News & Innovations

Texcare International 2016: New Perspectives in Laundry Automation

For the first time in our history, we showed a complete laundry at our booth by visualizing the entire flow - including new materials handling solutions, including the unique JENSEN Cockpit system for central production monitoring with real-time information to improve the laundry productivity, and with many great new perspectives for each section of the laundry.

New Perspectives for the sorting & handling area

Get it right from the beginning: Efficient laundry logistics start at the initial point in the laundry where the linen arrives. That's why JENSEN also invested in new technologies for the sorting and handling area.

The new Ergonomic Multi-Sort platform is the engineered solution for efficient sorting for mid to high volume laundries. Together with the European Work Environment Authorities, this completely redesigned sorting station dramatically increases the productivity by reducing standing posture fatigue and arm to body angle. A healthy and happy operator is an efficient operator: Workplace related illnesses have a major impact on the bottom line. In addition to the direct "cash out" costs like compensation payments, medical expenses and the increase in insurance fee, there are quite a few indirect costs that may not always be properly calculated and considered. The recruiting and replacement costs for instance, the lost productivity and the lower employee morale - which becomes a vicious cycle with an impressive price tag. That's why more and more laundries have started to introduce a new bottom-line. They look at the eco-social costs and benefits of having clean linen available at the right time, at the right place. At the same time, they also consider the well-being of the people using the linen, and the safety of those processing the linen.

JENSEN also adds a new member to the team in the sorting and handling area. Futurail Buddy is an innovative mobile laundry solution and the laundry's new "best friend forever", as  complete laundry control has never been easier. This tablet application gives the laundry Manager direct line of sight system control, which exceeds PLC/CE Safety Standards. With single point location maintenance, the material handling can be optimized, while keeping the rest of the plant operational. Futurail has also been upgraded with an enhanced Rail Explorer II software package giving a total systematic overview for all laundry material handling from one centralized location. Rail explorer II provides the ability to monitor individual machine performance and material location in order to optimize efficiency and laundry material in-take and output. Exact product locations can be witnessed on the spot, as well as overall production metrics. 

New Perspectives for the washroom section

JENSEN revolutionized the market with the Senking Universal tunnel washer, being the most versatile tunnel washer that reuses energy and water internally. The combination of processing the greatest variety of linen types while keeping consumption at extremely low levels is now tuned to perfection with QuickSoak, EcoSafeguard and EcoTune to reach higher levels of operational efficiency. QuickSoak gives an extra shower for the linen in the first compartment for maximum soaking and drenching, achieving best wash performance and highest productivity. EcoSafeguard is the automatic monitoring and logging of pH and conductivity value as well as water hardness and ensures a higher quality assurance in the laundry, with more satisfied customers and higher productivity. EcoTune completes the tuning concept: A rotary encoder for individual swiveling angles and the water level control in double drums form EcoTune and improve wash quality, provide less wear and tear, and generate lower energy consumption.

Modern laundries gave the input for the further development of the Senking water extraction press SEP^Plus. The result is the most reliable, efficient and hygienic extraction performance. Thanks to a stronger and improved design, JENSEN offers a safe and reliable operation - now with the new optional 2K press cushion with a unique two-component rubber mixture: Even more individual adjustment to customer requirements, different applications and longer lifetime.

The new Senking Centrifuge Z1300^Plus is the perfect fit, closing the gap between two batch sizes. JENSEN is listening to customers and their demands and found the missing link between two centrifugal batch sizes: The new Senking Centrifuge Z1300^Plus. Like the two well-proven Senking Centrifuge sizes, also the Z1300^Plus offers highest extraction performance combined with an even smoother and more balanced operation.

With the development of the Senking WR series of dryers, JENSEN is setting new standards in energy efficiency, productivity and reliability. The WR dryer adds an entirely new dimension to the word “effectiveness”. The sophisticated design enables a 10% higher evaporative capacity with energy consumption reduced by up to 15% in comparison to conventional dryers. Benefit from maximum productivity with minimal media consumption and extremely low maintenance.

