Revolutionizing Laundry: How DEMA’s Aurora Plus Is Changing Chemical Dispensing Forever

 In this episode of Cleaning Processes with Jerry, we dive into the future of laundry operations with a groundbreaking innovation: the Aurora Plus from DEMA Engineering. Joining Jerry is Jeff Hamm, Global Electronics Product Manager at DEMA, who brings over 20 years of experience in the chemical service industry. 

Together, they explore how Aurora Plus is redefining chemical dispensing for large-scale laundry operations in hospitals, hotels, healthcare facilities, and industrial laundries. Jeff shares the story behind DEMA’s evolution, the critical challenges they solved with peristaltic pump technology, and why features like automatic squeeze tube wear compensation, continuous measurement flow meters, and event reporting are set to transform efficiency, reliability, and cost control for operators worldwide. 

Listeners will also hear fascinating insights into the history of peristaltic pumps—used in life-saving medical devices since the 1950s—and how that same proven technology is now being perfected for modern laundry systems. From reduced calibration hassles to intelligent reporting and remote alerts, Aurora Plus is designed to save time, cut costs, and improve results. 

If you’re in the cleaning, sanitation, or laundry services industry, this episode is packed with practical takeaways, industry history, and a sneak peek into the future of dispensing technology. 

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Jerry Bauer
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Transcript

Jerry:
Hi, and welcome back to Cleaning Processes with Jerry. This show, we explore the latest innovations and practices in the cleaning and sanitation industry. Today, we have an exciting episode lined up because we're talking about a brand new product being launched next month. This product is guaranteed to change the way many large-scale laundry operations handle chemical dispensing. Joining me is Jeff Hamm from DEMA Engineering, a company known for designing intuitive, reliable, and precise dispensing systems for industries around the world. They're just not in the laundry industry. They're into agriculture, car washes, and everything else. They're from my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Next month, DEMA will be releasing their newest Aurora system, a next-generation laundry dispensing solution packed with advanced features like automatic squeeze-to-wear compensation. I know what that is, but you know what? We're going to have Jeff explain it to us. In our conversation, we're going to dive deep into the story behind the product, the technology that makes it stand out, and what it means for the operators of the hospital, the hotel, motel, commercial laundry, healthcare, and different industrial laundry settings. Jeff, welcome to the show.

Jeff : My name is Jeff Hamm. I'm with DEMA Engineering Company. I've been with DEMA six and a half years now. Been in the chemical service industry 20 years, and I am the global electronics product manager at DEMA.

Jerry: So what exactly is that title? Is that part marketing, part training, or tell me a little bit about what all you do with DEMA.

Jeff : It's a mix of several different departments, actually. I spent my first five years with DEMA as the Northeast Regional Sales Manager and was recently promoted in January. Our long-time product manager, retired, Tim Kinzer, great man, great mentor of mine. With his retirement, I was promoted to the role. So it's marketing, it's sales. I'm also responsible for our technical support. So that doesn't necessarily mean I'm the only person providing the tech support. It just means kind of like setting the the strategy and the process for us and how we support our customers that we pride ourselves on doing with numerous layers of people.

Jerry: Just so you know, I met Tim back in 1985, and I believe he ran out to the restaurant I was working at. And it might have been was in my transition because i went from a restaurant injury then i work went to work for ecolab and we had some of the original dima faucet adapters the proportion of which you still sell probably a lot of today and we had a problem and Ecolab could get them, but DEMA was in the neighborhood and could get them a lot faster. I think Tim personally came out and fixed it, which was putting, technically unscrewing it, putting a new one on and cleaning it out. I've had a relationship with DEMA since 1985 and you work for a tremendous, a great company.

Jeff : Yeah, and we pride ourselves on that customer support and really go on the extra mile to meet our partners.

Jerry: Now today you're here to introduce a new laundry dispenser that I believe is going to be coming. It's coming out partially now or there's a full blown kickoff in September or something. Tell us a little bit about the new dispenser, the Aurora.

Jeff : Yeah, so the Aurora laundry system, it's not a completely new system. It's been out seven plus years now. We've just had quite a bit of an evolution in the product, based on customer feedback and changes in the marketplace. So the latest flavor of that product line is called Aurora Plus, and we're launching it officially on September 2nd. We're introducing it at the Clean Show next weekend, and we just couldn't be more excited for what's to come with that product.

Jerry: Well, tell us some of the things that have changed on the new dispenser or the new kickoff. I read some of the literature, but I'll let you explain some of the newer things that have come out on the dispenser.

