Why Swiss.
Names carry expectations. When The Swiss Laundry was founded in 2013, the choice of name was a deliberate signal. Swiss is a word that carries a specific meaning internationally — precision, reliability, premium quality, and the kind of trust that comes from consistent delivery over time.
That was the intention from the start. Not to be the cheapest option in Kolkata. Not to be the nearest option. To be the one that people could trust with their most important garments — the Banarasi saree, the bridal lehenga, the heirloom piece — and know it would come back exactly as it should.
The name is not a geographic claim. There is no Swiss headquarters, no Swiss ownership. There is a Swiss standard of intention. Thirteen years later, it is still what we measure ourselves against.
"The founders wanted everyone to know that the intention was clear — premium quality and the best trusted service. That is what the Swiss name means to us."
7 October 2013.
The Swiss Laundry opened on 7 October 2013. The location was deliberate — P-4 Kasba Industrial Estate, Phase III, E.M. Bypass (East). An industrial estate rather than a high-street shop. Lower visibility, lower rent, and every rupee saved on location invested into equipment and operation instead.
That trade-off defined the business from the first day. The people who found us in 2013 found us because someone told them to. Word of mouth from the beginning. We have been in Kolkata for all 13 years since.
The Swiss Laundry began with a team of 7 people in 2013. Intake, cleaning, pressing, delivery — a small operation where each person covered more than one function. The habits of care formed in a small team are the habits that scale properly. The team at Kasba today is 25 people. The habits have not changed.
The standard from day one.
In 2013, the majority of dry cleaners in Kolkata — and across India — were operating open-vat systems using MTO or white petrol. The economics were clear: low equipment cost, cheap and widely available solvent, low barrier to entry.
The Swiss Laundry made a different decision. Enclosed automatic dry cleaning machines with full solvent recovery. Professional-grade hydrocarbon solvent. Boiler-generated steam for pressing. From the first day of operation.
This was not the cheapest way to open a dry cleaning business in Kolkata in 2013. It was the correct way. The garments cleaned here on 7 October 2013 were processed to the same standard as the garments cleaned here today.
MTO (Mineral Turpentine Oil). White petrol. Any open-vat petroleum solvent process. These have never been part of our operation — not when it was more expensive to maintain that standard, and not now. This is not a recent policy. It is how we started.
From 7 to 25.
The Swiss Laundry started with 7 people on 7 October 2013. The team is now 25. The growth has been steady, year on year — not a sudden expansion, not a step change after a single event. One year building on the previous, one customer telling another, one garment returned well earning the next visit.
The team covers intake and inspection, machine operation, pressing, stain treatment, quality checking, and pickup and delivery. Each function requires trained, specific knowledge. The pressers who work with silk know silk. The spotters who treat stains understand stain chemistry. This is specialised work done by people who have been doing it for years.
The Swiss Laundry was acquired by new ownership in 2018. The team, the machines, the address, and the standard of operation continued without interruption. For the customers who have been with us since 2013, nothing that mattered changed — because nothing that mattered did change.
What The Swiss Laundry offers today.
The five services The Swiss Laundry has offered since 2013: dry cleaning, laundry, steam pressing, stain removal, and doorstep pickup and delivery. The list has not changed. The quality of each has grown with the experience of the team and 13 years of accumulated knowledge about Indian fabrics, Indian seasons, and Indian garment care.
Pickup is complimentary on orders above ₹1,000. We collect from and return to 30+ areas of Kolkata. Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00, from our Kasba facility.
The equipment at Kasba includes professional enclosed dry cleaning and wet cleaning machines. Specific models change when better equipment becomes available — maintaining the standard sometimes means upgrading what achieves it. What does not change is the standard itself.
P-4 Kasba Industrial Estate, Phase III, E.M. Bypass (East), Kolkata 700107. Phone and WhatsApp: 9836233354. Email: info@theswisslaundry.com. Monday–Saturday 10:00–17:00. Doorstep pickup across 30+ areas. 4.5★ across 200+ reviews. Founded 7 October 2013.