Why We Love Small Piece Folders (And You Should, Too!)

February 10, 2015 / Tracey Adcock / 4 Comments

We Love Small Piece Folders!

1. Wash.
2. Dry.
3. Fold.

Seems simple enough, but how many times have you quit at step 2? Even for a commercial laundry this step can be the lease efficient one in the process – until you add small piece folders to your laundry arsenal. This bit of fabulous laundry technology can easily do the work of three of four people in less time with more consistent results.

First, we’ll look at what these folders are. Many people call a small piece folder a towel folder because that’s what it’s most commonly used to do, but most can fold a variety of other small items like shirts, scrubs, small blankets, pillowcases, twin sheets and much more.

Instead of the tedious and monotonous job of folding towels by hand, all you have to do is put the towel on the conveyor belt and the machine takes over and does the rest!

Now that we’re on the same page, we can focus on the benefits of adding this piece of laundry awesomeness to any on premise commercial laundry.

Save money:

A small piece folder saves on labor costs by reducing the number of people needed to fold laundry. Depending on the folder purchased, you can expect to replace three or four employees folding by hand with only one person to operate the machine which can free up some hands to make the laundry operate more efficiently.

Save time:

Not only do small piece folders need only one operator, they can process linens faster than folding by hand.  The machine is engineered to do one thing and do it well.  While a person may be able to fold a few goods more quickly than the machine, they’ll never be able to keep up that pace hour after hour, day after day, week aft….  You get the picture!

Increase production:

With some models able to fold 14 towels per minute, the folder is only limited by the speed of the operator. You can further increase throughput with folders that place the folded goods onto a conveyor system or interface with a packaging machine for truly high production environments.

Eliminate sorting:

Some folders have the capability to do the sorting for you. With a model that offers a sorting feature you can fold different sizes of goods without presorting. For instance, you might have a load of bath towels, hand towels, and bath mats that need folding. The folder will fold, sort and place them into stacks automatically for you.  One more thing the laundry owner and operator don’t have to worry about!

Versatile folds:

Many folders available can be programmed to fold several different ways. Have a logo on a towel that you want displayed? No problem. The folder can use its many different programs to fold those small piece goods in various configurations.

Typically, the first fold is a French Fold, illustrated above.  Afterwards, the piece is then folded in half or in thirds, depending on the length.

Consistent results:

With machine folds, the goods always have more consistent results than if folding by hand. People tend to have their own way to fold, and different folded pieces may not stack well or look similar to other pieces, causing confusion and disorder.

Small piece folders are the key to consistent results, lower labor costs, and increase the thoughput and volume your commercial laundry is able to deliver.   With a payback typically measured in months, a small piece folder is the ultimate addition to any laundry processing small articles.

Please follow and like us:

#small piece folders