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HOTEL/MOTEL/RESORT LAUNDRY: JR NORRIS, DELTA UNIFORM AND LINEN, ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

My advice is to not get far from your basic business focus.

We focus on hospitality linen and explore all options for the discerning customer. High-end restaurants, fine hotels, bed and breakfasts, country clubs and finer properties are businesses we target. We did try healthcare to increase volume, and this was a disaster.

Healthcare is priced so low per pound that our production team has to focus on speed. Regarding hospitality, our production team is always focused on quality and attention to detail. To have the plant shift gears for healthcare and then back to hospitality was difficult; both lines suffered. So we decided to increase our per-pound price, stay in hospitality alone, and market our service as being the best.

We watch carefully when investing in any products that are out of our normal linen rental line. If a new account requests an item we don’t carry, we offer some options to rent for a higher amount for a while until we recoup some of our investment, or they sign a contract that says they will rent it for X times a year or purchase it and we process it.

Also with a new account, we require cash on delivery for a period of time. This has saved us on some new accounts that went out of business early on.

Some new-account factors to consider are:

• Is there additional cost?
• Is sorting labor-intensive?
• What is the material composition?
• What is the level of colorfastness?
• Are hems strong?
• What are the needed washing/drying times?
• Must the goods be dried separately?
• Are the goods finished by tunnel drying or hand ironing?
• Is the packaging plastic wrapping or string?
• What is the cost if damaged?

Bottom line is don’t let any new business affect your current customers or your plant in a negative way.

COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY: TOM GILDRED, EMERALD TEXTILES, SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

While there may be no “magic formula” to determine whether or not to serve an account, there are certain criteria that can be used to make the decision simpler. One of the greatest challenges can be balancing aggressive sales efforts with profitability and operations.

Some of the factors that impact the viability of serving accounts, and should be considered, include:

• The proximity of a potential customer to the plant as well as to existing customers you serve.
• Pricing — including incremental pricing.
• Volume of the potential customer’s business.
• Item mix and number of items.
• Seasonality — Are you in a market that has a lot of seasonal fluctuation? If so, this will impact hiring as well as linen purchases.
• Weather Conditions — Certain climates affect the life span of the linen as well as how often you have trucks on the road. These factors can impact linen purchases (including how often you have to purchase to accommodate life spans) and delivery costs.
• Is the customer COG or rental, and which type of linens comprise the majority of what you are currently processing?
• Competition — Sometimes it might be wise to seize the opportunity, even if the profitability isn’t quite there, in order to maintain or grow market share.
• Financial Need — The health of your business is, of course, a primary consideration, and sometimes you might consider a lower price per pound in order to make the entire operation more profitable.
• Labor Force — Do you have the existing labor pool to facilitate the new business and service it well in accordance with your commitment to quality?
• Capacity — The plant’s ability to process the new business is a key criterion, and it’s important to allow time for equipment maintenance, so bringing on business that creates a 24/7 processing situation can compromise the plant’s quality and ability to meet demand.
• Quality — Will adding this business in any way compromise providing quality service and products to your current customer base?

Ultimately, after taking this list of criterion into consideration and weighing the value of the account, it should be easier to determine the right course of action based on the overall health and wellness of your business and not only the revenue to be gained (or price per pound).

TEXTILES: TOM LANGDON, ENCOMPASS GROUP, MCDONOUGH, GA.

There is an old saying in our industry: “Any order is a good order.” On the surface, that makes sense, as nothing happens until a “sale” is made or a contract written. But in reality, no business can be successful trying to be all things to all customers or trying to service all markets.

Let’s compare and contrast the healthcare and hospitality markets, as these are the two dominant markets in which readers may choose to take on new business.

In healthcare, the linen is just a necessity in delivery of the primary product. In stark contrast, linen can be one of the “key” areas to promote and brand hospitality product offerings to the consumer.

Another contrast is at the end-user level. The healthcare end-user is not using the linen by choice but rather is in the facility as a matter of need. On the other hand, the hospitality end-user participates by choice and expects an experience that is satisfying and memorable, and will often reward the provider in the form of repeat business. As such, the motivating factors required for the linen are vastly different.

As you drill down into each market channel, each has differences that separate them. They may be subtle or obvious, such as the difference between a 10/1 open end yarn, five pounds per dozen bath towel used in healthcare, and a 12/1 ring spun, 17 pounds per dozen bath towel used in the hospitality market. Each meets the customer’s requirements but are quite different in appearance, cost and processing.

Some laundries may find it easy to incorporate the needs of different market channels, while others struggle. Some guidelines that will help you determine which category you fall into involve attention to detail.

It all starts with the product specifications (you can’t get too detailed here). If you want to control the output, you must manage the customer expectations and select the right inputs.

