in the middle of a high-density neighborhood in Hawthorne, California.

Now, the task at hand was transforming the badly maintained store into an efficiently run, thoroughly modern Laundromat.

“The 1,400 square-foot laundry underwent a complete overhaul,” shared Boyd.

The once neglected Laundromat now has a fun, friendly vibe with lots of family appeal. Neighborhood Wash is bright, open and has a large mirror giving patrons a superior view of their surroundings. “Safety is key,” shared Boyd. “In addition to creating a much more open floor plan, I installed eight security cameras.”

Neighborhood Wash also boasts free amenities such as Wi-Fi and flat-screen televisions.

But, perhaps the most important differentiator is Neighborhood Wash’s brand new Electrolux equipment.

The old equipment mix was about 75 percent top loaders, which have since been eliminated. Needless to say, Neighborhood Wash’s outdated washers and dryers have all been replaced with Electrolux washers and dryers.

The Electrolux High Speed machines are part of the ENERGY STAR® program. Laundry owners can lower their utilities by 20-40% with these high extraction models. They are designed to respect the environment at every point of production, usage, and disposal. In addition, the high-speed machines save your customers a great deal of time — a priceless commodity these days.

“I believe that people will continue to put a premium on their time,” said Boyd, “so I wanted my store to offer up features that ensure convenience and efficiency, ultimately saving my customers’ time. The Electrolux high-speed extract equipment in combination with the Electrolux dryers truly provides this service.”

“Since customers like large-capacity washers, my 75-pound and 65-pound Electrolux machines are right in the front of the store while the smaller 18-, 25-, and 45-pound machines are in the back.”

In a marketplace crowded with aged laundries, Boyd is confident that Neighborhood Wash will continue to make its mark. Even the newer laundries can’t compete with it, according to Boyd. “They don’t offer the conveniences, such as multiple-payment options and the time-saving, high-speed Electrolux equipment that my store offers,” said Boyd. “I’m excited about the future of Neighborhood Wash.” So much so that Boyd opened a second Laundromat, Magic Laundry in Lawndale, that is also thriving.

Five Stars. It’s a term reserved for the finest of restaurants. It’s the rating synonymous with the most luxurious of hotels. It’s the phrase film critics unholster only for the “Citizen Kanes” of the silver screen world. No doubt five stars is the ultimate measure of quality…the best of the best.

That was the driving force for John Pinnock in developing his Baltimore-based Laundry City business. “I wanted this to be a true five-star laundromat,” Pinnock said. And don’t try to sway him that the terms “five-star” and “laundromat” historically have not been paired together. Pinnock knows the traditional view of laundries as dark and dingy was a major hurdle, but he wasn’t backing down from his charge. “My goal was to change the mentality… to make this a place people want to come to and stay,” he said.

One could say Pinnock’s vision for the laundry started at an early age, or at least he understood the need the business is based on. Attending a boarding school, it was incumbent upon students to look their best, and clean clothes obviously were a major part of that. “It was always important to have clean clothes. It was ingrained in me at a young age,” he said.

While the seeds of the business may have been planted at a young age, they didn’t fully take root until a couple years ago…and germination is a process the certified arborist knows a little something about.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the laundry business,” he said, adding that what he found attractive is that it doesn’t come with the labor headaches most other ventures do. “I’ve been in my own business for 30 years and the biggest challenge is always labor.”

Five-star equipment

In planning his top-of-the-industry store, Pinnock knew he had to have the laundry equipment to deliver five-star results, and that was a no-brainer. Growing up in Jamaica, he was quite familiar with the Electrolux brand and its reputation for quality. Pinnock, however, performed his due diligence and had many in-depth conversations with current store owners about their experiences with Laundrylux and Electrolux. Machine quality and efficiency was a huge part of the equation. The other half was if the brand delivered on its service promise. Pinnock was happy to find out, it did.

“They have a culture of customer service that puts me at ease,” Pinnock said. But the Electrolux brand brings much more to the table. “No other brand compares to Electrolux Professional,” shares Pinnock. “The innovation, quality, and reliability are incredible. In addition to the text messaging, Electrolux washers have a unique feature called Automatic Water Savings (AWS) that automatically adds the correct amount of water to match the load size. This saves me over 30 percent on water.”

