INWOOD, N.Y., and RIPON, Wis. — Superstorm Sandy impacted New York, New Jersey and other areas along the East Coast, causing catastrophic damage. At a time when vended laundries in those areas are assessing the disaster’s impact on them, some equipment providers are offering special recovery programs.
Laundrylux and Alliance Laundry Systems have each announced programs that offer deferred payments and interest and no fees on equipment purchases made by qualified laundries.
Qualifying businesses purchasing Electrolux or Wascomat equipment under distributor Laundrylux’s Disaster Recovery Program can make no payments for up to six months and pay no interest for up to 12 months. All associated fees will be waived.
The program is available in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia or West Virginia. Interested parties should call Laundrylux at 800-645-2205 to learn more.
Alliance Laundry Systems’ Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief program allows owners to replace their damaged washers and dryers with no payments or interest for up to four months, no loan fees, and a cash allowance to assist with installation costs. Additionally, there is no prepayment penalty if customers choose to pay off their loan in full with reimbursement they may eventually receive from FEMA or their insurer.
The program is available to qualifying businesses in New York and New Jersey, but Alliance Laundry says it will review other situations and offer the finance program to other affected Laundromats on a case-by-case basis.
Local owners who were impacted by the storm can contact Metropolitan Laundry Machinery (Huebsch distributor) at 800-214-9200 or 800-214-9300 in New York or 800-728-0001 in New Jersey, or Super Laundry (Speed Queen distributor) at 888-678-9274 in New York or 800-992-7269 in New Jersey for eligibility requirements and more details.
Sandy’s impact hits close to home for Laundrylux, based in Inwood, N.Y. “We have personally witnessed the devastation in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states and our hearts go out to the millions of people affected by Hurricane Sandy,” says Laundrylux CEO Neal Milch. “Our families have been affected, too, so we understand personally what our customers are going through.”
Laundrylux says it is reaching out to distributors and customers to make it as affordable as possible for self-service laundry owners, as well as hotels, nursing homes, etc., to get the equipment they need right away.
“Laundries that are able to serve affected populations will be running at maximum capacity and as power is restored elsewhere, laundries may need to replace equipment destroyed by salt water,” says Milch. “We have inventory stockpiled for immediate shipment as needed.”
“Dealing with the aftermath of a storm of such epic proportions is incredibly challenging, and we want to help those in need get back to normal as soon as possible,” says Mike Schoeb, CEO of Alliance Laundry Systems. “We know the value a Laundromat provides a community, particularly when people are struggling with the kind of disruption this storm has caused. As the market leader, we are glad we are able to act quickly to help our customers.”
San Diego-based Chateau brings 12 years of industry experience to Laundrylux. He learned to repair commercial washers and dryers while in the Navy. In 2000, Chateau joined longtime Laundrylux distributor Golden State Laundry Systems as service manager and worked his way up through the sales department. For the past two years, he has worked for Electrolux Professional, traveling to the Electrolux factories in Sweden and France many times for training.