Jeff : Sure. So the marketplace has kind of shifted here in the past five to ten years. There's kind of been a movement away from the peristaltic pump with venturi, diaphragms, and various other means of pumping chemicals to the washers. And we've been in the Venturi game for a long time. That's the largest portion of our business, is water-driven proportioners. So we understand that. We've spent years testing electric diaphragms, and what we finally concluded here recently just in the past six months, is that we feel strongly that the path forward, the best path forward, is peristaltic pumps. So we've been focusing, really in the past several years, but specifically in the past six months, on solving the challenges that are inherent with peristaltic pumps. Namely, that as the squeeze tubes wear down, the flow rate is diminished, and that they have to be calibrated. with some frequency, be it every three to six months, based on seasonal changes and changes in the thicknesses of products. So we really focused on those two things because we felt like if we were able to solve those two problems, that people would realize that peristaltic pumps are still the best way to get laundry chemicals into the washer.

Jerry: I just read your LinkedIn post actually today and some information I didn't know was the peristaltic pumps were actually used in the medical field for heart surgery. Am I correct or did I read that incorrectly?

Jeff : Yeah, so the peristaltic pump was actually invented in 1924. It didn't become used in the heart-lung machine until 1953. But what I just found striking, and I kind of knew this loosely, but I did some research and made that post today, that it began being used in 1953 in heart-lung machines, and it's still being used today. So think about that. That's 72 years that peristaltic pumps are being used in the most sensitive application you can imagine. Life and death, literally. So it's certainly not a fluid delivery system that we need to leave behind. We just need to perfect it.

Jerry: Right. And you're correct. Some of the water-driven as well as the bellows, let's be honest, a lot of people know this, that Ecolab, I mean, is was one of the largest chemical providers out there. We all compete against them in the chemical industry, it seems, but they started out with aspirators and then they went to bellows, then they went to peristaltic. The first dispensers they had were aspirators that got clogged, had different problems and stuff like that. And I can see the need for a peristaltic and you've up the game with making it much more dependable with the longevity of the tubes. So with that said, how long you want the tubes, does the chemical provider, the customer, how long do you want the tubes to last and when do you start recommend changing them?

Jeff : Yeah. It depends on the chemistry, like how long the tubes would last typically. But what we discovered by accident with several of my customers in the Northeast over the past five years is that we have two different pumps. We have what we call the J-pump. It's our smaller peristaltic pump. You may have used them in the past. Then the P-pump, which is the larger pump. We prescribed that as our high-flow, large pump for large laundries over the years, but I had several key customers that their perception was that our smaller pump, the squeeze tube, didn't last long enough. They refused to use it. When we were putting in multi-machine Auroras, I said, well, use the P-Pump, use our larger pump. What we discovered over the past five years is that it had phenomenal squeeze tube life. that in combining that squeeze tube with our continuous measurement system flow meter, that they were getting six to 12 months of squeeze tube life. The reason they were getting that is because our flow meter, it's truly unique. It's not just your typical flow meter where you calibrate it in the same way you do peristaltic pumps. It's actually an automatically calibrated flow meter because it measures water displacement and not chemical. So out of the box, the CMS flow meter that's included with Aurora Plus, it doesn't need to be calibrated. So in creating that product, we've eliminated one of the main concerns with squeeze tubes, that the operator has to calibrate them at startup and then at least a couple times a year after that to assure that they're getting an accurate flow.

Jerry: That's awesome. So, am I jumping the gun here or asking about, will it help decrease the time of the install possibly?

Jeff : Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, the calibration, when you have to calibrate each individual chemical, that can add, you know, a half hour to the installation at a minimum, depending on the experience of the operator. And then the last piece, you have an automatically calibrating flow meter. Every 10 pump runs, the system updates the flow rate. So as the squeeze tube's wearing down, it's adjusting the calibration that's stored in the system. So what you have with a pump that has, on average, with chemicals, a 30 to 40 ounce per minute speed, and then it gives you more usable life for the squeeze tube. So as that squeeze tube wears down, you can run it all the way down to five ounces per minute. So you have a large range of usable flow rate in there. That's essentially why we end up getting in a lot of applications 12 months on the same squeeze tube, because we're truly getting the maximum use of that squeeze tube because of the flow meters adjusting for wear. It's really groundbreaking. You and I in laundries, we would probably change the squeeze tube and many of our customers change the squeeze tube every three months. Just to be proactive because they don't want to lose money in the account.

Jerry: Correct.

Jeff : Well, with this system, it's literally doing it for you. It's assuring that they're getting the exact dose every time, letting the operator know when it's time to change the squeeze tube.

