Those Equator Combo Units
Were all over NYC/NJ and so forth area back in the 1990's and maybe even the 1980's.
They were a solution to a problem (small space for a washer and dryer), but often were more trouble than they were worth. Many simply used the units as a washer only and opted for a small Whirlpool/Kenmore or other portable dryer.
Have told this story before and it is somewhere in the archives:
"Are just some of the brand names under the Merloni Group's umbrella. However there are two branches, apparently the senior Merloni divided his empire between two sons.
One group owns Asko amoung other brands, the other Malber and Equator.
Steam:
Equator and Malber combo units were pretty much the same back then. Neither used steam to "clean", but rather were front loading washing machines with condensor drying systems. Such systems required a fan (blower) and merely turned the hot air from the wash into water, which was pumped out of the washer."
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?23196
To flesh out that story even further you'll need to sit down, grab some coffee or tea, and follow a twisted and complicated tale.
Antonio Merloni Group manufactures "economy" white goods, this would have included Malber. AMG also purchased Asko back in 2000, but not sure if they still own that brand.
Meanwhile his brother's (Andrea Merloni) company Merloni Elettrodemestici has the brands of Ariston, Indesit, and Scholtes among others.
Merloni Elettrodemestici was the company founded by Aristide Merloni, and run by his son Vittorio Merloni (father of the two above brothers), who died in 2016.
Merloni Elettrodemestici has since changed their company name to "Indesit"
Getting back to Malber and Equator units; they were produced by Philco Italia, a company that was bounced around before being slowly fully acquired by Merloni Group.
That is where the above comment about Merloni Group producing "economy white goods" comes in. Philco/Bendix washers and combo units (IIRC) were sold all over Europe.