Commercial Laundry in Belgium
This is a state of the art laundry because it uses a steamfree CBW (contineous batch washer). Almost all laundries who are processing hotel (bed and bath) and / or hospital and kitchenlinnens have a tunnelwasher. During the summer I work at such a facility. We have a CBW with 25 kg batches. The reason why almost all high output laundries have a tunnelwasher is because they are more effecient to run. If you think water and energy is expensive in the states, wait untill you move here. We have the highest rates for electricity, gas and water, so using them as effecient as possible is a must.
The noiselevel in that laundryfacility is rather low. The shakers that make the presscakes (water is pressed out of the linnen rather then spun, much quicker) and the tumblerdryers are the ones that create the majority of the noise. At A&M the dryers are located in a "separte" space to minimize the noise and lint/dust production close by the employees. In case of a fire, the damage can be minimized to that room also.