So, if you are considering taking on new business outside your core competency, you may want to first do your homework. For example, in healthcare, there tends to be a lot of product standardization, which works well for commercial laundries. The opposite tends to be true in hospitality, where hotels use linen as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition.

The pros of expanding your reach are obviously new business. The cons can be a disruption to your incumbent business by reducing operating efficiencies and increasing operating costs.

Develop a checklist approach that includes each critical aspect of the new customer or business. Analyze its key drivers and ensure you are properly aligned to meet these needs.

Finally, I have revised the old industry saying to “Any profitable order is a good order.” Remember to keep your current customers satisfied while trying to grow business in these challenging economic times.

MEMBER AT LARGE: DOUGLAS STORY, SWISHER HYGIENE

Taking new business seems to be the first impulse of every sales person and, in many cases, even top management. But is it that simple?

In the 1980s, I read a book written by Akio Morita titled Made in Japan. The book was about his efforts to start his business, Sony. One takeaway has had a lasting impact on my thought processes about new business.

Sony launched the transistor radio into the American market after an American company decided that American consumers wanted “big radios.” In his efforts to sell the radio, he met with a buyer that wanted 100,000 units, an order worth almost as much as his company at the time.

How would you respond to a new customer that placed the kind of order that would double or triple your total sales revenue? Would you jump at this opportunity?

The company wanted Morita to price the radios in units of 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000. His plant was capable of producing a little less than 10,000 units per month. Promising 100,000 units would mean expanding, hiring more people, and taking on long-term risk.

For 5,000 units, Morita charged regular price. For 10,000, he gave the largest discount. For items above 10,000, the price he quoted started to climb. Why would he do this? Charging more for higher volumes seems to be counterintuitive. But Morita was assessing the impact on his business for the short term and the long term. Sales would be great, but the risk to manufacturing and the money needed to comply with this account’s needs would endanger his business’ long-term health.

Taking this holistic approach, he developed a system that would satisfy the needs of the customer and the long-term needs of his company. He sold the customer using this method, and the long-term success of Sony has been well documented.

Morita’s example taught me to look at more than just grabbing the sale without considering its impact on your organization and its bottom line. I also believe that you should fully analyze your current customers in the same way, because all of us have a customer or customers that should be eliminated, or at least reassessed, so that your organization benefits.

Putting on new business is one of the most expensive actions an organization can take. It’s important that your business recover that expense and turn a profit (or cover expenses, for you non-profits) for the benefit of the company, its employees, its customers and the shareholders that depend on the health of the operation.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

ATLANTA — The Clean Executive Committee (CEC) has unveiled a brand-new mission statement for the Clean Show that it believes reflects and promotes the exchange of new ideas before, during and after the event.

A thorough review of all aspects of the every-other-year show led the group to adopt the following: “The Clean Show provides a global forum for bringing together garment and textile care services professionals for the purpose of sharing ideas, business practices and the latest products, services and innovations as well as raising the level of professionalism in the industry.”

In keeping with the spirit of this statement, the CEC has relaxed certain rules regarding the convening of affiliate groups during trade show hours. In the past, meetings were restricted to hours outside education and exhibit hours (which traditionally run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), but now exhibiting companies and industry associations can schedule their sales, distributor or group meetings during educational sessions or between the hours of noon and 2 p.m.

David Cotter, CEO of the Textile Care Allied Trades Association and chairman of the 2013 Clean Show in New Orleans, supports the new direction. “We believe the new rules will support an environment where exhibitors and attendees can conduct business and meet with others more freely.”

The CEC is comprised of representatives from the five sponsoring associations, including the Coin Laundry Association.

The New Orleans Morial Convention Center will host the Clean Show on June 20-22, 2013. More than 400 companies are expected to exhibit.

CHICAGO — The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) has announced its lineup of keynote speakers and general sessions for its Annual Conference, titled EXCHANGE, slated for Sept. 16-19 in Phoenix.

Member responses to extensive research conducted in 2010 inspired the theme. “This one word expresses and captures all of what occurs at the AHE Annual Conference & Healthcare Marketplace each year,” says Kent Miller, AHE president. “Participants exchange information, education, ideas, expertise and innovative ways to improve the care of the healthcare environment. EXCHANGE expresses the power that this event has to influence positive outcomes.”

The lineup of speakers for this year’s conference includes:

• Michael Rogers is a technology pioneer, novelist and journalist whose consulting business, Practical Futurist, helps businesses and organizations worldwide think about the future. He will deliver the keynote address, Management Meets the Future of Technology.

