Newsletter May 2019 Membership RICHARD “DICK” RIVARD PRESIDENT/OWNER OF RMBCL LIMITED & RIVARD INVESTMENTS The Scoop About RicharD “Dick” RivarD § Richard Rivard is a Lifetime Resident Windsor-Essex County Area. § Owner and Operator for over Fifty years of one of Windsor’s oldest (over 85yrs.) Family Owned & Operated Award-Winning Dry-Cleaning Business (Blondie Cleaners Ltd *Sold in 2013). § Recipient of the Chamber of Commerce “Small Business of the Year Award” for 2006. § Longtime Supporter & Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Windsor & Essex County. § Life time Honorary Member & Founding Father of The Rotary Club of Windsor St. Clair – Home of “The Ganatchio Trail”. § Life time Honorary Member of The Ontario Fabricare Association & The Dry Cleaners and Launderers Institute. § Thirty Five year Member & Affiliate of the Great Lakes Management Bureau. § Richard Rivard is a Consultant to the Dry Cleaning Industry with Numerous Clients. § Director & Board Member of Numerous Not-for-Profit Organizations. § President-Owner of RMBCL Limited/Rivard Investments (*See Commercial Property Listings Below). § Richard “Dick” Rivard has been married for 47 Years with Three Children and Six Grandchildren. Clean Show 2019 New Orleans . If you plan to attend the Clean Show in New Orleans, please drop by the Fabricare Canada Magazine booth and say hello to me. I will be available ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TO discuss any industry matters. Please wear your CFA member buttons at the show and CLATA cocktail party. Hopefully, you will have an opportunity to meet and talk with other CFA members, as well as show our commitment to the industry. Please visit our website at www.fabricare.org to view the pictures of your board of directors. Clark McDaniel is and has been a member of the Board of Directors of CFA from several years. He brings his knowledge and experience from his businesses as shown below as well as being the CEO of Fabricare Cleaning Centers which specializes in wet cleaning. Not only does he promote the Green Initiative, but he puts his money where his mouth is. For a number of years, he has sponsored our lunch for the conferences. His support and others like him are a good reason why we can keep our association financially viable. In 1978, with nothing but the values of service, commitment, and integrity, we started Williams & McDaniel Property Management. Their humble beginnings were three rental residential apartments in Guelph. His entire team took each resident's request at a time and toiled away into the wee hours of the morning, to make the apartments better, the service quicker, and the residents happier. MORE THAN THREE DECADES LATER, LITTLE HAS CHANGED. He might be nearly two thousand apartments strong, own more than twenty buildings, operate in more than ten cities, and have an ever-growing fleet of efficient building managers, but their values remain the same. Service. Commitment. Integrity. Growing as a niche company, he chose The Sovereign (formerly, Petrie Kelly building) as their central office. Its historic and architectural significance symbolizes their moorings in traditional values and long-standing quality. When you submit a request or raise a concern, his Building Manager is empowered enough to take immediate action and look into his customers’ needs. Congratulations to Sam Abouzeeni of Master Cleaners in Windsor, Ontario for winning the 2019 Cleaning Service Award from the Windsor Star. He has won the Best dry cleaner in the Windsor Essex county two years in row. Highlights of upcoming CFA Conference Diana Volmer of Methods for Management will explain how its members examine extensive financial and key performance analysis within their businesses, including group average performances and benchmarks. Best practices are shared, “including the latest marketing and advertising efforts of each company. Each member contributes a presentation of their corporate and personal goals and their road maps for achievement.” The consulting group further relates that the members conduct a thorough plant critique for each member, with both praise and suggestions for improvement and innovation to continue to provide the highest quality service for their clients. The group also enjoys camaraderie and laughter over wonderful food and wine. MfM is a group facilitated by Diana Volmer to provide membership for what it describes as: “Elite dry cleaners who wish to further their expertise and improve their business through shared industry knowledge, local community action, higher productivity and efficiency, and training for excellent quality in garment care and customer service.” For those of you who are really interested in participating in a cost group, you should sign up for the workshop on Sunday morning