Innovation and sustainability by WAESCHEKOENIG

The customer is “Koenig”, resp. King

WAESCHEKOENIG GmbH & Co. KG was founded 27 years ago by Udo König in Groß-Umstadt. The small town with its historic town center is located in the south of Hessen and around 50 km from Frankfurt.

The laundry and cleaning business back then was just large enough to serve the regular and walk-in customers. Over time, it wasn't just private customers who found their way to WAESCHEKOENIG. The customer base expanded to include more and more businesses including, renowned gastronomy establishments, hotels, industrial companies, and even social institutions, care services and healthcare institutions. The laundry’s facility in the center of the town quickly became too small for operations, and at the turn of the century, the laundry moved to one of the industrial estates in Groß-Umstadt.

The reception here too was another milestone for the company. Demand for their services continued to grow, and in 2013 they moved again into the company’s first self-planned laundry building.

Since 2016, the company has been a partner of DRESS-Line GmbH, a nationwide laundry partner network with a focus on all rental work clothing. With over 45 employees, the company's motto is still "the customer is king" – both a commitment to service as well as word play on their name “Waeshekoenig”, which means “Laundry King”. From garments and towels to bed linen, the employees at the WAESCHEKOENIG laundry don't just wash, they also check and repair the laundry and even alter textiles to suit the individual wishes of the customers.

Today here and now!

WAESCHEKOENIG offers work wear washing services to the healthcare, industrial and trade sectors, and they supply bedding, towels, and table cloths to hotels and restaurants. The self-run company offers customer a high degree of agility. "We are extremely flexible and can adapt our textiles individually to a wide range of customer wishes. Our short decision-making paths mean that we can implement changes quickly", explains Managing Director Udo König.

WAESCHEKOENIG washes linen according to the RKI directives before returning it to customers in the next delivery cycle. The Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) is a national German institute with global connections in the field of public health, responsible for illness monitoring, prevention and biomedical research. By meeting the RKI directives, the laundry can guarantee excellent hygiene to the end customer.

Every day the laundry processes 15 tons of laundry. The rental workwear includes repairs and relevant safety checks. To retain the quality and quantity of the textiles, processes such as washing, drying, folding, hanging and ironing are largely automated.

Big challenges

At the start of 2023, there was a massive shock when a big fire occurred in production at the laundry. Luckily, no one was injured, but the laundry had to be completely rebuilt and the JENSEN team provided significant support from Germany: "Tobias Witzler (JENSEN Regional Sales Manager) got stuck in right from the start", praises Managing Director Udo König and added that both the support and the entire concept were outstanding. Since the start of 2024, the laundry has been shining in new splendor. Thanks to the adequate ceiling height, the large skylights and good airflow guidance in the production building, there is a good work climate in pleasant temperatures in the laundry.

The first JENSEN UniQ tunnel washer was installed in Germany at WAESCHEKOENIG GmbH & Co. KG back in 2020. Mr Koenig explained: “We chose this washing technology for a very good reason, as the UniQ concept still supports the laundry immensely and is characterized by extremely low water consumption thanks to the patented rinsing process for quick bath dilution and the outstanding recovery concept.”

The JENSEN UniQ helps to achieve these goals with the highest productivity, optimal washing performance, maximum efficiency and sustainability. The processes significantly reduces the CO2 emissions in the overall concept. The new integrated systems UVClean and ErgoVision supplement the system perfectly.

He continued: "The overall concept reinforces our belief that we should always optimize, use resource-saving approaches and work efficiently, for people and the environment. More and more customers are requesting certificates and energy balance data, ultimately that's where the circle always closes."

Clean, cleaner, UVClean

The patented UVClean system in the JENSEN tunnel washer automatically prevents bacterial growth in double drum sections without having to use any chemicals – it is the most natural, most environmentally friendly, and most efficient way to eliminate germs and bacteria. Also, unlike chemical disinfection, bacteria cannot develop resistance to UV radiation. Laundry is usually disinfected in the main washing area of the tunnel washer. Nevertheless, there is the risk in all types of tunnel washers that the laundry will become contaminated with microorganisms once again in the rinsing zone. The reason for this is the bacterial biofilm in the tunnel washer, which forms a perfect breeding ground in areas with a warm and moist environment that are not continuously rinsed with washing water.