• Nina Antoniotti, R.N., MBA, Ph.D., will present The Future is Now. She is director of emergency services, outpatient director, and director of nursing at Marshfield Clinic TeleHealth Network, and an expert in strategic planning, facilities development, operational planning and community development, focusing on healthcare trends and needs, AHE says.

• William Rutala, Ph.D., MPH, CIC, is a professor in infectious diseases for the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, and he serves as director for the North Carolina program for infection control and epidemiology and as director of hospital epidemiology, occupational health and safety program at UNC Health Care System. Rutala’s session is titled Environmental Surface Disinfection: Pushing the Envelope.

• Brian Lee, CSP, founder and CEO of Custom Learning Systems Group, will describe The HCAHPS Hospital of Choice. Lee is one of North America’s leading experts in the field of patient satisfaction and change leadership, AHE says. He is the author of Satisfaction Guaranteed™ — How to Satisfy Every Customer Every Time.

• An author, consultant and speaker, Alan Whitson, RPA, is one of the nation’s most knowledgeable speakers on how to build the business case for high-performance buildings, according to AHE. He chairs the national task force that wrote the Model Green Lease, now the de facto standard for green leasing. Whitson’s general session is titled The New Economics of Health Care: Impact on Day-to-Day Operations.

• President and founder of Alive at Work and author of Light ’Em Up, Joe Contrera pushes leaders to find their “aliveness factor” in the workplace, and motivates and encourages audiences to discover the power of one. His closing session is titled Persistence: Don’t You Ever Give Up.

For more information about AHE, or to register for the conference, visit ahe.org/conference.

ATLANTA — The Clean Executive Committee has selected Global Experience Specialists (GES) to serve as the official services contractor for the 2013 Clean Show in New Orleans.

Three companies submitted proposals for the June 2013 show. “GES did our show in New Orleans in 2009 and did a great job,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the Clean Show’s management company. “We look forward to working with them again in 2013.”

Chicago hosted the first Clean Show in 1977. United Exposition Service Co. was the official services contractor for that event and subsequent shows. GES purchased United in 1993, and the Las Vegas-based company has continued its partnership with the Clean Show for many shows since.

GES produces 3,000 exhibitions and events annually.

The Clean Show—officially titled the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—attracts people across all segments of the textile care industry, from single-owner, coin-operated laundry and drycleaning establishments to giant industrial and institutional laundries and textile rental companies.

Textile/Uniform Rental: David Dersheimer, SITEX Corp.

There are certainly differences in what commercial or rental plants may choose or use for equipment and procedures when compared to institution-based laundries and their respective facilities.

Generally, the volume and product mix of a rental or commercial facility tends to fluctuate more than an institutional facility’s does.

Rental facilities tend to make equipment and process decisions based on current mix and volume plus projected growth. They have smaller load quantities in varying item mixes. The soil levels in rental plants also tend to range broadly from light to heavy.

Institutional laundries have a more consistent volume and less variance in soil classifications. And there is typically less variation in soil levels and volumes in a healthcare, nursing home or hotel laundry.

But I’m not sure you could define differences in laundries based only on these two categories or generalities. You might need to ask a few questions, such as:

• What is the item mix, and how many different sort classes/soil levels are there?
• What is the facility’s planned growth? Is there anticipated growth in one segment or area? If so, how will that impact the volume and mix?
• How would product mix affect equipment decisions?
• Is the wash operation running batches or smaller, varying loads, or loads of similar volume and sort class? Does the facility need single or convention machines, or would a continuous batch washer be a better choice?
• If flatwork finishing, is volume or flexibility needed? For large pieces, does the facility need a sheet feeder, table linen feeder, or a machine that can do both? Is an ironer needed to handle napkins and pillowcases?

Differences between any two laundries, whether commercial or institutional, can be quite distinct. One needs to assess current mix, planned growth, and output expectations to determine individual needs.

Consulting Services: Ron Evans, RJ Evans and Associates

There are several procedural differences between industrial rental laundries and institutional laundries. Growth, greater competition, incomparable number of products processed, and profit are the driving and dividing forces.

Since most rental laundries have hundreds if not thousands of customers, their processing practices must be much more flexible and expanded than an institutional laundry that may have a singular or limited common customer base.

Since rental laundries exist in a much more competitive environment, it is essential for the production department’s contribution to the rental company’s bottom line be fully within strict budget forecasts. The trick here is that all production forecasts are predicated on sales forecasts, and the latter can be difficult to project for a coming year.

There is a constant need to search for improved best practices to satisfy the varied demands upon their daily changes in usage, product variation and resource allocation. It becomes essential to leverage all advantages that eliminate or reduce waste while at the same time operate within projected budget requirements. These are all centered on “lean and mean” customer satisfaction.