The game changer

So what does Laundry City, the store billed as five-star facility, look like? Well for starters, it’s big…10,000 square feet big! Within that celestial body of space is a 250-square-foot kids play area and of course, 300 Electrolux Professional washers and dryers. The laundry’s lounge features classy elements never seen in this industry, such as a coffered ceiling and crown molding.

And while plastic furniture may be fine for a one-star facility, “The World’s Cleanest Laundromat,” as it states on the building, boasts leather furniture inside its 400-square-foot adult lounge. Pinnock felt it was important to “take it up a notch” and create a sizable quiet, warm, inviting area for customers to gather and utilize Laundry City’s free wi-fi. Add in large flat-screen televisions seemingly everywhere you look, and it’s clear Pinnock was fully invested in his effort to make this a premiere destination. “I wanted to take the chore out of the laundry task,” he said.

Powered by technology

Laundry City also puts advanced technology to use to further meet customers’ needs. Electrolux Professional washers and dryers have unique features engineered to reduce water consumption and gas usage, while delivering the best wash and dry results in the shortest amount of time possible.

That customer experience is made even easier with Text Messaging technology. With this innovative Electrolux feature, customers can start their washer and are free to walk away to run errands or just relax. The washer will send them a text message when the cycle is nearing completion.

Five-star service

If you’re still not convinced that Laundry City’s commitment to customer service is close to five stars, think again. This store clinches a five-star rating with chauffeur service. That’s right, Laundry City offers shuttle service from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. And if it’s not enough that drivers will pickup and dropoff customers, they’ll even help them cart their laundry in and out of the store.

“It’s very well used,” Pinnock said, “we have three drivers and the shuttles are running virtually nonstop.”

Five-star opening

It’s clear Pinnock takes great pride in not only providing his customers with exceptional laundry service – he also gives back to his community. The store partners with homeless advocates to provide free wash and dry services, while also underwriting neighborhood cleanup activities, and sponsoring youth sports teams.

With his commitment to the city of Baltimore, it’s only fitting that dignitaries such as the Mayor, Congressmen, and members of the business community were on hand, along with representatives from Laundrylux and Electrolux, for a five-star grand opening and ribbon cutting.

For Pinnock, it was gratifying that the community has backed his vision. “I was happy to see a strong turnout from the community,” he said, adding that it was a reflection of the city’s support from the start of his investment in the neighborhood.

Five stars…indeed.

Strandpark De Zeeuwse Kust is the perfect place for a family getaway, just 250 meters from the splendid beach of Renesse in the Netherlands.

Open all year long, the park offers the ideal solution for everyone. A camping area with 168 lots, some even with private facilities, all with electricity, water, TV connection and free WiFi; quiet chalets each with a garden terrace to enjoy the relaxing evenings and beach lodges which bring you back to the basics while not forgetting the comforts.

And to offer an even broader package, in April 2015, the park will open a hotel with 40 spacious family suites.

Electrolux Professional was able to be part of this superb facility as the preferred supplier for the self-service laundry. Mr. Marc Ruijtenberg commented: “We took advantage of the Electrolux PayperWash concept. We didn’t have to invest in the appliances but instead both us and our customers pay a fixed fee per wash and dry cycle. This solution, together with the sturdiness, easy to use controls and overall high quality of Electrolux appliances made the choice for Electrolux an easy one.”

There are 2 laundry facilities at the park. One equipped with 2 W465H washers and a T4250 tumble dryer and the other with 2 W555H washers and a T5190 dryer. All washers are connected to automatic detergent dosing systems.

Additionally, Electrolux equipped the Strand Café DOK restaurant with a W455H washer and T4130 dryer in a stacked solution for their specific laundry needs.

Strandpark De Zeeuwse Kust is a guarantee that your holiday will be unforgettable.

