Fishman’s is All Wet W
TURN IT OFF
Above, left to right: Uli Anhorn, Dean
Degner, Sheldon Fishman, Chemen Navea, Tasha Fishman, Kevin Tailleur and Brant Hobley. Below: Lacy Roy working with French cuffs.
Fishman’s Cleaners has now gone 100% wet cleaning as a result of Sheldon’s vision to try some- thing different. “He was the instigator,” said Integrity Mechanical’s Kevin Marois, who supplied the new equipment and installed it. “He was the one who turned off the dry cleaning machine and told his staff they couldn’t use it any more.” It was a typical move for Sheldon; when he’s made a decision, he moves on it.
The company employs over 50 people, including engineer Kevin Tailleur. “He was my only bar-
rier to going 100% solvent-free,” said Sheldon. “He was fairly happy with what we were using. I don’t think he’d go back, now that we’ve made the switch.” The actual conversion of equipment was straightforward; the commitment to go outside their comfort zone and endure the steep learn- ing curve was more difficult.
“The old dry cleaning machines had to be disassembled in order to move them out,” said Marois. “Each machine had to be lifted off its spill tray and some of the components removed in order to allow them to go through the wall opening. The loading dock is 4 feet off the ground and can’t be approached directly on due to the narrow alley. We moved out two dry cleaning machines and replaced them with two washers and dryers.”
WHAT’S RUNNING NOW Fishman’s chose Primus SoftWash®
machines for their conversion. Since they’d done some wet
cleaning for several years, it was easy to add a 40-lb. and 30-lb. SoftWash machine and two 55-lb. SoftWash dryers to equipment they already had. That includes 40-lb. and 55-lb. B&C soft-mount washers, 55-lb. and 75-lb. B&C moisture control dryers and a 55-lb. Miele moisture control dryer. Another 50-lb. Primus SoftWash washer is on the way.
No new finishing equipment was required, because they already had tensioning toppers and form finishers. Brightwell detergent pumps were installed, and Kreussler supplied level alarms so that when a detergent pail nears empty, an alarm sounds. “We wanted to ensure they never ran out of product,” said Marois. “If you run out of soap
on a load of shirts, they come out dirty and you have to reclean the load. But if you run out of detergent on a wet cleaning load, you may be buying some garments.” He explained that detergent and texturizing agent form a microscopic layer around the fibres during wet cleaning, and protect
10 FABRICARE CANADA March/April 2018
e’ve profiled Fishman’s Cleaners of Calgary in our pages before, but as the company continues to evolve and grow, it deserves another look. Founded in 1945 by Jack and Lily
Fishman, it is now in the hands of third-generation family member Sheldon Fishman, who took over from his father, Benny.
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