Commercial Operations Begin in Europe for
SMART™ Wet Cleaning Solutions
Irish Facility Completes Earlier Testing, Goes Commercial with Winning Brands’ Replacement to Drycleaning Solvents

(January 28, 2008) Barrie, Ontario, Canada -  Winning Brands Corporation (Pink Sheets: WNBD) (Frankfurt: WMU) www.WinningBrands.ca reports that the trial use of its SMART™ Wet Cleaning Solutions in Ireland by The Lost Sock Laundrette in County Cork has passed all tests of efficacy required for the facility to convert from ordinary drycleaning and its use of the controversial solvent Perchloroethylene (Perc) into solvent-free operations instead.  Winning Brands will ship 2 metric tonnes of SMART™ Wet Cleaning Solutions to Ireland in early February to provide initial commercial inventory for full scale operations and re-sale purposes at the Irish facility. This is because all equipment is working to specifications, personnel training is completed and garment cleaning customers are expressing pleasure with the results.  The value at the retail level of this opening inventory is approximately $20,000.   Winning Brands regards such proof-of-principle facilities as the proper basis on which to develop realistic long term forecasts of worldwide demand for its SMART™ Wet Cleaning Solutions.   It is estimated that there are over 30,000 drycleaning establishments in the United States comparable to the converted Irish site.  The majority of these are still using Perc. 

The converted Irish drycleaner will now use Winning Brands’ SMART™ Wet Cleaning solutions together with Miele Professional Wet Cleaning equipment and Veit finishing equipment entirely instead of Perc.  The use of these three professional wet cleaning elements is known as the SMART™ Wet Cleaning System and effectively eliminates the need for Perc in the cleaning of garments that have traditionally been thought of as “Dryclean Only”, including silk, wool and other sensitive garments.  Additional benefits of the system include a reduction in electricity use, elimination of hazardous waste (and therefore reduced compliance costs), simpler staff training and an improved health & safety environment in the facility.  Other proof-of-principle facilities that have converted from the use of Perc in drycleaning to the SMART™ Wet Cleaning System similarly report reduced costs, improved conditions and customer satisfaction.

The installation and training was carried out by the Solvent Free Solutions Team – specialists in the conversion of drycleaning operations to the SMART Wet Cleaning System, working in collaboration with Winning Brands Corporation, Miele and Veit.  George Loney, President of Solvent Free Solutions Inc was in charge of the Irish project for the group.  As past President of the Ontario Fabricare Association, and a former drycleaner, Mr. Loney is uniquely qualified to comment on the effect of this new technology in the professional garment care industry.   Loney remarks -  “This partnership is great.  The solutions from Winning Brands and equipment from Miele and Veit work together better than anything in the world that I have seen.  There is only one way that the skeptics can be overcome – ‘see for yourself, then decide’”.  Loney concludes -  “The fact that the Irish operation is now past mere testing and into actual work with real garments in Northern County Cork proves that the system is not limited to a few locations, and not limited to a few garments. If it can be a hit in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland then why not anywhere drycleaning is performed?”

SMART™ Wet Cleaning Solutions from
Winning Brands are proving themselves
capable to clean virtually all “Dryclean Only”
garments with its non-toxic alternative instead.

CountyCork in Ireland is the latest setting for
Winning Brands and the Solvent Free
Solutions Team to start supplying their solutions.

In future, SMART™ Wet Cleaning Solutions will
be manufactured for Winning Brands at the
Grand Rapids, Michigan facilities of
Surefil, LLC.