With five competing laundries in the Tacoma, Washington area, Susie Boyd knew exactly how she was going to make her laundromat, Mr. Bubbles, stand apart from her competitors and win over clientele – by creating a sparkling clean laundry environment.
Susie’s ideal laundromat vision came to her quite effortlessly; she just kept on thinking – what kind of place would I want to would to do my laundry in?
“That was the easy part,” shared Susie, “I would want a good location with ample parking and the best equipment, of course. I also would want a laundromat to have a comfortable atmosphere, friendly customer service, and to be clean.”
After looking at more than 20 stores, Susie chose the perfect one that held true to her vision of the right location with lots of parking. “We needed to accommodate the larger Electrolux Professional laundry equipment and make better use of the space,” said Susie.

In addition to the super-fast and superior cleaning and drying power of Electrolux equipment, aisles were opened up, and a roomy folding area was created. The picnic-bench seating lends just the right touch, creating an appealing ambiance while giving customers plenty of room to sit and read, or take advantage of the free Wi-fi.
As a first-time store owner, Susie knew she needed a laundry expert to help her re-tool and re-launch her store. She also knew exactly who to turn to – the 22-year veteran in the self-service laundry business who just happens to be her husband, Rich Boyd. Rich is the owner and president of SeaTac, Washington-based CESCO Equipment, a Laundrylux distributor. “Rich has designed, installed and sold some of the finest large coin laundries in Southern California and Arizona,” said Susie.

Brand loyalty

It comes as no surprise that the only laundry equipment choice for Susie and Rich was Electrolux Professional. “I could not be an Electrolux and Wascomat distributor, much less recommend these products to my wife of all people, if I didn’t believe they were absolutely the best washers and dryers in the business,” said Rich matter-of-factly.
Susie couldn’t agree more. “We didn’t even discuss it, we didn’t have to,” added Susie. “Electrolux Professional laundry equipment has a proven record in durability and offers the largest energy savings. Choosing Electrolux equipment was by far the easiest decision we had to make.” Electrolux washers are the most innovative on the market with Automatic Water Savings (AWS) for lowest water consumption and Compass control for easy programming.

For dryer selection, the couple went with high-performance Electrolux Stack Dryers. “The Electrolux dryers have a larger capacity than competitive models,” shared Susie. “They use less energy and dry faster. The reversing cylinders also reduce energy consumption, and protect against wrinkling and tangling.”

The Electrolux dryers also come with a unique innovation called EcoPower, which can save you up to 15% on gas. This unique technology determines when garments are dry and then automatically lowers the dryer temperature. With EcoPower, there’s less wear-and-tear on garments and no over-drying. Electrolux Professional stack dryers also have the best lint filter in the industry. “Our attendant pulls the filter forward and gently swipes his or her fingers across the lint filter,” said Rich. “That’s it. It’s amazing that something so small can be such a huge time saver.”

Another easy equipment decision for Susie was installing a card system that works with all payment types. “Some of our competitors have card-only equipment, which isn’t a convenient option for every customer,” said Susie. “Mr. Bubbles has a loyalty card just like the competition, but we also accept credit and debit cards, and, of course, coins.”

Leaving her competitors in the dust

Since renovating and reopening its doors in February 2013, Mr. Bubbles has experienced astonishing growth. “We just past 500% of what it was doing before we took it over!” exclaimed Susie. “And I can still recall the excitement of Grand Opening day.” The most gratifying experience for Susie was donating preloaded loyalty cards to a local church to distribute to those in need. “The biggest benefit in giving back is that is makes my heart feel good,” shared Susie.
Today, the response from the community continues to be overwhelmingly positive. So much so that Mr. Bubbles recently received the 2014 Best of Tacoma Award in the Laundromat category. Susie is beyond pleased that her cleaning obsession, as well as the superior Electrolux Professional laundry equipment and friendly service, are being so well received. “I think we’re on to something here, she shared. “ I am so looking forward to what comes next.”

Why replace machines that work?

“We have a budget to keep, and when the machines reach a certain age, the repair costs become too high to sustain, so it’s time to change.” “The new Line 5000 machines are much more energy conscious and energy efficient. This is very important as the prices of both electricity and water increase every year.”

“Another important advantage is the possibility of having different wash prices depending on the wash temperature. In the old laundry, it cost 10 DKK regardless of the wash type. Now, with the Line 5000 machines and ELS-Vision, we can easily have different price levels. For example, a 30 degree wash costs 8,- DKK and a cotton 60 degree cycle costs 12,- DKK. We know from experience, that people choose the cheapest wash – and with Electrolux Line 5000 it’s also the most energy efficient.”