Jerry: Correct. Because when you're getting lower rates of chemicals coming out, it affects results. Reflects cost effects the chemical company that they can't get as good results if you only get half the amount of product. So now you've got to make adjustments. You might have to change something. Another trip, let's be honest, the chemicals are a cost, but the trip being on property costs just as much, if not more, because there's a built in cost. So with that, tell me about the reporting that the laundry dispenser can do for the end user or for the chemical person. Tell me a little bit about the laundry reporting aspect of the dispenser.

Jeff : Yeah, so the system is very advanced, and sometimes when people hear advanced, technologically advanced, they kind of relate that to things that can break and what have you. I kind of want to reiterate that this product, hardware-wise, It's not new. It's a seven-year-old product hardware-wise. Aurora Plus is simply a modification in the software that allowed us to create the system in a more economical way. So the system will give you a squeeze tube warning when the flow rate gets down to five ounces per minute. It gives you a yellow warning, hey, you should change the squeeze tube soon. Gives you out-of-product alarms at about two ounces per minute. It gives you an out-of-product alarm. So you're never running the system with an empty bucket or a squeeze tube. But as far as reporting, that's probably my favorite feature in the system. We do have remote connectivity as an option for this system. But even if you don't have it connected remotely, The system records every event that occurs. So one of the biggest problems I used to have as a laundry chemical specialist is I would get an emergency call or I'd have a customer that was concerned they weren't getting bleach or something wasn't going right. And in unfortunate circumstances, I was driving hours to the laundry. And by the time I got there, whatever was happening wasn't happening anymore. So you're left really with a challenging investigation on your hands. Well, with Aurora, it records every event in an event log on the system that can be downloaded and then analyzed to troubleshoot what was happening in the laundry two hours ago when the customer called in a panic. So it becomes like a forensic investigative tool that allows you to serve your customer and make sure that you solve the problem while you're there.

Jerry: That's outstanding. Now, a couple of questions from the outside looking in. The reporting that it says that the squeeze tube is wearing or whatever, who is that? Who's the dispenser giving that warning to? Is it giving to the laundry operation? Is the rep getting a text on his phone? Who gets that information?

Jeff : So it depends on whether the system is connected remotely, but let's begin with, let's say the Aurora is connected remotely. You have a cellular connection that's always on. It's a closed loop. It's not dependent on site Wi-Fi or Ethernet that sometimes can drop off. So it's a reliable cellular connection. The user can set it up so they get alerts for whatever alarms they want to see. So for instance, I always recommend that customers set it up for squeeze tube warning, out of product alarms, etc. So they would get a text or an email, depending on what they selected, letting them know that the squeeze tube needs to be changed. Now, locally, we've got a beautiful LCD screen, color LCD screen, that we always recommend being mounted prominently. We use colors because we all know the laundries are loud and sometimes things go unnoticed. So it has a really bright color LCD screen that flashes yellow. for the squeeze tube warning and red for out of product. So locally, there's a notification that prevents these systems running with no chemical or running on a squeeze tube that's so worn down that we're not getting an accurate dose. And then your customer's calling you complaining that results are poor.

Jerry: So let's say a laundry machine says it's, the dispenser says it's out of product. Can I, as the laundry rep who's got, let's say, 50 accounts running around a couple of states, do I get a text that ABC Hotel is out of product? So then I can, I'm reading between the lines, I can double check number one is to find out when they last placed their order. I'm going to do that. You know, you know, because I got to make sure that then I can monitor and wait to see if they put it on. And then, then I, I guess I call a customer saying, are you aware you're out of product? Is that, is that the goal we're both looking for?

Jeff : Absolutely. And besides that, it actually, the event log within the system, it records how long it is that pump is out of product. So you have documentation of how many hours passed. Unfortunately, I do actually see that long a time pass, but you kind of have documentation that if results were poor, it was because they didn't have chemical online.

Jerry: So if you, I'm laughing here, I don't know if she's, I don't know if you have a video on where you're watching me laugh, but the person, you technically then can take that report in if somebody's been on a product for, and I hate to say it, three days. Oh, hey, my results aren't that, you know, I'm having a problem. Well, here, here, you've been on a product for three days and blah, blah, blah. We've done this, we've done that. Oh, okay. really helps a whole lot because if you notice i started what ten minutes or not when i started i said chemicals there's a cost the cost of dispenser there's a cost to everything it's cost of doing business however there's a cost for the rep is automobile gasoline running out for sometimes that can be handled over the phone remotely. And I'm sure a lot of this is the reason the folks at Dima have designed it this way, is to work together with the end user to stop some of these problems and keep better results for the customer at the same time.