Two new developments were recently added to the JENSEN product offering for the washroom section: JENSEN stand-alone washer extractors and tumble dryers, JWE and JTD. They are a perfect complement to increase the laundry's flexibility towards their end-customers by offering the best solution, all under the JENSEN brand. Available in loads of 20, 40, 60 or 110 kg (45, 90, 130 or 250 lbs), the new JWE and JTD were designed with a focus on quality, optimization and increased operational efficiency. 

New Perspectives for the finishing section

The greatest and most spectacular innovations can be seen in the centerpiece of each and every laundry - in the finishing section. High customer expectations and a fierce competition on prices call for greater flexibility and cost efficiency. With the new developments for the finishing section, it is not a case of quality versus quantity, but rather quality plus quantity.

One of the highlights for the flatwork section is the new Jenroll Hybrid ironer that offers 5-star ironing quality without tape marks at a speed of up to 50 meter/165 feet per minute or more, allowing the laundry to use it for fast ironing of flatwork for the healthcare sector, or for top-quality ironing for the hospitality sector. The Jenroll Hybrid is a space-saving solution combining a flexible chest section of 1200 mm/48” diameter and a calendar section comprising 3 rolls of 800 mm/32” diameter, ensuring top-quality ironing in the first section, followed by a final drying of the linen in the calendar section without leaving any tape marks in the linen. The Jenroll Hybrid concept is unique in the market, and presented to the industry for the first time at Texcare Frankfurt 2016.

Jenfeed Express Plus - the world´s fastest feeder of sheets using cornerless feeding stations – has been developed from handling single sheets only to handle King size sheets as well. By introducing a vacuum box to the Jenfeed Express, not only the size of products to be handled has increased, but also the feeding quality has increased, allowing feeding of all sizes of sheets for the healthcare sector. If combined with the brand new JENSEN Quality Unit – a free-standing Concorde delivery conveyor supplied with spreading brushes and vacuum to treat the edges - the Jenfeed Express Plus can also be used to increase PPOH in the hospitality sector thanks to the cornerless feeding principle which doubles the feeding capacity per operator compared to conventional feeding into clamps. At the Frankfurt show, the Jenfeed Express Plus is for the first time in Europe, shown in combination with the Jenfold Classic and Jenstack Max supplied with the “Express” options, allowing to process up to 1800 healthcare single sheets per hour in 1-lane operation with 3 operators only.

Another eye-catcher is the JENSEN Evolution Cube – a fully automatic separator and feeder of towels developed for the Jenfold Tematic Pro towel folder. The JENSEN Evolution Cube now reaches an average production of up to 600 towels per hour, allowing fully automatic separation, feeding, folding and sorting of different sizes of towels in combination with the Jenfold Tematic pro. The Jenfold Tematic Pro can also be operated manually, and features the brand new “AutoSelect” program, allowing the machine to automatically select the folding program according to the size of the towel. The new “AutoSelect” allows the operator to feed up to 1200 towels of mixed sizes per hour.

JENSEN also shows the Jenfeed Logic Plus. The Jenfeed Logic Plus is the ultimate multi-purpose feeder following the most imitated feeder concept in the industry – the “Logic” concept - introduced by JENSEN in 1992. The Jenfeed Logic Plus was introduced at the Detergo show in 2006, and can celebrate 10 years anniversary at the Frankfurt show, soon reaching a record sale of 1000 machines since the introduction. The Jenfeed Logic Plus features the new “EasyClamp” at the loading stations, allowing the operator to clip corners fast and easily into the clamps. Furthermore it features the brand new and unique “AutoReject” Concorde delivery conveyor with vacuum, which automatically rejects thick pieces before entering the ironer. The Jenfeed Logic Plus is demonstrated as model “Automatic” in a remote feeding configuration incorporating the JENSEN Jenrail 2000 Automatic, allowing fully automatic feeding in 1&2 lanes, combined with the unique possibility to feed small pieces manually directly at the feeding table.

