Success Stories - Party Rentals

Kelly Grill , Owner
The Special Event

When Kelly Grill established The Special Event as a party rental store in 1996, she designed an on-premises laundry to process the table linens. Several years into the operation, she realized she was quickly outgrowing her facility.

Located in Healdsburg, Calif., the heart of Sonoma County wine country, the event business really has taken off. The most significant customer categories are caterers, event sites and fund raisers. During peak season, The Special Event rents more than 600 table cloths and 3,000 napkins per week.

Its laundry is installed in an 18-foot-by-20-foot room, which includes linen storage and dishwashing. The room currently includes a UniMac 60-pound, ultra-high speed washer-extractor and a UniMac flatwork finisher with a 126-inch finishing width.

Previously, there was a smaller flatwork finisher with only a 66-inch finishing width that consistently caused workflow problems due to the limited ironing capacity.

 “We had to fold large tablecloths and pass them through the ironer four times,” Grill said.  “The finished quality was lacking because of the thickness of the folded linen. As we grew, the time it took to pass the same piece of linen through four times was becoming a problem. We couldn’t keep up with the volume,” Grill added.

“When we purchased a new, larger ironer, our weekly labor for the laundry was cut by more than 10 hours. This has been a great cost savings and will allow us to recoup our investment in just a few years. Plus our linens look better,” she said.

Using her entrepreneurial spirit, Kelly is constantly learning about her laundry operation.  She has several ideas to share with other party rental operators.

Map Out Your Workflow
Before installing your laundry equipment, make sure the workflow is convenient. You might want to draw the workflow on the floor with chalk. The workflow should include an area for storage of soiled linens. This often is called the soil/sort area. 

The washers should be next to this area to minimize the movement of soiled linens to the washer. Storage of laundry chemicals also should be considered.

Commercial tumble dryers are not required if table linens are the only items being washed. The linens can immediately go from the washer to the flatwork finisher. Often the flatwork finisher can be placed on the adjacent wall from the washer. You should leave a minimum of space for a laundry cart to move between the washer and flatwork finisher.  Also, plan for additional space on each end of the finisher for maintenance.

In the middle of the room a folding counter or table is convenient. For ease of use by operators, the folding table should be 36 inches high. At the farthest end of the table you should place your plastic wrapping station.

The storage area should be just a simple turn from the wrapping area. It is preferred to be across the aisle. Shelving in this area is for convenience only. You likely would require final storage in another part of your building.

Dishwashing is generally included in the same area as the laundry. Often the same staff will work both jobs.

A well planned laundry in a party linen rental store should include a workflow that is similar to a U-shape. This best utilizes floor space, minimizes the number of steps for employees and allows for the highest efficiency to control labor costs.