Jeff : Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, Aurora Plus is really the culmination of seven years of learning and listening to customer feedback. I don't know if I'd mentioned in the beginning, but Aurora Plus can serve up to four washers. It's meant to be used for at least two washers, but two, three, or four washer configurations, up to seven pumps, it's all in one system. So everything you need for the installation's in one box. So no more three, four boxes, no more getting to the installation and realizing that you're missing something. The only thing you need to add besides what's in the box is your rolls of tubing and your chosen pickups. This product was designed with everything being simple in mind and really just making it a wonderful experience.

Jerry: So I assume, and I'm looking at the brochure, and I know in years past, there were some people who still didn't use water manifolds, but does it automatically come with the water manifolds as well?

Jeff : It does. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So the system, Aurora Plus, it requires that there be a flush manifold. And the reason for that is our CMS flow meter, the way it works, requires a flush.

Jerry: I just don't understand why everyone doesn't use water manifolds. I just, you know, it's hard to help with. I realize it costs money, but that's another subject for another day.

Jeff : Well, you know, circumstances where, you know, for instance, if a customer's using starch, that's not a flow meterable chemical.

Jerry: Right.

Jeff : So we can actually, we've actually done it with customers here recently. We help them set up the system so that the starch is incorporated into the system, but it's pumped directly into the washer so that it doesn't clog up the flow meter.

Jerry: That's great. Now in looking at the brochure you have an app is that work off all phones or just apple phones or ipads or can you also put you do stuff online through an app on a windows computer tell me the difference scenarios of setting up the system.

Jeff : Yes, so the Dima Connect app is we were actually one of the first vendors on the market, which isn't isn't typical of Dima. Like we aren't typically trailblazers when it comes to new technologies, but we saw a long time ago that the app would be a big hit with customers. When we launched Dima Connect about seven years ago, people loved it. I like to tell customers it's so intuitive that we don't have a tech manual for it. We don't have instructions because everybody that has a phone understands how to use it. It is Bluetooth, so it has local connectivity, which typically means about 20, 30 yards from the dispenser. We're working on an update now that's going to going to incorporate a connection to our demo remote online platform. But currently, it doesn't, it doesn't connect up to that. So we have iOS, Apple, and then Android, we have a version for Android as well. But as far as Windows, we've had very few customers that used it. So we we ended development and that everybody seems to enjoy using their phones more than pulling out a laptop.

Jerry: Yeah this is not necessarily a new feature but you also am i correct if you doing multiple machines you technically only if it's all if it's all the same formulas you basically can make one program and copy it.

Jeff : to all of the different dispensers or it's all or it's the same because it's it's controlling i'm answering my own questionnaire you see that it's no i can explain it further uh yeah so we all know some laundries you go in and there's five washers of the same size but that that's the rare um exception in most cases they're like every different size you can imagine so one of the different manufacturers as well that's that's always

Jerry: That always adds another twist, so that they can carry more parts in there. Never mind.

Jeff : Yes. So what helps to make installation so quick and easy is you can program one of the washers, and then you can scale those dosing amounts to whatever size machine you have, and it takes minutes. It's very simple. You can actually do it right there on the system. You can save the program. Like most of our companies, the doses are typically a certain amount per 100 weight. You can save that programming onto your phone and use it for each installation so you don't have to reinvent the wheel at every install.

Jerry: Right, that's great. Now, what questions have I forgotten to ask you?

Jeff : Oh man, there's so much to be excited about this system. We respect all of our competitors. You know, I've been intrigued, honestly, by a lot of the innovation happening in the laundry dispensing market. You know, what we've been hearing, you know, as time's gone by and, you know, these alternative pumping technologies have been out there years now, But what we hear is that, you know, the reliability is not quite there. You know, that the promise of no maintenance, it was false. Like there's always maintenance. There's maintenance with our system. There's maintenance with every system. But the key thing is like site water conditions. They vary so much between one site to another. They vary based on the time of day in a laundry. If we're in a nursing home or a hotel, that water pressure behind the washer, it's varying based on whether it's morning time and everybody's showering. or dinner service when they're running the dishwasher. So the dependence on site water conditions, we felt that sticking with peristaltic pumps allowed us to do that. We just needed to solve the timeless challenge with squeeze tubes, which is how do you make sure you're getting an accurate dose? We solve that with our CMS measurement system. How do you get a long service interval on that tube? We get on average six to 12 months. And then finally, calibrating. I mean, I've run across laundry chemical service folks that they didn't know how to calibrate. And that continues to be the biggest challenge in our industry is finding good people that are interested in learning it. So with our CMS flow meter, we've basically made it so that chemical service companies can be confident that they have an accurate dose every time without depending on their technicians doing calibrations on a schedule.

