Zengeler chosen chairman of premier trade group

NORTHBROOK – Each year, the Round Table of Launderers and Dry Cleaners convenes to address mutual concerns along with an open exchange of ideas.

Nineteen members recently gathered in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, for the 83rd annual meeting of the trade organization.

The Round Table is an informal group of top executives from laundry, linen, industrial and dry-cleaning companies, each of whom was invited to join the organization because their company has continuously demonstrated best practices in the industry.

One tradition of each Round Table conference is to select the incoming chairman to lead the organization. This year, the group selected Tom Zengeler, president of Zengeler Cleaners, the Midwest’s oldest and largest dry cleaner, to lead the Round Table in the coming year.

Responsibilities of the incoming chairman include organizing the following year’s conference, including site selection, activities, entertainment and setting the agenda for the next conference. Zengeler succeeds David Machesney, the owner of Pratt Abbott Cleaners, as chairman. Pratt Abbott Cleaners is northern New England’s largest dry-cleaning company.

“I am extremely honored to lead the Round Table in the coming year,” Zengeler said in a news release. “Zengeler Cleaners has benefited tremendously from our 20+ year membership in the Round Table, thanks to the open exchange of strategic initiatives and best practices in the industry. Plans are already underway to continue that path at next year’s conference, which I am proud to announce will be held at the Shima Kano Hotel, Japan. We selected this location because it offers a unique opportunity for Round Table members to also experience best practices in operations and manufacturing in Japan, as well as those we share about our operations in the United States. We look forward to a very exciting conference next year.”