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Rick Wellington addressed the club on “Sustainability and new technology at Preens. Rick gave a “plug” for contributions to “Movember” and a comparison of his and Gordon’s progress growing a moustache. Rick then gave a brief summary of the company of which he is the third generation involved, which his Grandfather and ex long time club member, Percy Wellington, established in the 1930s with Snowwhite Laundries. The Company now includes Newtones, Preens and Apparelmaster. Rick is clearly enthusiastic about both sustainability and new technology and noted that more customers are caring about sustainability.
The releasing of carbon into the atmosphere is of huge interest to Rick with the Company reporting every month on diesel used for heating and other releases in vehicles etc. The Company has a focus on reducing water consumption which is down 25 % on earlier levels. New technology with the inclusion of microchips means all linen and bags are all traced through the cleaning process. The Company processes some 55,000kg of linen per week! The Company clearly cares about the community and recent projects have been raising funds for the Hospice with clothing being donated which Preens cleaned for sale by the Hospice shop, surplus sheets for disaster areas and “clothing” students at the annual toga party. Rick has attended study tours in Japan and is always looking for ideas to benefit both the Company and the environment. The big focus is reduction in carbon emission with energy audits and the move away from diesel to electricity and the introduction of a new 2 megawatt boiler. The Company is also exploring using the heat from water in the harbour for heat pumps. Alternative sources of energy were discussed such as wind solar and green hydrogen. Rick advised us that the Transpower Live website was great way to see what electricity was being used and from what source at any given time. The club visited Preens in 2021 (image below) and Rick warmly welcomed us back for another visit next year. |
