Bates Troy and LAVATEC-A Long and Beneficial Relationship Pt. 2

By Bob Wolff

Last week we heard how Bates Troy Healthcare Linen met adversity with LAVATEC equipment.  This week we’ll look at the long-standing history between the two companies. Go here for Part One

A long and Beneficial Relationship – Part 2

Brian Kradjian, Bates Troy president recalled what led to his company’s relationship with LAVATEC that began in the mid-1990’s.

“At the time we were a mixed plant doing work for hospitality, food and beverage, uniforms, some healthcare and drycleaning clients. Our utility costs were high, along with labor and overtime. We visited the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, after they had just installed three LAVATEC tunnel systems for its OPL that served all their hotels.

“We decided then to specialize in healthcare and invested in the LAVATEC continuous batch tunnel washing system,” continued Kradjian. “When we installed it in 1995, it was a major leap forward from our previous old, inefficient, and tired conventional washers. It is a productive machine for its size and enabled us to be a low-cost producer at the time. It also lowered our utility and water usage, labor and overtime costs, which made a big difference given the healthcare model is a high volume, low margin business.”

The 100-pound capacity tunnel washer is comprised of 12 compartments and is the backbone feeding other LAVATEC equipment. The group includes an open pocket, LX-425 washer-extractor for rewash, and five gas dryers that were installed in 1997, 1999, and 2005. All are connected by a shuttle system.

Kradjian says besides installing new controls in 2018, the only modification made to the tunnel washer was they reuse some of the press water in the rinse zone to lower water consumption. Doing the math, the machine has operated for more than 130,000 hours the last 30 years. It also has saved them from using millions of gallons of water.

“From the 1970s to when we installed it in 1995, our conventional washers had used a lot of water in the range of 2.5 to 3 gallons per pound of laundry,” explained Kradjian. “The LAVATEC tunnel washer reduced water consumption by half to 1.2 gallons per pound. We later had Gurtler, our chemical supplier, install a water reuse system which further reduced consumption. It went from one gallon per pound to 0.72, and now we run at 0.66 gallons per pound, which is very good considering the age of the machine. We also experienced a similar reduction in natural gas consumption with LAVATEC’s more efficient dryers.”

Bates Troy earned its TRSA Hygienically Clean certification in 2022. Kradjian said the key to their success in having their tunnel washer perform at such a high level for so many years is simple.

“Aside from reactive situations, we always performed weekly preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance where, every few years, we go through the entire system and have a factory trained technician rebuild parts of it.”

A long-standing pillar of the community

Bates Troy dates back to the 1800s. The Kradjian family became involved in the dry cleaning business in the late 1920s. Binghamton’s heyday took place later when the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company, IBM and other manufacturers were major drivers for the local economy.

Brian Kradjian became involved in the operation in 1993, not long after the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The local economy soon declined and experienced a corporate downsizing when IBM and other defense and manufacturing companies reduced their size. Despite some devastating historic floods in 2007 and 2011, Binghamton is recovering with help from the high technology, education and healthcare sectors.

“I had just graduated from Boston University with a concentration on economics and philosophy. I split my time between our family’s commercial real estate business and our laundry,” he said.

Kradjian has led the pivot of providing services to a growing healthcare industry within a 120-mile radius of Binghamton. Bates Troy currently employs 165 full and part-time employees at its 50,000 square-foot facility on the city’s west side. They are also a member of the New York Industries for the Disabled, providing work for individuals with disabilities both on premise and off-site.

Bates Troy has a long history of charitable involvement in their community. Last December, the company was honored for their Community Service Excellence at the tenth annual Family Business Awards of CNY, sponsored by the Central New York Business Journal. They were recognized for supporting a wide variety of community-oriented projects, ranging from clothing drives and fundraising events, to supplying towels and linens for emergency shelters and the homeless.

The ability to give back to the community that gave so much to them is important to Bates Troy.

 

To read Part One go here.

 

For more information, visit the  company’s web site:  LAVATEC