The Boisset laundry, in Cantal, has made significant investments to reduce its water and energy consumption. It now consumes 50% water in months than the industry average.
Founded in 1962 in Cantal, the Boisset laundry was initially a dry cleaner. The company grew, but with the arrival of synthetic materials, the model collapsed. Rémi Boisset, associated with his two brothers Paul and Valentin at the head of the laundry, remembers : “ When my father and uncle took over the business in the 1980s, they began renting and maintaining textile items for professionals. This mainly concerns work clothing for the food industry and the hotel and catering industry. » Since then, the laundry has found its economic model : “ We buy the linen that we provide to our customers and we take care of its maintenance throughout the duration of the contract. “.
Since 1984, the company has been looking for ways to save water. : “ We started to collect rainwater and melting snow thanks to tanks. They are stored in a water reserve under the 600 plant 000 liters. It allows them to be recovered and stored, as well as the water collected from the drilling that we have. » The laundry has been collecting this water for 40 years to avoid drawing on its reserves.. “ It also helps reduce withdrawals in the event of drought. », adds Rémi Boisset. Thanks to this dual resource, the company maintains textiles in a self-sufficient manner.
That’s not all. The technical equipment with which the laundry is equipped allows 50% less water to be consumed than the industry average. : “ She still makes significant efforts, because she manages to reduce her water consumption by 15 to 20% each year. “, recalls Rémi Boisset. But laundry still remains ahead of its competitors : “ This involves investments in the latest generation of automated washing tunnels. They save water thanks to their variable capacity : we adjust the volume of water and the dosage of the products according to the weight of the laundry. »
The laundry specializes in the rental and maintenance of linen for professionals.
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© SOISSONS PIERRE
Recycle water
At the end of washing, the laundry is pressed to remove as much water as possible from the textile, but this water is not lost. “ It is recovered to carry out a new rinse then it is reused again at the start of the washing tunnel for wetting and pre-washing the laundry, because it contains washing products. “, explains Rémi Boisset. The water then passes through a filtration system which will capture suspended matter, such as lint. Plus, laundry proves you can save water without mixing white and colors : “ We have storage tanks in the washing tunnels, which allows, when processing items of different colors, to store the water in different locations instead of draining it to change to a new color. There, we can reuse it when the time comes »welcomes Rémi Boisset.
The laundry has become an expert in the art of recycling and saving water : “ We have a water recycling rate of 60%, which means that a liter of water will be used 3 to 6 times before being thrown away. » It was in 2014, 10 years ago, that the switch to this new system took place. That year, the company reinvested 100% of its turnover, or 3.5 million euros, in an eco-labeled system and in modern washing tunnels. A heat exchanger, installed in 2002, also recovers calories from wastewater to heat washing water, but that’s not all. “ For the hotel part, the laundry is eco-labelled, which means that we use eco-responsible washing products. This makes it possible to generalize washing at 40°C, whereas before, this could go up to 80°C. » Result, 40% less gas consumed and 50% water saved. The laundry also exchanged its boiler for a steam generator.
Financially, the investments will be profitable in the medium term, according to Rémi Boisset : “ We hear that the ecological transition generates additional costs, but we see that we can combine ecology and economic performance. We remain competitive even though we consume much less energy than our competitors. When we consume half as much water, it’s a virtuous circle. Returns on investment are relatively quick. » This virtuous approach even naturally increases the water resource of the laundry. : “ Our drilling is only half exploited to preserve the groundwater and therefore the capacity of our drilling naturally increases »indicates Rémi Boisset.
The entire chain that allows the laundry to operate has gone green, to save resources : “ We choose a partner for textile purchases who offers a range with half as many chemical agents, in particular the bleaching agents used during embellishment. This allows them to save 60% water because less rinsing is required to remove. Some textiles are maintained with washing machines intended for individuals. You should know that we use 70% less water with industrial washing and 85% fewer chemicals. » The Boisset laundry is now carrying out an expansion project linked to the complete reconstruction of the Bo Blanc laundry, to create a new water storage reserve of 600,000m3, thus doubling its capacities.