Automation is the general topic of the finishing lines, combining automatic separation by the world’s fastest separator – the JENSEN Viking 2000 Automatic, followed by automatic feeding of flatwork to the operators at the Jenrail 2000 Automatic loading stations by means of an integrated conveyor solution. The Jenrail 2000 Automatic is shown with three different loading concepts, showing optimum ergonomic working conditions for the operators. The completion of automation is ensured by fully automatic scanning of the flatwork by the Jenscan MPS, before automatic folding, sorting and stacking and exit of the stacks onto the JENSEN Jenway FT conveyor system featuring the unique Track & Trace, ensuring fully automatic transport and return of the stacks back to the JENSEN Viking separator. 

New Perspectives for Mat Laundries

Mat laundries have been trusting JENSEN technology for many decades when setting up the washroom section, with sorting stations, mat shakers, tunnel washers and washer extractors, centrifugal extractors and dryers. Following our promise to be a one-stop-shop supplier, JENSEN now further expands its product offering with finishing equipment for mats. The Jenmat SpeedRoller automates the mat rolling process at a speed of 320 mats per hour – that’s four times the performance of one operator in real production. JENSEN has made a significant contribution to the physical health and productivity of the operators that feed the usually quite heavy mats into the roller: The pivoting and height adjustable inlet table makes it a very ergonomic solution, the same applies for the roll-off table. Automatic sorting can be done as well, and in combination the Jenmat roll-off table, mat laundries can now rely on JENSEN technology all the way from the sorting area to the delivery area. 

New Perspectives for "pro-fashional" garments

The well-proven Jenfold Butterfly Fox series in combination with the automatic Lobster system hanger, automates the entire work process chain. It is shown in combination with the successful Metricon automated conveyor system that facilitates the transport of garments to the Jenfold Butterfly Fox.

The original Metricon^® conveyor is a modular system used for automatic handling of washed garments between workstations in a laundry. It is very well proven in use, with more than 500 systems in more than 40 countries - and billions of garments sorted! A Metricon^® conveyor system – small or large – is always customized with standard proven components and built to obtain optimum solutions as well as the best possible value. For hanging garment delivery the solution is Metrilink PRO (automatic) or Metrilink Lite (manual) and for folded garment delivery, it is the Lobster hanger together with the Jenfold Butterfly Fox. The system is fully flexible. It can be adapted for any laundry premises and can be expanded easily as the system's requirements change.

New Perspectives for Laundry Management

JENSEN Cockpit is a globally unique approach to central production monitoring that provides real-time information for improving the laundry productivity. This complete laundry data collector allows the full overview, track-and-trace of the entire laundry process together with a wide range of production statistics. 

JENSEN Cockpit supplies statistics on the consumption of water, gas, steam, and electricity. Those Key Performance Indicators (KPI) foster a lower media consumption and thus higher productivity. Additional savings can be reached by the optimization of the process flow: all details of the entire process flow are known - with actual data and immediate feedback. Commercial managers will be relieved to hear that this central production monitoring system is prepared to supply the local laundry operating system with exact data for creating delivery notes and invoices for end customers. In view of the growing tourism business with an increased trend to more individual linen, the follow-up of smaller batch sizes becomes more and more important. The track-and-trace functionality provides the most accurate input for delivery times. The real-time performance measurement at all levels of all resources raises the productivity - because knowledge is power, and a key to success.

Profitability, growth and investment security - these are the three key aspects that each entrepreneur in all business sectors is striving for. Also laundry managers planning to build new turn-key laundries or upgrading existing plants are looking for technology that helps grow their business in a profitable, sustainable way - in a way that secures their investment in the long-term. When investing into new equipment or planning a ”ground-up” laundry, the decision-making process should be very calculated and based on facts. With JENSEN, laundries have the security of a strong partner to obtain highly productive machines, smart materials handling solutions and state-of-the art automation from one company - a company that supports customers throughout all phases, from offer to commissioning, on the laundry's way to a successful future.  

"We are extremely satisfied with the results of Texcare International, and we appreciate that so many customers from all continents took the time and effort to visit the JENSEN booth" says Jesper Munch Jensen. "This Texcare was a fantastic success that will be difficult to top in 2020."