Thursday, June 08, 2000
Alliance Laundry shrinking work force
By Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Barely three months after buying the Ajax pressing and finishing equipment business from American Laundry Machinery Inc., Alliance Laundry Systems will eliminate 130 jobs in Norwood and consolidate them into an existing plant in Florida.
The company told employees about the move Tuesday. It will finish the consolidation by the end of the first quarter.
The move will leave several smaller companies in the sprawling American Laundry Machinery plant on Section Road in Norwood. The Alliance sale was the second asset sale in the last 18 months by the George Strike family, which owns American Laundry.
Mr. Strike also is one of the owners of the Cincinnati Reds.
Wisconsin-based Alliance Laundry Systems had signed a one-year lease in Norwood after completing the Ajax purchase in March. But it decided to merge the unit with a plant that makes washer extractors in Marianna, Fla., near Panama City, spokeswoman Patti Andresen-Shew said.
While there will be “some potential for transfers,” the jobs in Norwood will be eliminated, she said.
Alliance was created in a 1998 management-led buyout of Raytheon's commercial laundry business. The maker of commercial laundry equipment will gain “significant efficiencies” from the consolidation, Tom L'Esperance, chief executive officer of Alliance, said in an an nouncement to employees.
He said the decision was based on investments that Alliance would have to make to maintain the facilities.
Steve Crank, controller of American Laundry Systems, would not reveal how many employees remain in the Norwood complex. Companies there include Martin Franchises Inc., which franchises the Martinizing dry cleaning process used by more than 750 cleaners worldwide; and American Textile Processing Inc., which licenses the Vapor Phase process used by apparel companies to make wrinkle-free clothing.
Also still in the building are employees of Jensen Group of Denmark, which bought American Laundry's heavy-duty commercial laundry business last year.
Rick Dettmer, Norwood's director of community development, said he had not heard of the layoff announcement.
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