for a more intensive explanation of how the cost group works. The future of plastic bag uses in the dry-cleaning industry Good afternoon Peter, What can you tell me about the future of using plastic bags in the dry-cleaning industry? Germany has banned single use plastic bags. If so, what happens to the investment that many have in automatic baggers that cut the plastic and with the inventory? Does it apply to the dry cleaning industry? Sidney Chelsky, Executive Director, Canadian Fabricare Association, Dear Sidney, Following your question, please find below response from our technical department: “The industry and the government are becoming more aware of the impact of using plastic. The prediction is, that the use of plastic will be phased out in favour of more reusable materials, where possible. For instance, where plastic will prove to be a significant better option, there will be a focus on using recycled plastic. In Germany they enacted a law requiring stores to charge for the use of throwaway plastic bags. It is not forbidden yet. The investments into machines using plastic will not go to waste if you are able to provide recycled plastic for its use. In the dry cleaning industry, there will also be an impact. Plastic is still the best and safest way to transport textiles and secure them from recontamination before they arrive at the client. The kind of plastic that is being used for this purpose will, most likely, be subject to regulations on how much recycled plastic it needs to contain. We expect alternatives in the market next couple of years.” We trust this answers your question, don’t hesitate to contact us if there is anything else we can assist you with. Kind regards, Peter Wennekes. CEO, CINET The following companies and individuals again have indicated their sponsorship of the upcoming conference in October 2019: Fabricare Cleaning Centers (Clark McDaniel) – Luncheon on Saturday GreenEarth Cleaning Canada (Robert Kuenzlen) – Coffee Breaks (2) Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP – Saturday Night Cocktail Hour Harco – Saturday night Cocktail Party SPOT Business Solutions – Friday night Cocktail Party Sparkle Solutions – Saturday morning Breakfast Sparkle Solutions – Speakers Gifts Dalex Canada – Overall Conference Support Rivard Investments, Newtex Cleaners & Gibson’s Cleaners – Saturday night wine at dinner Cleaners Supply – Gift Certificates RMBCL LIMITED & RIVARD INVESTMENTS If you would like to participate as a sponsor, please contact Sid Chelsky to reserve your choice of sponsorship. The following companies and individuals have reserved a Table Top for the upcoming conference in October 2019: Extox Industries (Artur Keyes) Green Earth Cleaning Canada (Robert Kuenzlen) Harco (Rob Jackson) Sparkle Solutions (Bruce Miller) Ontario Laundry Systems (Craig Gibson); A.L. Wilson Chemicals (Bob Edwards) Starchup (Nick Chapeau) CINET (Peter Wennekes) Environment Canada and Climate Change – Compliance (Carly Truppe) Wiesner Insurance (Jason Wiesner) . Braun (Gary Ostrum) Starchup BEST PRACTICES AWARDS The closing date for receiving submissions is August 31, 2019. The Best Practices Award will be selected from the submissions received and the winner(s) will be selected to be entered in the International Best Practices Awards in Frankfurt, Germany on June 20, 2020. The contest is open to retail and commercial textile cleaning companies. The winner(s) will be compensated for travel and hotel for the event (subject to CINET rules). All submissions will be recognized at the annual Canadian Fabricare Association Conference being held at the Holiday Inn Yorkdale Hotel on Saturday, October 5, 2019. Information on the conference can be viewed at our website www.fabricare.org or by emailing the Executive Director of CFA and on the CINET website https://www.cinet-online.com/. Please send all submissions to the Executive Director of the Canadian Fabricare Association. The inclusion of pictures, video and audio would be of great value to the presentation. For more information regarding the Best Practices Awards, contact Sidney Chelsky, Executive Director of CFA. Please find the below criteria that we use for the Global Best Practices Awards Program. Click on the word document below for submission form or go to www.fabricare.org and download the form. 1. Quality; Skills and knowledge are important to maintain professional textile care quality. A continuous quality that meets customers’ expectations is of the utmost importance. Training & education and labour policy are the basic of quality. Certification, if available, can enhance the quality approval of a professional textile care company. 2. Sustainability; Implementation of best practices is the key for safe & sustainable processing. Using modern equipment, operation, optimal