News & Innovations

East Frisians always have three

The idyllic town of Norden, with around 25,000 inhabitants, is the fourth-largest town in East Frisia, and the most north-westerly town on the German mainland. The surrounding area is mostly characterized by farming and tourism. The town of Norden plays an important role in providing for the islands of Juist and Norderney, which are just off its coast. Each year, over 3.5 million overnight stays are booked by visitors to the islands – which have a joint population of around only 7,500.

Wäscherei Straatmann is at the heart of all of this, and provides visitors to the region with perfectly prepared laundry. For almost half a century, Frerich Straatmann has taken care of the concerns of his laundry company and made it into a successful business. Acquiring the new ironer line was his final project, and he has now handed over management of the entire business to Iris Amend and Jens Vossmeyer. He has taken on the role of consultant, as he does not want to completely separate himself from his team and companions of many years. 

“East Frisians always have three cups”
East Frisia is not only known for being a popular tourist destination, but is also world-famous for its tea culture. The world champions of tea-drinking do not, in fact, live in China or Britain, but in the northwest of Germany, in East Frisia. Here, they drink around ten times as much tea per person as the rest of Germany, around 300 liters per year on average. Over the centuries, a unique tea culture developed in East Frisia, which is inseparably connected to the East Frisian character.

East Frisians always make the time for a cup of tea. They drink it up to six times a day, and always three cups, because as the local saying goes, “East Frisians always have three”. The number is not up for debate, and they would sooner not fill the cup to the top than only drink one or two. East Frisian tea is not only prepared in a special way, but also drunk according to a unique ritual. First, a big piece of rock sugar is placed in the cup, then tea is poured over it. When the tea is poured, you can hear the crackling of the sugar under the hot liquid. After that, a dash of cream is added, which first sinks to the bottom, then rises to the surface again in a little cloud, or “Wulkje” in the local dialect. These three “layers” – the sugar, tea, and cream – are not stirred. The first sip gives the mild taste of the cream, while the next is characterized by the astringency of the tea itself. And the last one is dominated by the sweetness of the sugar.

Three steps to the perfect ironing result
The number three is of great significance to the ironer line too, as three steps are required to achieve a perfect result. These are: feeding, ironing and folding. These three steps take place one after the other in a seamless sequence, and only provide the desired end product when combined. And the demands placed on Wäscherei Straatmann by visitors to the surrounding area are high.

Partway through the coronavirus crisis, Wäscherei Straatmann used the time to install new machines to ensure that it would be well-prepared for when businesses opened again. It was a courageous decision, as Iris Amend and Jens Vossmeyer’s team mainly handles laundry from the hotel and catering sectors – both of which were hit particularly badly by the crisis, and closed for months.

After purchasing a new JENSEN SEP water extraction press, Wäscherei Straatmann turned to sales manager Matthias Schrader and began their planning discussions. The management team was so impressed with the machine’s performance and the service provided, that they decided to buy the new ironer line from JENSEN too. Now, the Jenfeed Logic Plus feeder, the Jenroll EXP ironer and the Jenfold Universal and Napkin & Bottom-Up folders with the Jenstack Max stacker make a powerful trio in the laundry business.

More power with a new high-performance ironer line
Wäscherei Straatmann can process between eight and ten metric tons of laundry each day, ensuring that visitors in Norden and on the nearby German East Frisian islands and Dutch West Frisian islands are always welcomed with the freshest of hotel bedding and tablecloths. This means that, for example, they can enjoy a proper East Frisian tea, served on a pristine white tablecloth.

The ironer line’s three machines work in harmony with one another, but only when combined in this manner, just like the three stages of the East Frisian tea ritual. The first machine is the Jenfeed Logic Plus feeder, a multipurpose feeder that combines quick feeding of bedsheets with high-quality feeding of table linen, making it perfectly suited to processing hotel laundry. The second is the Jenroll EXP ironer, a mono-roll machine with a roller diameter of 2,000 mm. This high-capacity steam heated ironer boasts optimized, energy-saving evaporation capacity thanks to its flexible chest. The pieces of laundry adapt to it perfectly and can be ironed flawlessly. The trio is completed by the Jenfold Universal multi-purpose combination folder for mixed processing of all kinds of flatwork, together with the Napkin & Bottom-Up combination cross folder and stacker for high-performance processing of small pieces, in combination with the Jenstack Max large-piece stacker. This combination enables Wäscherei Straatmann to remain highly flexible, and able to adapt to any situation.

Sit back, drink tea – and stay optimistic
“The output of our old ironer line would no longer have been able to cope with the onrush that we get after closing time,” says Jens Vossmeyer. “We always worked on the assumption that the tourists would come back. Trying to replace a machine while operations are ongoing during the high season is always a real challenge. So we used the enforced break to uninstall the old system and to install and commission the new machines in peace.”

“We seized the moment,” adds Iris Amend. “It’s just not in our nature to be unproductive. We took the time to plan out the machine replacement process to the best of our ability. It was the right decision, and this is how we were able to implement the settings we wanted in an optimal way with the help of sales manager Matthias Schrader and his production and service team, and get an in-depth understanding of how the new JENSEN ironer line worked. It makes us even happier now that tourists are back and restaurants can open again – we’re ready for them.”

“The team at Wäscherei Straatmann is ready for anything. And if any tea stains get on any cloths, then removing them is easy for us,” laughs Jens Vossmeyer, before setting off for the next laundry delivery.