Solutions - Loop Linen - New Orleans, LA
"The new equipment now provides Loop with significant cost savings and dramatic increases in production throughput as a result of the improved efficiencies."
The first Milnor CBW washer ever sold was recently retired after 25 years of production.

Loop Linen of Westwego, LA, purchased their CBW washer in 1980; one year after Milnor introduced the top-transfer washing concept at Clean 79 in Chicago. The 110-lb. capacity 76032 washer was replaced earlier this year by a new 150-lb. capacity 76039 CBW washer.

"The old tunnel was going down just as we were bringing in the new system," according to Scott Burke, president of Loop Linen. "It’s almost as if the old machine’s feelings were hurt that we were replacing it."

The new equipment now provides Loop with significant cost savings and dramatic increases in production throughput as a result of the improved efficiencies. Water consumption has dropped by approximately 50% as well as BTU’s for drying, Burke said.

"The new tunnel has some water-saving features in it that didn’t exist 25 years ago," Burke said.

Burke’s wife’s family founded Loop Linen in 1929, starting operations as a drycleaner with 17 drop off stations until about 1960. Over the years, the laundry has changed its focus to provide food & beverage linen services to customers in southern Louisiana and Mississippi. They rent and process their own table linens, napkins, towels and aprons to over 1,000 businesses.

About 60 employees work at Loop, with the peak season for the laundry running from November to June.

As part of the new system, Loop also added a single-stage membrane press, shuttle and three pass-through batch dryers.

Loop is currently back up to 600 clients which is 45% down from their Pre-Katrina level. Due to the storm, they lost virtually every
account on the Mississippi Gulfcoast. When Ameri-pride made the decision to sell their territory on the Gulfcoast, Loop decided to buy it and open a depot in Jackson, Mississippi. The depot serves an area from Jackson to Vicksburg to Meridian. Office functions are being run out of their Westwego office until they fully establish operations in Jackson. Another factor that helped Loop’s business post-Katrina is the shut-down of a competitor’s plant in the New Orleans region. This has allowed Loop to gain a majority of those clients who were long-term customers. Loop is currently processing 80,000-90,000 lbs. per week which is only 10,000-15,000 lbs. less than their Pre-Katrina Level.