IPSO turns 50 in 2023! It is impossible not to get a little emotional – after all you only turn 50 once, right? – so we prepared an overview of some key moments in our history.
We hope you enjoy seeing back some very old images as much as we do.
It’s 1973 and in the heart of Europe, IPSO International was born.
1973: Birth and growth
IPSO International started in 1973 in a small city called Wevelgem, located in the Western part of Belgium.
Initially, the production was focused on commercial washer-extractors and tumble dryers.
1987 & 1991: New production facilities
A new production facility is built in Wevelgem in 1987 and 4 years later, a second facility gets built near the Wevelgem airport.
1992: Broaden horizons
Year after year, the company grows and establishes an increasing reputation in the commercial laundry market.
19 years after its foundation, IPSO takes over its US-distributor and established “IPSO USA” in 1992.
A few years later, a new production facility opened its doors, in Panama City, Panama.
2005: New lines of washers
The HC softmount range kicks off. Also in that year, we opened sales offices in Spain and Norway.
The office in Spain would eventually evolve to the current Barcelona-based “Alliance Spain” office.
Clean Show (Orlando, Florida USA) – 2005
2006
In 2006, IPSO is acquired by Alliance Laundry Systems and becomes part of the world’s number-one in commercial laundry equipment.
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Expo Detergo (Milan, Italy) – 2006
2007: New hardmount washer line
In 2007, a new range of hardmount washers gets launched, called “WF”.
This range would also feature a ‘fast spin’ option, called “WFF”..
IPSO product line 2006 – 2007
2008: Clean the World
In 2008, a new marketing campaign is introduced focusing on “Clean the World”.
Texcare (Frankfurt, Germany) – 2008
2011: New Technologies
In 2011 the Cygnus control platform is released. For the first time, IPSO launches a control with 4 different feature sets all using the same central module.
Later that year, the DR-tumbler range gets improved with the the OPT (Overdry Prevention Technology) and OPTimum Controls
2012: Launch of D-line & SmartWAVe
2012 sees the introduction of a new line of softmount (HD) and hardmount washers (WD), featuring capacities from 6,5Kg up to 40Kg and called D-line.
This is also the moment where the SmartWAVe-technology gets introduced, a technology which adjusts water consumption of the wash programme based on the absorption ability of the linen.
2015: Local Partners in the center of attention
The fact that our local Partners deliver extraordinary levels of customer service and support, has always been something IPSO put forward in our communication.
This led to the marketing tagline “The smart choice for laundry” in 2015 and 3 years later in “Your Smart Laundry Partner”.
2018-2019: New & Redesigning products
In 2018, we introduced the midsize soft mount and barrier washer-extractors, a new range of DR tumble dryers and new ironers.
One year later the small softmount range got redesigned, introducing the “U”-shape still used today.
2020: Introducing touch control technology
The introduction of EVOLIS, IPSO’s touch control platform and IPSO Connect, featuring a management dashboard for laundromat owners and an app for laundromat customers, is the biggest innovation in years.
Laundromat customers get to know the ease-of-use through the CONNECT-app, while laundromat owners get access to performance data of their store on their mobile device. A true revolution in terms of user-friendliness and management.
Up to the next 50 years!
Today in 2023, IPSO products are manufactured in 3 production sites (Czech Republic, USA and Thailand) and sold through a growing network of local IPSO-Partners in 100+ countries, located in in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
None of these achievements would have been possible without the support of our loyal distributors and customers all over in the world, so a sincere thanks to all of you!
YOUR SMART LAUNDRY PARTNER