Clean 2005 success for GIRBAU products and services

At Clean ’05 in Orlando, Girbau group featured its entire line of industrial and commercial laundry equipment – products engineered to cut overhead costs and improve production and/or customer turnover. Continental’s adjoining booths – 335 and 139 – encompassed 8,400 square feet and featured the Energy Star-qualified Aurora Washer-Extractor, Pro-Series™ Flatwork Ironers, soft- and rigid-mount washer-extractors, drying tumblers, the massive Tunnel Washer, institutional machinery and much more.

“This year’s show was the best yet – creating record leads for Continental products and distributor inquiries,” said President Mike Floyd. “There’s continued new interest in Continental products and services. Clean gave us the opportunity to display our products and unique support programs in an interactive, personal manner. The response was incredible!”
Continental’s highly interactive booth and kiosks offered visitors the opportunity to navigate equipment, new Aurora Income Accelerator, live Parts Central database and laundry-planning CD ROMs, according to Floyd.


The recently released Aurora Income Accelerator – a featured booth kiosk – allows users to select among hundreds of top-load washers and automatically compare them with the highly efficient Aurora. The Accelerator measures variables such as water, electricity and gas consumption; the tax bracket of the purchaser and the cost of utilities in their area; tax incentives, financing options, rebates, warranties, vend price and the washers’ average number of turns. Booth visitors witnessed the cost savings of Aurora over toploads firsthand, according to Floyd.

Another kiosk included Parts Central’s online database, which serves as a centralized parts resource for Continental distributors. Parts Central inventories some 220,000 parts by 45 laundry equipment manufacturers. Orders are placed using a credit card and drop shipped to specified locations. The tool offers Continental distributors another parts source – helping them to better serve customers.

Finally, visitors learned to plan efficient coin and on-premise laundries with the help from Continental’s interactive CD-ROMs.

In keeping with tradition, new end-user financing and product promotions, unique marketing programs, and Continental “Distributor of the Year” honors were announced. In appreciation for 10 years of dedication to Continental, several distributorships were honored with the “Founders’ Club” award, including OPL Services in Green Bay, Wis., Wholesale Commercial Laundry S.E. in Southside, Ala., Skyline Equipment Inc., in Houston, Sunshine Sales in Glendale, Ariz., Washtime Industries in Lakewood, Colo., Darling Sales and Service in Blaine, Minn., and Automatic Laundry Service in West Newton, Mass.

This year, 2005, marks Continental’s 10th anniversary as the U.S. subsidiary of Girbau S.A., Girbau markets its products throughout 80 countries worldwide. “Our parent company, staff and distributors are the reason for Continental’s great success during the past decade,” said Floyd. “Strong partnerships are also critical to Continental’s success into the future.”