December 2008/January 2009 LCT 15

Company Profile

ABOVE: One lineshowing half the 39Polymark Temporarylabel fixingoperators working atthe large domesticlaundry at GlenniferRd, Laundry inCatford, S. London in1958. Domesticlaundry in bundlesand bags can beseen in profusionbeside theoperators. Acontinuous beltconveyor takes the'marked' itemsonwards to the washhouse. (Photo -Polymark archive)

TAGSYS RFID stand at the 2008 Texcare Exhibition in Frankfurt

Jim Pellerin and Karl Schubert are presented with photos ofthemselves from 1978 by Ian Elliott of Polymark who received theMilnor agency in that year

POLYMARK (GB):SIXTY-YEARS YOUNG

Irving Scott reportsInteresting things happenwhen you placeadvertisements in the

columns of The Timesnewspaper and no one reallyknew what would be theoutcome of such a notice tothe high and mightyreadership in the now far-off days of 1948. Theadvertisement in questionwas a plea from a by-nowforgotten laundry ownerwho was, presumably,searching for a solution tothe ‘missing sock’ problem.In processing domestic

laundry items the problemsassociated with reliable markingof each item from differentcustomers was an essential buttime-consuming task and aconstant source of grievance tothe long-suffering client whoselaundered bundle went outcontaining perhaps 12 items butquite frequently returned a weeklater, with one – or more –items missing, hence the‘missing sock’ problem and theacute need to overcome it witha reliable system capable ofhigh productivity.The advertisement offered a

prize to the successful solutionprovider of £1,000, a very largesum in 1948, approximating toat least £50,000 in 2008 terms.Hans Meyer was one who sawthe advertisement and aftermonths of trials and researchinto wash chemicals to testresistance in the wash, he cameup with the idea of a temporarymarking system for laundryitems which worked in everyinstance, without regard totemperature, chemical attack,drying heat and ironerpressures.Meyer’s temporary laundry

marking system was – andremains - one of the world’s

best practical solutions to anindustrial problem ofinternational significance. Inshort what Hans Meyer haddone was to invent, develop andsubsequently patent the HolyGrail for the domestic laundrymarket.Hans Meyer was also a

gifted entrepreneur who saw theimmense significance of histemporary marking system andrecognised that to submit histheories, drawings and workingmodels of his invention to theglare of publicity which wouldresult from his potential successshould he win the competition,then one certain result would bethat another, bigger, richer, andestablished company, alreadydealing with laundries, wouldsteal the enormous commercialprize from him.So, working alone and with

little capital, Meyer persuadedthe Lakeland Laundry plant inWhitehaven, Cumberland, totest the idea on his behalf.These tests proved highlysuccessful and the PolymarkCompany was formed in 1950and commenced delivery oflarge volumes of the Mark 1Polymark temporary markingsystem in 1951. Such was thesuccess of the Polymarkconcept that within eight yearsover 90 per cent of the UK andIrish Laundry market was usingthe Polymark system and the‘missing sock’ problem hadmore or less gone from thescene.From the temporary marking

system many other innovativelaundry machines followed.These include a further fivemodels of the original systemfor laundry marking items:

auto-pricing versions, sorting,storage and conveying systems,to enable the finished,processed, items to beefficiently distributed afterironing and packing. In 1960the growth of sales meant thatthe Polymark company came tothe London Stock Market for afull public listing only 10 yearsafter its foundation. Subsidiarycompanies were set up inFrance, Belgium, Germany andItaly and the product range bythen had broadeneddramatically.Using distributor agreements

and sole agency arrangements,Polymark’s success as aninnovator in laundry systems’efficient and highly engineeredmachinery continued unabatedas the company expanded. In1961 Polymark delivered thefirst R 100, continuous batchwasher, made in Germany byEngelhardt and Förster. By1964 several of these five-andsix-stage, continuous processing‘contra-flow’ serial washingmachines had been installed inseveral laundries around the UKas well as in Lakeland Laundryin Barrow-in-Furness, and thelarger Co-op laundries.The Pellerin-Milnor agency

agreement was signed in 1971to be followed by a full serviceand support distributionagreement in 1978. In 1979 theagency with Jensen was signedand in 1980 the Futurail,monorail distribution systemfor laundry use was acquired atthe same time as the Polymarkbusiness moved from JeddoRoad, Shepherd’s Bush, toBanbury in Oxfordshire. Therelationship with Milnorcontinues to this day andseveral heavy-duty washer-extractor installations continueto prove the virtues of thisAmerican icon in washtechnology.Now, once again re-located