Why Electrolux Professional?

“On behalf of the residents, together with the board of directors, we selected a laundry solution that we are comfortable with. The old Electrolux machines have served us well. And so, we choose robust industrial machines with very low energy and water consumption which pay off with a low LCC. We need to have the assurance that they will last for the next 14 years – and this we have with Electrolux. Based on the successful experience of the laundry we’ve decided to buy 35 machines for a different department here in Esbjerg – divided into 10 small laundries.”

Want to feel great and relaxed while doing your laundry? This is what DIY Laundry is all about.

In a self-service coin laundry, customers look for convenience, affordability, cost effectiveness and no hassles.
DIY Laundry is a new concept layout in coin-operated laundry, highly recognized by its customers. It is a franchise business which offers a modern atmosphere, a clean environment and a unique image.

Mr. William Lau from Styltech Pte Ltd, our coin-operated segment dealer, is the creative mind behind DIY Laundry. When he set up his first self-service coin shop, he was looking for a supplier able to answer to all of his needs for equipment reliability, low energy and water consumption without compromising performance and quality results.

When DIY Laundry set up its first commercial laundry shop in Singapore they wanted something that matched with the unique and modern shop design.
This is why they chose Electrolux Professional. It was the only supplier able to match their Concept layout with a unique and modern aesthetic design that other competitors could not provide. This is an important advantage that also contributed to providing a better working atmosphere for the customers.
Not only did Electrolux Professional fulfil all of these needs but it was also able to provide the best quality in service. In addition, by having a head office in Singapore, Electrolux Professional was able to offer the best local support in transferring expertise and knowledge to the owners in the first set up of their laundry business.

The solutions provided were:

• 2 commercial dryers
• 6 commercial washers (14 and 20 kg with hot water connection)
• 1 Coin changer

Mr. William Lau commented: “Work-life & balance when washing is easy. You can enjoy this by having a convenient place close to your home. There are significant benefits on setting up a coin-op laundry solution with a modern concept store recognizable by consumers in collaboration with Electrolux.”

The commercial laundry business offers many advantages with respect to other businesses. A “self-service” business means there is no labour involved. Unlike other businesses, the shop is open 24/7 with a maximum working capacity of 80 kg per half hour, so the owner can fully utilize the rental. In this context, Electrolux Professional is able to provide quality and repayable machines with low running costs due to low energy and water consumptions.
In December 2013, Styltech opened its first DIY Laundry in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. Their plan is to open 10 stores by the end of 2014.

A new, state-of-the-art laundry facility has become a thriving meeting place for the 667 students living in the recently renovated Malmö Studenthus, a student residence in the Rosengård district of Malmö. A new landlord took on the challenge of transforming the run-down concrete complex into modern student apartments.

At the heart of the 240-metre long building are the communal areas, with twin laundry units, study rooms and a lounge for enjoying a coffee or watching TV.
The investment has been a real success as the facilities combine a natural gathering point for the students where they can meet, enjoy a snack and study while keeping an eye on their laundry.

You need a pre-programmed key card to enter, a so-called tag, which is also used to book laundry room times and the study rooms, all via the Electrolux Professional Laundry Vision system.

To maintain a cleaner room and with an eye on the environment the laundry has also been equipped with an automatic detergent dosing system.
Our machines & solutions
12 x W455H
12 x T4130
6 x TS460
Automatic Detergent Dosing System
ELS Vision – Booking system

Well-motivated investment
Anne Siivola, Area Marketing Manager for HSB in Kristianstad, agrees: “These figures help motivate us to renew the washing environments in our buildings. We have also found that switching means a reduction in maintenance costs through service contracts. Another important factor, in addition to the savings effect, is that job satisfaction increases with a new, fresh laundry room.”

Charlotteborg, an association with 311 apartments, will upgrade all of its laundry rooms to modern textile care facilities. This applies to the somewhat smaller condominium association, BRF Fröknegården, in the same city. “We have measured an annual saving of SEK 52,000 [almost $8,500] by switching to new energy-efficient equipment for both washing and drying,” says Bengtsson.