Jerry: I've said this more than once. More than once I've said this. Selling a laundry account is not the hard problem. The hard problem is having everyone give you the time. to get into the account afterwards and setting it up properly. It comes down to that. It's a lot more different than a pot and pan dispenser and even sometimes a dish machine dispenser. You have so many variables with the pressure, the water temperature, the high levels, the low levels, the time, the temperature. There's so much involved that it does take a lot more work. slapping up at Spencer and saying, you're done for the day because I know chemicals are going in at the proper time. Is there anything that, I mean, I realize this is pretty innovative or extremely innovative for your company, Dima. What else is, is there anything else coming out in the next couple of years that they're looking at that you can share or am I asking you to divulge something you're not sure about yet? All companies are always trying to decide something it seems.

Jeff : Yeah, well, you know, Aurora has been a great product from the start. You know, we first launched it seven years ago, like before I started with the company, but it never really picked up the momentum. list and our V line on-premise laundry dispensers, you know, over the years, recent years, continued to be our number one sellers. And the reason was price. It's tough getting laundry accounts, selling them, and then getting them installed, and then being profitable. Like, I've seen, you know, what a struggle that is. And as great as Aurora was and is, the price point until you got into a four washer laundry, it was too expensive. So most of our customers weren't able to experience how great a system it is. So that's the main thing that we did with Aurora Plus. We've had Aurora MultiMachine for like four years now, but we found a way to eliminate quite a bit of cost out of Aurora MultiMachine just by changing the software. by repurposing pump outputs to drive diverter valves. So that's probably the biggest thing that we've done here in the past six months is we made a great system in Aurora. We made the Aurora Plus that on a cost per washer basis, Aurora Plus is approximately the same as a V-Line or an Atlas. It falls right between the price of a V-Line and an Atlas with flush manifold on a per washer basis. So it's truly economical and truly groundbreaking.

Jerry: You've answered that perfectly. You've explained that perfectly because I totally get what you're saying. I totally understand the concept. Now, I assume the Atlas, they're not discontinuing any of those lines because I'm sure for, because you say they're still the number one seller. I can see where this will slowly take a lot of that business away as the industry grows. I think you've explained the system perfectly to me, and I appreciate it. So how can people get a hold of you? I have show notes for all this, and I got your electronic card and your email and stuff like that. I'll just put all that information at the bottom and people can find you on LinkedIn. And is there anything else that you would like to add that possibly I missed?

Jeff : To your point about discontinuing product, Dima is kind of renowned for not discontinuing product. As long as there's a customer that wants to buy one product in a minimal volume, we continue to sell it. Like you mentioned, Jerry, our original foster proportioner, we still sell those. That was our first product.

Jerry: You know, I researched that before getting online with you today. I figured you still sold it, but at that time, and I don't know if it was an Ecolab name or a Dima name, because at that time they called it the Express 152, but Ecolab had a pot and pan soap called Express. So, I mean, I wasn't sure who put that name on there, but I did not know. So it was one of the original products of Dima?

Jeff : Yeah. So DEMA was founded in 1956, and specifically because we were asked to create that dish soap injector that we still sell today that you're familiar with. Our first customer was a company called Continental. In fact, the name DEMA, it's an acronym for Deutsch and McDougal, which were the founders of the company. So little known history there. But we're in our fourth generation of family ownership and operation, and it's just a delightful company to work for and to be a customer of, frankly. We really see our customers as partners, and we'll go above and beyond to make sure everybody's taken care of.

Jerry: Well, I know the wait has been long to get you on here, but the wait was well worth it. You've represented the company perfect. And I think the presentation was fantastic. And don't be a stranger. And I will hopefully get this out within a couple of days. And I appreciate all that you've done for me. And I hope you have a great weekend.

Jeff : Well, my pleasure, Derek. Thank you so much for having me, man.

Jerry: You take care. Thank you. That's going to wrap up today's episode of Cleaning Processes with Jerry. A big thank you to Jeff for sharing his insights on their newest innovations. If you found today's discussion helpful, please take a moment to like, share, and subscribe so more people in our industry can benefit from these conversations. And don't forget to check out my blog at hospitalitycleaning101.com for more articles, tips, and resources to help you improve your cleaning and sanitation programs. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep your processes clean and your standards high.