NATIONAL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
The Laundromat business has only one national trade association. The Coin Laundry Association is that organization and it publishes a trade magazine called the “Journal.” It also sells a variety of informational packages and insurance for Laundromats. It is a major sponsor of the every-other-year national trade show entitled “Clean.” The next one will be “Clean 2019” to be held in the really inviting New Orleans . The CLA started as a manufacturers trade organization named the “National Automatic Cleaning Council.” The makeup was manufacturers and income was from factory contributions and profits from arranging national trade shows. Expansion added distributors and eventually a local owner’s group based in Chicago was blended in. This was the start of the mix of factories, distributors and owners. Although it is national in scope, it is supported first by manufacturers, their distributors and finally by local owners of Laundromats. The operating information is useful, but don’t expect to find any criticism or comparisons between brands of equipment or studies on failures rates of equipment. The seminars held at “Clean” trade shows are inform- ative and interesting especially for new-comers to the business. They are usually taught by factory repre- sentatives or experienced operators.
With ongoing movement in the industry to increased sales of card operated stores, the name Coin Laundry Association may be changed again. Some suggest “vended laundry” is a more inclusive term that should be used. Most new comers to the business like to join the Association, where the membership can provide useful information, advice and support. The dues seem reasonable and the national meetings have proved to be very good bargains. The opportunity to hear successful Laundromat owners and professionals is worthwhile.
LOCAL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION IN CALIFORNIA
The Coin Laundry Association sponsors and supports many local Trade Associations including northern California, Los Angeles and San Diego groups. They can be found by going through the CLA national web site listed above. These local groups meet at various times and places and are attended by distributor and broker- age insiders. These meetings represent an opportunity to meet and greet your local competitors and to discuss and share some of the problems that are unique to your region or city. The Los Angeles area group has a contact person you can reach for more information on meeting times and topics. Beverly Kay owns and operates a Laundromat and can be reached at 213.804-0069. Meeting topics are wide-ranging and include utility company spokesman, rebate information, energy saving news, national factory representatives and local specialist in the Laundromat industry. An evening well spent.
NATIONAL INDUSTRY PUBLICATION
The national market is served by an industry publication titled American Coin-op. This magazine is one
of your best sources for keeping up on what’s going on in the Laundromat business. The editorial
is not motivated to steer you towards another service or product sold by the company. It has some of
the best information and insight for your review and consideration. They also have a website that you
can review if you’re moving toward a paperless world. Worth the visit. A hard copy magazine is avail-
able with an online request in the upper right hand corner of their web site.
