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“Power consumption is a huge issue in laundry. As solar energy becomes cheaper, we can look at converting some of our requirements to solar.”
– Depender Vohra
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“Power consumption is a huge issue in laundry. Boilers can run on wood or diesel. Wood is cheaper but produces air pollution while diesel is very expensive. It is steam that runs laundry machines, washing machines, tumble dryers and pressing units. As solar energy becomes cheaper, we can Energy look at converting some of our requirements to solar,” explains Depender Vohra, CEO, DhobiXpress
Water conservation
Water is largely consumed in the laundry sector and maintaining adequate supply of quality water is an important aspect of this business. Water acts as a heating medium, as transport medium and solvent for detergent and soil, and as wetting agent for textile and additionally, it transfers the mechanical action of the washer to the laundry. Thus, water is a major component in the washing process and so its conservation.
“How do we conserve and reuse the water is very critical. For instance, at Wassup, we recycle 90% of the water we put for the first cycle and continue till three cycles with 70% recovery. Thereafter, the cost of processing and energy consumption increases. Beyond three cycles, it is not economically viable. The new age laundry sector needs to focus on water conservation as buying fresh water for each wash will be a costly affair, especially, in times of frequent water crisis in Indian states. So a combination of water harvesting, recycling, RO treatment plants and conscious use of water will be the key factors to drive the growth of this sector,” suggests Balachander.
“A housewife may spend a lot more time and water while washing and drying clothes than a mechanised laundry player who washes clothes in large volumes. Typically, between four and 30lt of water per kilogram textile is used. The use of water in laundries is as important as the use of detergents or maybe even more important,” observes Prasanna.
Manpower management
Laundry is essentially manpower driven and is a labourintensive industry. However, there is no skilled workforce available. So obtaining, training and managing the right manpower is a challenge for the laundry sector.
“As an industry, we do not have a dedicated training programme or institute to train people with various laundry skills like washing, calendaring, ironing, packaging, delivery, tagging, selection and dosing of chemicals. At Wassup institute, we have trained over 50 staff so far and soon we are planning to roll out a course for other business setups too. We should be able to attract, train and retain staff by projecting a career path before them in this sector,” says Balachandar.
A fabric expert who has good knowledge of fabric and chemicals is of high importance, says Ritu. “Garments have to be tested for colour, washed, dried, pressed and then the customer’s garments have to be collected and packed. At least four personnel are required for lifting garments in and out of the machines. They can be stationed at the flatbed press again during the linen pressing run.”
“Steam press by hand is used on garments and the pressmen are experts in their own way. Packing of garments is another process that is labour intensive, as bulk laundry for commercial accounts have be to sorted and packed according to client specifications. The remaining process is managed by the driver, the face of the company, who is responsible for pickups and deliveries,” adds Depender.
Nikunj Sharma
