Curtis Berger
Owner/Investor, 205 Bergen Turnpike LLC
Little Ferry, NJ 07643
Phone (973) 945-0451
Property Types
Specialty
Markets
Northern New Jersey
Bio
After earning his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) accreditation from Villanova University, Berger began his career in mortgage-backed securities in New York City. Following a few years of banking, he decided he wanted to follow in his great grandfather’s footsteps and invest in a small business. Dry cleaning seemed like the right investment because his family had been in the business since 1896. Berger left New York City and returned to his home state of New Jersey to pursue a new business venture.
In 1996, 100 years after his great grandfather opened the doors to his first dry cleaning business, Berger opened one of his own. Shortly after opening the business, he realized that in order to provide superior customer service and take his entrepreneurial dreams to the next level, he preferred to be on site and involved in all aspects of production at all times. Berger’s desire to be ever-present made it challenging for him to expand and replicate the business.
Laundromats began to appeal to Berger because he recognized an opportunity to manage his stores remotely, which would allow him to open more stores and yield more revenue. He quickly found that management was made easy with his equipment brand of choice: Huebsch® machines featuring innovative Galaxy™ 600 controls. With Galaxy, Berger has the ability to program and monitor his laundry equipment from a PC or laptop for ultimate convenience. This control system is complemented by remote management capabilities offered by the card payment system Berger opted to install on each of his machines. The system allows Berger to adjust vend prices and analyze performance data from any Internet-connected device. All data and reports are sent directly to his laptop or smartphone, and can be reviewed and managed from anywhere in the world. These two systems have ultimately eliminated the need for Berger to be physically present, while giving him peace of mind that stores are running efficiently and profitably. These were the capabilities he was searching for.
Berger says that his switch from dry cleaning to vended laundry, and thanks in part to the advanced control and payment system capabilities, allows him to focus on the aspects of the business that he enjoys most, “the marketing of the business, the growth of the business and providing better customer service.”
Education
