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December 11, 2012
Survey: 60% of Operators Say 2012 Throughput Higher Than Previous Year’s

CHICAGO — Total estimated production for 2012 ranged by operation from 600,000  to 14 million pounds

CHICAGO — Sixty percent of respondents to American Laundry News’ final Wire survey for 2012 said their laundry’s poundage this year was “somewhat higher” in comparison to 2011 figures.

For everyone else who took the unscientific online survey, their 2012 throughput was at or below 2011 levels. Thirty percent reported processing “virtually the same amount,” and the remaining 10% lamented processing “much less.”

Total estimated production for 2012 ranged by operation from 600,000 pounds to 14 million pounds, according to these anonymous responses.

Operators whose production rose attributed it primarily to gaining institutional business or increasing total accounts (71.4%); adding, replacing or rebuilding equipment (14.3%); expanding a facility or relocating to a larger site (14.3%); and/or “other” (14.3%). (Respondents could choose any or all among several suggested factors or offer their own.)

Why did some operations fall short of annual goals or expectations this year? A slowing or loss of business due to the economy, staff productivity, maintenance efforts, administrative indifference or lack of support, and regulatory changes all were seen as receiving some of the blame, according to respondents.

Finally, respondents were asked how they thought their boss would grade their 2012 managerial performance. Half believed they would receive a B (50%), while 40% said they would receive an A. The less-than-sunny remainder (10%) said they would receive an F.

The Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment but should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

June 14, 2012
Survey: Sizable Majority of Laundries Actively Seek Out New Business

CHICAGO — Variety of methods used to find more textile services work

CHICAGO — While the U.S. economy has shown signs of recovery, positioning a laundry as a valuable service to end-users or clients remains critically important. With that in mind, AmericanLaundryNews.com asked its Wire e-mail subscribers this month if they were actively seeking new business or were satisfied with standing pat.

A sizable majority of respondents — 78.6% — to the unscientific survey say they are seeking business. Among them, 50% say acquiring new business is vital to growing their operation, and 28.6% say they’re looking because they have additional processing capacity available. No one tied seeking business to a desire to eliminate competitors.

Approximately 14% who acknowledged not seeking business said it was because they were positioned to serve only their institution’s needs. Another 7.1% didn’t identify why they’re not seeking new business.

No one tied their position to having just the right amount of business, not being capable of taking on more work, or because upper management doesn’t favor prospecting.

Respondents say their institutions or businesses use a variety of methods to seek out new business, including direct sales, cold calling, participating in RFP process, trade shows, print/web advertising, corporate contracts, going door to door, and word of mouth.

Determining what customers want would seem to be a common-sense aspect of garnering new business, and 57.1% of respondents say they seek the opinions of their end-users or clients regularly. Nearly 29% say they occasionally seek their opinions. Equal shares of 7.1% either rarely seek or never seek such input.

If a laundry isn’t ready to attract new business now, it’s due to any number of reasons, including the need for more staff (41.7%); new or additional equipment (25%); better-trained employees (16.7%); better distribution/transportation capabilities (16.7%); “other,” including the addition of specific types of second-shift personnel and better maintenance (16.7%); or larger or renovated production space (8.3%), survey results show.

Roughly 42% of respondents say they’re ready for new business now.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

January 11, 2011
Survey: Building on Quality Staff, Increasing Productivity Among Top Priorities This Year

CHICAGO — The beginning of a new year offers us a clean slate, a fresh opportunity to set goals. Making a New Year’s resolution is a common tradition, and half of the respondents to January’s Wire survey say they have made resolutions for 2011 and another 20% are thinking about it.

CHICAGO — The beginning of a new year offers us a clean slate, a fresh opportunity to set goals. Making a New Year’s resolution is a common tradition, and half of the respondents to January’s Wire survey say they have made resolutions for 2011 and another 20% are thinking about it.

June 8, 2010
Survey: Most Operators Cooperate to Prevent Service Interruptions

CHICAGO – Summer usually brings stormy weather and sometimes flooding, which can cause consternation for the laundry manager or textile rental operator who has to cope with a power outage, blocked road, or another obstacle to keep his or her laundry running.

June 16, 2009
Survey: Cross-Training Employees Is Commonplace, Generates Cost Savings

CHICAGO — It isn’t often that a management practice gets universal support or opposition, but cross-training is an issue everyone can agree upon, based on the results of June’s Wire survey.

Every industry professional who took American Laundry News’ unscientific survey said employees are cross-trained under their supervision so they can perform various laundry/linen service tasks.

April 21, 2009
Survey: Vast Majority of Wire Respondents Seeking Business in Trying Times

CHICAGO — During these difficult economic times, positioning a laundry as a valuable service to end-users or clients has never been more important. With that in mind, American Laundry News asked its Wire e-mail subscribers this month if they were actively seeking new business or were satisfied with maintaining the status quo.

December 15, 2008
Survey: 2008 Throughput Exceeds Previous Year’s Total for Many

CHICAGO — When asked to compare their laundry’s poundage this year to its 2007 throughput, more than 60% of those who responded to the final Wire survey of 2008 said it was “much higher than anticipated” (12.9%) or “somewhat higher than anticipated” (48.4%).

Approximately 19% reported processing “somewhat less than anticipated,” 12.9% reported processing “virtually the same as anticipated,” and the remaining 6.5% lamented processing “much less than anticipated.”

May 19, 2008
Survey: 70% of Wire Respondents Feeling Effects of U.S. Economic Downturn

CHICAGO — Whether you believe the United States is in recession or not, there are many signs of economic weakening. A sizable majority of respondents to this month’s Wire survey say the sluggish U.S. economy has adversely impacted their laundry/linen operation or textile rental services business in the last 12 months.

March 17, 2008
Survey: Prospect of Systems-Wide Data Exchange Generates Buzz

CHICAGO — The prospect of integrating data from multiple independent systems so it can be analyzed collectively appeals to many operators who responded to this month’s Wire survey.

Pellerin Milnor, Chicago Dryer Co. and E-Tech recently announced their collaboration in developing DataFusion, a nonproprietary, secure data-exchange system that can enable a laundry operator to manage his or her operation “as one cohesive machine rather than a collection of independent and disparate systems.”

March 22, 2007
Survey: Production Standards Commonplace, Yet Not All Workers Privy to Data

CHICAGO — More than three-quarters of managers responding to March’s Wire survey (76.5%) say their laundry has established production standards that each employee must meet but only 58.8% say they regularly make production data available to employees so they can compare their work to the standard.

Information related to several operational aspects is gathered regularly and analyzed by virtually every respondent, according to results of our unscientific survey.

October 19, 2006
Survey: Vast Majority of Respondents Play Some Role in Maintenance

CHICAGO — Nearly 80% of laundry managers and administrators responding to this month's Wire survey say they perform some level of basic equipment maintenance in their laundry.

About 1 in 10 respondents say their laundry's maintenance efforts have actually backfired at some point, requiring repairs or even replacement.