The solution was both obvious and natural: UV-C rays are a natural approach among the current methods used for dealing with local biofilms. Compared with other methods of disinfection, this has the benefit that no chemicals are used and there are no problems with regard to environmental compatibility and disposal. Two UV-C lamps are now mounted in a housing on the outer drum in the tunnel washer. They reflect and radiate through the internal surfaces between the inner and outer drum killing microorganisms. This is a simple, practically maintenance-free system with extremely low operating costs that maximizes the hygiene of the washing process.

ErgoVision: new and efficient video monitoring

The new ErgoVision video monitoring system for loading and unloading ensures increased safety during operation, while simplifying monitoring and saving valuable time. The video-based monitoring system shows the loading and unloading areas of the tunnel washer in real time. Video images are displayed in clear, high-resolution format, allowing intuitive monitoring of the loading and unloading process at a glance. Any malfunction that occurs during loading or unloading is detected early thanks to ErgoVision. Faults can then be localized and resolved accordingly. This saves valuable time, contributes to reliably high system productivity rates and increases safety.

Successful tunnel washers from JENSEN stand for high productivity, reliability and flexibility. The FlexWash and FlexRinse technologies ensure batch integrity in the entire machine and offer full process control with every batch. Thanks to the open drum design, the transfer takes place 10% faster than in any other tunnel washer. Each item remains in its own bath, with its individually programmed detergent quantity, process water temperature, bath level and other parameters. Optimal for fulfilling customer-specific processes at the Groß-Umstadt site.

Optimally equipped and ready for the future

"Through continuous optimization of the work processes and investment in modern technology, we are constantly improving our performance and have grown into a reliable partner to established companies and institutions over the past few years. During this process, we ensure that new machines and systems match our idea of laundry care", says Udo König with pride. With JENSEN and its UniQ tunnel washer, he has strong partners at his side.

The light aluminum paneling for ergonomic handling fits in the concept extremely well. They are easy to remove for maintenance work and fulfill the highest safety requirements. The new Transfer dryers XR also enable faster unloading thanks to the wider opening of the unloading door with a time saving of several seconds. The laundry can thus process more laundry items within a shift. Two more XR-dryers are already ordered and will increase the drying performance even further in the future.

The new MetriQ loading station for garments receives particular praise: "The easy and intuitive operation is received positively everywhere and the output is now considerably higher with an impressive increase of 50% compared to the previous stations", says Udo König. This is due, among other things, to the significantly improved quality of the lobster hanger. "I could hardly believe that the hangers are so much better in terms of handling and overall package", continues Udo König with enthusiasm. Thanks to the MetriQ laoding station, operators can always feed the textiles “buttons to the front”. This makes the MetriQ particularly attractive for laundries that process uniforms, scrubs and patient gowns. The new unique feeding method enables mixed production and simplifies the washing process.

The Omega Pro Tunnel Finisher also achieves an outstanding performance, as it "simply has more power" according to Udo König. The two ironing lines are equipped by a KliQ Plus and a Variant 2000. The KliQ Plus multifunctional feeding machine provides a high feed performance and quality. The Variant 2000 is a versatile feeding machine and is characterized by an excellent feed of table and bed linen. The consumption data is also interesting here: "Our total gas consumption is below our previous consumption despite the higher laundry volume and higher output", reports Udo König.

The internal logistics was also planned: "We've made massive progress", states Udo König. "We used to have countless aluminum containers and intermediate buffers. The conveyor solution means that the number of containers is relatively low now. No lifting out, no walking; our employees are very happy".

Udo König is certain: "Every day, we care for and clean laundry and textiles for a wide range of different partners, for example from the hospitality industry, hospitals, care facilities, as well as trade and industry. With each individual job, we place particular importance on quality and on ensuring that our customers can always rely on us. We have been successfully active in the laundry and textile cleaning service for over 27 years and are proud of our growing customer base. That is unique for us – just like our rebuilt laundry."