NCALC 2026 Winter Meeting
Planning for this event is underway. Updated information will be posted here as available. Registration will be opening soon.
Advance Registration is Required for Each Individual Attendee.
Employees of member companies, and their spouses and/or companions are eligible for the discounted member registration rates.
What: North Carolina Association of Launderers and Cleaners (NCALC) will hold its regular Winter Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 30-February 1, 2026 for planned education, professional networking, association business meetings, and social functions.
Who: All NCALC members, friends, and spouses are encouraged to participate.
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We Appreciate Our Event Sponsors!
Your Company could be recognized here.
We are currently seeking additional sponsors for this and other events. Click here for details.
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Where: On Saturday, January 31, the planned education, networking, and the business meetings of the NCALC standing committees and Board of Directors, will be held at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Charlotte Uptown. Dinner social outings are being planned for both Friday and Saturday evenings for attendees to enjoy fellowship with other attendees and to experience local restaurants. Specific locations will be shared with participating registrants.
Accommodations: A small block of hotel rooms has been reserved for our group at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Charlotte Uptown, 201 S. McDowell St, Charlotte, NC 28204. Our group rate is $159 per night for reservations made by Saturday, January 10, 2026. Reservations may be made online by clicking here for online reservations (preferred), or by phone at 833-372-7833 and identifying yourself as part of the NCALC 2026 Winter Meeting.
Our Tentative Schedule of Activities (Subject to change)
Friday, January 30
- Early arrivals for individual fun activities
- 2:00 pm Plant Tour: Jones Dry Cleaning
- 6:00 pm Welcome Dinner Social at the hotel
Saturday, January 31
- Breakfast on your own
- 8:30 am Gathering for networking and coffee
- 9:00 am NCALC Standing Committee Meetings
- 10:00 am Networking Break
- 11:00 am NCALC Board of Directors Meeting
- 1230 pm Lunch provided
- 1:30 pm Education Session(s)
- Wet Cleaning vs. Dry Cleaning – Why Do I Need It?
- 5:30 pm Gathering at hotel for carpooling to nearby local favorite restaurant to join our group.
Sunday, February 1
- No planned group activities, participants depart
Educational Session(s)
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Plant Tour - Jones Dry Cleaning
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Jimmy Lee will host us for a tour of his plant located at 1601 E 4th St, Charlotte, NC. Participants will meet at the plant at 2pm on Friday afternoon for this activity. |
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Wet Cleaning vs. Dry Cleaning – Why Do I Need It?
We as dry cleaners have been attempting Wet Cleaning for years. Most of the garments are simply being laundered. However, you have been carefully washing in water some “Dry Clean Only” garments as well. However, this process was very laborious, time-consuming, and caused a struggle to finish. This was reserved for garments that were just too filthy to dry clean successfully. We carefully washed the garment in a sink or bucket. Used gentle detergent and then carefully squeezed out water and hung to dry in the boiler room. The next day we struggled to finish and sent out a clean garment that cost us more to produce than we charged for it.
Today, with the proper equipment, chemistry, and knowledge you are able to produce more in water than you can in traditional dry cleaning in the same amount of time, with superior results, and with higher profitability.
This session will include an in-depth discussion on Dry Cleaning and Wet Cleaning of yesterday and today. We will dive deep into the proper Equipment & Chemistry needed and more importantly… WHY.
The presentation will cover the initial investment and the proper training needed to properly produce wet cleaned garments, and help ease your mind about the difficulties of this big step.
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 Frank Briercheck has been in our industry for now 33 years. In 1993, he began as an owner of a rural Dry Cleaners near West Central Florida. Frank was operating a 4500sq ft central plant, 4 drop stores and multiple routes along will fire restoration as a separate entity all before it was considered “Main Stream” to do so. He added Tuxedo Rental and Sales to all stores in 1995 and began using Seitz products in 1999 (2 years after they began selling in North America) to begin processing his own leather cleaning.
In 2006, for family reasons, sold the operation and began a new career as the Sales and Marketing manager for Phenix (now FabriClean) Supply. In 2017 a friend lured him to developing Vended Laundry Stores and selling laundry equipment. Finally in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and after both using Seitz in his plant and selling it at Phenix/FabriClean, Seitz offered an opportunity to join the company as the Director of Marketing and now Vice President of Sales for North America. He has traveled the nation and world visiting Cleaners and learning best practices that can be shared with others. Frank has mastered both Wet and Dry Cleaning, garment care, and plant operations. He enjoys teaching and sharing with others with special emphasis in Customer Service.
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Dinner Social Outings: Our dinner outings are designed to give our participants opportunities for informal networking and fellowship while enjoying some of Charlotte's favorite restaurants.
On Friday evening, participants will gather at 6:30 pm for a welcome reception and dinner at the Fairfield Inn Charlotte Uptown.
On Saturday evening, participants will join their assigned groups at 6:30 pm at preselected restaurants for informal Dutch Treat dinner outings.
Planning Your Visit to Charlotte: For ideas on things to do while you are in Charlotte, check out this website: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g49022-Activities-Charlotte_North_Carolina.html .
