2008-11-17 20:09:04 -
A green' coin laundry in Canada is turning heads. At 900 square feet, the highly profitable, postcard-sized laundry is not only environmentally friendly; it's the source of much hoopla across Canada. Owned by partners Brant Kelso, his wife, Natasha Bick-Kelso, and Paul Bichler, The Eco Laundry Room recently debuted on YouTube and may soon be aired as part of BBC's The Dragons' Den television show. Energy-efficiency Unparalleled
A year-old coin laundry in Peterborough, Ontario, The Eco Laundry Room is a uniquely green' self-service laundry complete with solar tubing to heat the store's water; environmentally friendly insulation made with recycled pop bottles; T8 florescent lighting; a recycled rubber floor that mimics hardwood; and energy-efficient Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors and Drying Tumblers. The entire package is wrapped up in
a 100-year old building - completely refurbished - with a second-floor apartment occupied by one of the owners. Potted outside are indigenous plants given rainwater collected in an outdoor barrel.
The Dragons' Den
The Eco Laundry Room's quick success spurred its owners to publicly share the concept in hopes of franchising the business and attracting investors. Bichler, the partner who occupies the second-floor apartment, developed a YouTube video sales pitch about the new laundry. That video was posted on The Dragons' Den Web site. The Dragons' Den is a television show that airs in Canada. During the program, an entrepreneur puts up a portion or all of his/her business for sale by pitching it to five venture capitalists, who might decide to invest.
'We were accepted for the show and taped in July,' said Bichler. 'You go on there and describe your business and try to sell it to them by justifying its worth.' Bichler, who is interested in franchising The Eco Laundry Room concept, offered the venture capitalists a 30 percent stake in the company -
It is still not definite whether or not that taped sales pitch will be broadcast or not on The Dragons' Den. But, Bichler does know the result - whether or not the venture capitalists decided to invest in The Eco Laundry Room, or not. Bichler, however, must keep that information secret until he knows whether his business pitch is broadcasted.
Why A Laundry? Why An Eco Laundry?
The development of The Eco Laundry Room was driven by a desire to invest in an industry that performs well despite a slumping economy, according to Bichler. 'I've developed businesses before and was looking into a green' business,' he said. Bichler's partners, who own rental units with vended laundries, knew from experience their profit potential. Thus, the partners developed a unique eco-niche within the marketplace by developing an environmentally friendly self-service laundry. Anchored by eco-friendly, energy-conserving products and equipment to lower utility bills and improve profits, The Eco Laundry Room successfully draws customers.
From the onset, the business met revenue goals, despite its petite footprint. 'We've been profitable every month since we opened,' Bichler said of The Eco Laundry Room. 'I expected to be profitable, but not to this extent. We're showing a profit of 10 percent and cash flow of between 42 and 50 percent. The cash flow is really strong.'
The Eco Recipe for Success
Critical to profitability are the laundry's low utility bills - making up just 12 to 13 percent of its revenue. That's really good, according to Bichler, considering the average coin laundry spends 20-25 percent on utilities, according to the Coin Laundry Association. 'When we looked at expenses for utilities we were very shocked,' said Bichler. 'We performed better than anticipated.' That's because the laundry and its second-floor apartment share gas and water. The electricity is separate. All told, according to Bichler, gas makes up three to four percent, water/sewer makes up five to six percent and electric makes up three percent of the laundry's utility bill. By paying less in utilities, The Eco Laundry Room enjoys more profit.
Developing a Green' Coin Laundry
The process of developing an environmentally friendly business involved reworking an historic building and seeking advice from product experts, according to Bichler. 'We ripped the building down to the brick, reframed it and sprayed in foam insulation made of recycled soda bottle plastics and soya-oil extract rated at R30. It's just like regular spray insulation but environmentally friendly,' he said. 'Our solar tubes provide all the hot water and have turned out to be more efficient than we first thought. The flooring looks like wood, but is partially recycled rubber. It's durable and holds a warranty of 15 years. All the lighting is T8 lighting for specialized energy-efficiency. Some lights are on motion sensors so they aren't running all the time. The washroom lights are also on a motion control and we put a brick in the toilet tank. It uses half the water that way and is cheaper than purchasing a low-water use toilet.' To round out the green' aspects of the laundry, the partners provide soap vending machines filled with their own Eco Sudz, an all-natural, unscented, non-toxic, biodegradable and phosphate-free laundry detergent that's septic and gray water safe!
Freestanding, High-speed Washer-Extractors & Energy-efficient Dryers
But equally critical to the store's bottom-line are its energy-efficient washers and dryers. Ray Helwig of Sparkle Solutions, a laundry equipment distributor in Concord, Ontario, worked closely with Bichler, Kelso and Bick-Kelso to select the laundry's equipment mix: 10 20-pound capacity (double load) Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors, 2 40-pound capacity (extra load) Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors and eight dual-pocket, 30-pound capacity stack Continental ExpressDry Dryers.