to a 15,000 square footmanufacturing and officebuilding in Daventry,Northamptonshire, Polymarkmarkets its services asPolymark (GB) Ltd with RobBonney as general manager,UK, Dennis Rutland asbusiness development managerand Richard Wheatley ascommercial manager. Bonneyand Rutland are ‘old’ Polymarkhands and along with BobSmith the service manager,these very experienced andwell-known stalwarts of theindustry have been involved atvarious stages over the pastthirty years with most of thePolymark products andservices.After a somewhat

interesting financial history thePolymark business is nowowned by Ian Elliot, whoacquired the French and Britishcompanies in 2002 andrealigned the product offeringsto fit the buoyant parts of theUK and French markets. The

product focus is now verymuch concentrated onPolymark’s traditional coreproducts but in a style andrange of products that continueto lead the markets they operatein.The Polymark Label

division supplies, from theDaventry printing and designbase, an amazing array of typesand sizes of product identitymarkings to a host of domesticand international customers.These include labels in avariety of sizes, through tosewn on or heat-fixed, multi-coloured badges which are notsusceptible to chemical erosionin their washing or after-caretreatments, and thereforeremain bright and legible forthe life of any garment.Transfers are a growing part

of the Polymark business andthese in many shapes andformats can be supplied insmall batch lots to meet thepersonal identificationrequirements of corporatecustomers large and small.Behind all the physicalmanifestations of the ‘identitymarketing’ business wherePolymark is a leader the field ininnovation and computer-driven solution provision, liesthe significant investment insoftware and printingtechnologies which give thenecessary ‘edge’ to thecompany’s offerings.Having been innovators for

nearly 60 years, the 21stcentury Polymark range ofoptions is, as it always hasbeen, at the forefront of thelatest laundry and textilehandling technology.Developing the marketpenetration of these products

exercises the daily activities ofDennis Rutland and his focus ison selling Gartner andDistrisort, sortation andpackage handling systems towarehouses and textile storageand distribution centres in theUK and Ireland. Success forthese efforts has been found inthe distribution centres of ACSin Glasgow, French Connectionin London as well as, veryrecently, Tesco in Daventry.Capable of sophisticated highspeed sortation down to routeand van delivery destination,these systems deliver theessential efficiencies which thecurrent cost constraints on allbusinesses are working towardsin their quest for bottom-lineimprovement.Taking product location,

identity and stock control tonew levels of sophistication arethe systems which PolymarkGB markets on behalf of one ofthe world’s leading innovator inRFID (Radio FrequencyIdentification) control andlocation technologies. TAGSYSis an American company whichdesigns and develops thesystems and Polymark is theUK distributor of the devicesand their control systems onbehalf of the French distributorfor TAGSYS in Europe.Capable of being subjected tohigh temperatures allows thetags to be attached to finetextiles and processed throughan ironer or included in themanufacture of heavy duty dustcontrol mats. RFID chiptechnology is currentlyattracting serious interest fromlaundries in the UK and in thefar south of Ireland, where alarge processor of hotel-standard duvet covers, controls

the processing and product life-cycles and costs through theirattachment of TAGSYS RFIDchips to the covers. Recently amajor UK processor hascontracted to use thePolymark/TAGSYS RFID chipsfor its industrial garment, rentaland processing control.The latest technology to be

added to the Polymark portfoliois a market-leading productwhich is the result of thirty yearsof continuous development andinstalled customer satisfaction;the Wientjens trolley and cartwasher from Holland. Thisstainless steel disinfection systemis specifically designed forcleansing and disinfecting themetal, linen and garmenttransport trolleys, which arefound in the majority ofhealthcare laundries. The systemprovides thorough disinfectionthrough high pressure steam,without the addition of chemicalsand gives the user the assurancethat the processed results oftrolley-washing by Wientjenssystems are guaranteed to beclean and fit for purpose afterprocessing.Always and at all times, it

seems that Polymark is quick totake the lead in the markets inwhich its products are designed toexcel. This was the case 60 yearsago when Hans Meyer read asmall advertisement in The Timeswhich resulted in the Polymarkmarking system - in 2008 thesame concentration on excellencein design and performance,remain the hallmarks of aremarkable solution provider tothe textile care industry –solutions delivering excellence inperformance both before andafter the sale of the individualproducts.