Machinery for industrial, sanitary, and self-service laundry, with every guarantee of hygiene and safety
Today we have the pleasure of having a short chat with Víctor Muñoz, manager of Vigosat, our Domus branch in Galicia.
We wanted to conduct this interview to talk about everything a benchmark brand like Domus can offer to the market, within the laundry, self-service, and sanitary industries, three of the company’s most important business streams of today.
We would like to discuss in detail all the innovations that Domus machinery offers in 2021 for these industries, in terms of productivity, process quality, sustainability, connectivity and workplace safety.
It is clear that technological advances, the high degree of connectivity and the new features of all the ranges of industrial laundry machinery marketed by Vigosat and Domus are marking a turning point in the sector.
Below, their manager will tell us everything you need to know if you are thinking of making an investment to optimise and improve the equipment in your industrial laundry space.
Good morning, Mr. Muñoz. Firstly, we would like to speak a little bit about your branch, your story, and your journey. How many years have you been marketing laundry machinery in Galicia and how did your collaboration with Domus begin?
Well, I have been in this business for as long as I can remember. My parents were already in the industrial laundry business; it has always been a family business, passed down from generation to generation.
As I have just told you, my parents started the business, then me and my brother followed in their footsteps, and recently my sister also joined.
VIGOSAT is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary, but we have been marketing industrial laundry equipment for more than thirty years. We started working with DOMUS when we opened the company.
What is the most important stream of business for VIGOSAT?
The truth is our most important stream of business is undoubtedly the self-service industry. To give you an idea, before the pandemic arrived, we set up an average of two to three self-service laundromats per week. Although, we also have other streams of business such as the industrial and sanitary sectors.
If you were to ask me what differentiates us from the rest of our main competitors, for me, it would be, for example, that both the washing machine and the tumble dryer have the same microprocessor; the new TOUCH II, which has been developed to make the machines as user-friendly as possible, because among its advanced features, there is the possibility of configuring it in 37 different languages.
To delve a little deeper into what we are dealing with today, both Domus industrial washing machines and dryers have been designed to optimise, in terms of energy efficiency and productivity, the processes that take place in a self-service laundromat. Now let us talk about the technical features of the new TOUCH II…
The truth is that, from a technical point of view, one of the most important factors is that the dryers we sell have one of the highest spin-cycle speeds on the market, which means much faster and more efficient drying.
On the other hand, with this programmer, very important advances have been achieved in terms of energy efficiency, since previously, only the time and temperature were marked; now we can do several processes within the same drying cycle, something that could not be done before. What is achieved with this? Better handling of garments, improved performance – we can set several temperatures within the same drying cycle, depending on the needs of the garments being dried, and if we also incorporate humidity control, the drying is even more efficient.
I would like to relate all of this that you are telling us to the new Domus Connect system, since, in addition to helping and facilitating the tasks of managers and users, it has also been designed to improve and optimise the technical service. Is this the case?
We are doing the final tests and training, but it is certain that it is going to be extremely functional for all parties, both for end users and managers, as well as for the technical service.
As you rightly say, it will undoubtedly mark a turning point in the industrial and self-service laundry market, it will enable us to grow more, and it can only bring good things.
To give you some of the great advantages of Domus Connect, for example, the manager of a laundromat will be able to control the traceability of each wash cycle from anywhere in the world, apply discounts and promotions (in the case of self-service), customise programmes according to the needs of each customer, promote loyalty cards, have a payment app…
And for us as a technical service, among many other things, it offers us the possibility of solving technical incidents remotely, installing software updates remotely…
Anyway, it is something very novel and I currently cannot go much further, but the idea is very good and, if it works, it has a long list of possibilities.
To talk a little more in depth about your equipment… What are the most common machines you usually install in a self-service laundromat?
Here, as a general rule, we usually ask for 3+2 units, that is, 3 washing machines and 2 dryers; it is then when we remind them that we are in Galicia, and we advise them that they have to decide on a 2+3. Why? Because the bottleneck is in the drying process and the self-service laundries in Galicia usually have many more dryer users than washing machine users.
There are many users who have a washing machine at home, but no dryer, and with the climate and humidity we have, the tendency is usually this, no doubt.
In a month we will be setting up the largest self-service laundromat we have ever built, a client who has been with us since the beginning, the O Lavadoiro laundromat in Pontevedra, who has asked us to remodel the entire space and increase the total number of dryers to 7.
As far as the machinery is concerned, we were limited before because we lacked the 14 kg dryer, we went directly from 11 kg to 18 kg, and I do believe that this is going to be a major success for the brand.
On the other hand, the small new gas dryer, for me, is also going to be another boom, it will sell very well because it is a machine that has no competition.
In general terms, what I would like to highlight is that we have a very wide range of capacities, both in washing machines and tumble dryers.
Having cleared this up, after all that we have experienced over the last few months, I would like to talk about care homes and laundry services. Has the pandemic increased this type of business? How has your company experienced this?
The first thing that should be pointed out is that having a laundry space with all the guarantees of hygiene and safety is something that should be demanded of any care home for the elderly.
It is true that, at present, the vast majority of care homes are not giving the importance they deserve to their laundry space and processes.
The pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings and needs of this type of premises when it is time to wash and sanitise all the clothes. Having to wash everything on a daily basis, even more than once, the current machines and facilities have not been able to meet the demands and requirements, and we have noticed this considerably.
In a care home it is just as important, if not more important than in a hospital, to guarantee a perfect disinfection of all the clothes, since all the residents live together and interact daily with workers, relatives…
We have three different models of washing machines with sanitary protection, but when we receive calls from care homes, they always tend to opt for our professional or industrial lines, either because of lack of knowledge or because of budget. This is why I believe it is vitally important to educate and legislate in this direction.
We must not forget to mention that with our washer extractors with sanitary protection, we can control the traceability of each cycle, both washing and drying, in a strict and very useful manner for this type of premises.
I think that, on my part, we have concluded, Mr. Muñoz. We can only wish you our best wishes for this year and also let you know that it has been a pleasure to chat with you.
As always, for all those users who want to get in touch with VIGOSAT, our Domus branch in Galicia, just call 653 675 198, send an e-mail to info@vigosat.com or spare a few moments to fill out this form.