'We went with Sparkle Solutions because we knew we could count on them in the future,' said Bichler. 'We wanted energy-efficient equipment so we looked at the product specifications to see how different products stacked up.'
Rather than install top-load washers, which use from 30-40 gallons of water per load, the laundry features 20-pound capacity Continental E-Series front-load washers, which use around 13.4 gallons of water per load. Energy-Star qualified, the machines use single-phase power and plug into a regular appliance outlet.
The Continental washers are also freestanding, making them easier to install and service than hard-mount washers. They also offer high-speed extract of up to 354 G-force and superior energy-efficiency. Most traditional hard-mount washers extract at between 70 and 150 G-force, according to Helwig. 'These washers remove significantly more water by comparison, and in turn, cut resulting time dry-time by as much 50 percent,' said Helwig.
By shortening the time it takes to dry a load, customers complete laundry more quickly and the store uses less gas - a win-win, said Bichler.
In & Out in 60 Minutes!
To maximize washer performance, Bichler customizes each machine's extract speed, mechanical action, wash temperature, water levels and rinse time according to his laundry's needs. 'Our longest wash is the 30-minute SuperWash,' said Bichler. 'We also have a popular warm water wash that lasts 26 minutes. Most of our customers can wash in 26 minutes and dry in 24 minutes.' That way, customers complete their laundry in less than an hour - a welcome convenience.
Drawing a Broad Base of Customers
By delivering a quicker and greener' wash, The Eco Laundry Room successfully caters to couples, students, working people, retirees and families. 'We are hitting every demographic because of how the laundry is designed.' The business offers craved conveniences including wireless Internet, a kids' play area, café tables, magazines and snack machines. It's also heavily monitored by the owners thanks to a security system that allows them to view the laundry from remote locations via the Internet. The laundry unlocks at 6 a.m. daily, automatically.
Each evening, Bichler checks on the equipment and cleans up. 'I record how all the machines perform each night, so we know the revenue for each one,' he said. 'We average four to five turns per day.'
And despite a gas rate hike of 30 percent, The Eco Laundry Room hasn't raised vend prices. Some customers are convinced that doing laundry there is less expensive than doing it at home. 'I have an accountant customer who priced out the cost of a washer and dryer and figured it was easier and less expensive to do laundry here,' said Bichler. 'They decided not to buy a washer and dryer for their house. A lot of people want home front-loads but they don't compare with the machinery we have here.'
An entrepreneur at heart, Bichler maintains he got into the laundry business for its potential. If The Eco Laundry Room continues its performance, he said that he and his partners will realize a full return on investment in less than five years. With or without additional investors, the partners plan to open more laundries across Canada, all mirroring their flagship eco-store.
To discover more about The Eco Laundry Room, contact Bichler at
theecolaundryroom@gmail.com. To find out more about Continental laundry products, visit www.continentalgirbau.com or 800-256-1073.
Equipment Mix:
10 20-pound capacity Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors $3
2 40-pound capacity Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors $5
8 dual-pocket 30-pound capacity stack Continental Drying Tumblers six minutes for $.25
Environmentally Friendly Products:
60 Evacuated Solar Tubes heat laundry water
10 Energy Star-qualified Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors
Double Load
13.4 gallons of water per load
Freestanding
High-speed extract reaching 354 G-force
Cut dry-time/gas consumption by up to 50 percent
2 40-pound capacity Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors
Extra Load
30 gallons of water per load
Freestanding
High-speed extract reaching 300 G-force
Cut dry-time/gas consumption by up to 50 percent
Dryers automatically stop heating when optimum temperature is achieved to save energy
T8 Ballast Fluorescent Lighting
Rest Room light and fan on motion sensor
Bathroom sink faucet with automatic shut-off
Wall insulation is comprised of soya oil and 7Up bottles//Rating of?
Outdoor panels made from MDF, a recycled wood product
All natural Nature Clean household products
Eco Sudz vending machine, offering eco-friendly soap for laundry customers
Flooring made of partially recycled rubber
Laundry is cooled by a furnace fan that pulls cool basement air through the laundry
Using a heat exchanger, dryer vent air is used to heat the laundry (in addition to forced-air gas heating).
Local, indigenous plants are used in pots outside the laundry
Rain barrel is used to collect the water for the plants.
Paul Bichler
Bichler, who holds a bachelor's degree in finance and economics, is co-founder of The Eco Laundry Room. Prior to development of the laundry, Bichler served as manager of financial and accounting recruitment for a respected executive recruitment firm, as well as a communication consultant in South Korea for corporate giants, including Hyundai, Kia, Citigroup and Samsung. Most recently, he ran for office as liberal candidate for Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Despite losing the election, Bichler plans to run again in the future.