The production department’s contribution to bottom-line profit in a rental laundry is scrutinized and monitored due to its constantly changing customer base. Rental laundry production management must be much more engaged and “hands on” in addressing all the demands of its varied customers’ needs. Pressures on rental managers are more numerous and dynamic than those on institutional managers. Rental production managers must be good business managers as well as knowing their trade.

Another difference is the role of a production department in a rental industrial laundry. Full-time salespeople use their production department as a sales tool and regularly take potential customers on plant tours. Therefore, the department always has to be in marketable “showplace” condition.

A rental laundry’s service department also uses the production department as a customer-retention tool. Service departments have developed sophisticated programs to elevate a customer’s understanding of the rental laundry’s value in maintaining their fixed costs, convenience, and quality standards. As such, they constantly market environmental advantages in waste treatment, sanitary conditions, safety practices, and inventory control. Processing techniques are used not only for production but to gain and retain customers.

Because of its dedicated freestanding facility, the rental laundry has acquired a “target” on its back for every governmental inspector. Consequently, it must operate under the assumption that it will have city, state, regional and federal government inspectors in its facilities throughout the year. The end result is rental laundries have unsurpassed training and updated performance exercises in safety, waste management, OSHA, and human resource issues out of the realization that they will be audited. This constant pressure creates a professional, self-policing system and a comfort zone for their customers.

Both types of industrial laundries have similar equipment, chemicals and procedures for the items they process in common. Because of the difference in competitive situations, rental laundries must operate at a higher level of customer speed to retain revenue-generating clients.

It has been my experience that most rental production managers could operate an institutional laundry quite easily while most institutional production managers would have to expand their skills to effectively manage a rental industrial laundry.

Equipment Manufacturing: Kim Shady, Laundrylux Corp.

How do you define commercial laundry or institutional laundry? Often, those terms are used interchangeably. So let’s remove the descriptive terms and be more absolute. What is the equipment difference between a laundry processing less than 3,000 pounds per day and a laundry processing more than 3,000 pounds per day?

In the simplest form, the equipment differences can be defined by automation. It may reduce labor costs, improve quality, reduce processing time or save energy. As the pounds processed per day increase, there become economies of scale for each of these items.

While improved quality may be a goal for selecting automation, the determining factor is most likely the return on investment (ROI). You can calculate this by projecting labor savings, energy savings and maybe even overhead by square foot vs. the cost of automation.

A small-piece folder is one of the smallest investments for automation. It can process towels, gowns, blankets or fitted sheets. If your laundry is processing 1,000 pounds of these items a day, a small-piece folder could reduce your staffing by one person. An institutional laundry is likely using a staff of two to hand-fold these items. If a basic small-piece folder is $45,000, what might the ROI be?

Commercial laundries likely process a large quantity of flat goods. Automation in this case may include automatic pickers to replace one or two staff members.

Processing linens through an ironer requires the least amount of energy per pound of finished goods. But that doesn’t mean ironing is the lowest-cost method for processing goods. An institutional laundry may use an ironer but lack automation, thus requiring two to four staff members.

Over the last five years, numerous ironers on the market have offered feeding, folding and stacking built into the ironer, allowing a single operator to process 150 or more pounds per hour. Processing 75 pounds per hour is a common goal in laundries without automation. A machine with these features can reduce the staffing required for ironing. The additional investment for the feeder, folder and stacker may be $100,000. What might the ROI be for this automation?

Labor will always be the largest cost of operating a laundry. An institutional laundry can be limited in methods for reducing labor costs, so automation can be a difference maker. It is the difference between the equipment selections in a commercial laundry and an institutional laundry.

Member at Large: Douglas Story, Swisher Hygiene

When I first read this question, I thought, “What in the heck can anyone say about this? Processing fabric is processing fabric, right?” But it is a good question that has forced me to look not so much at the equipment or procedures that are used by the two laundry types but at the philosophies behind the use of that equipment.

As I was contemplating what I would write, I was inspired by one of my favorite “philosophers,” Jeff Foxworthy. Here, offered somewhat tongue-in-cheek, are some differences between a commercial laundry and an institution-based laundry:

• If the laundry manager is a graduate in hospitality management and is in the job as a learning experience, it might be an institution-based laundry.
• If a washer’s rated capacity is used as the measure of the pounds of linen being processed, it might be an institution-based laundry.
• If a washer’s rated capacity is considered an estimate and everyone knows that it can hold another 100 pounds, it might be a commercial laundry.
• If the laundry manager loads the washer and then walks to the next room to welcome a guest and offer them a cookie, it might be an institution-based laundry.
• If the laundry manager is proud of his washroom’s 2,000 lbs/hr production but can’t understand how two 100-pound dryers can keep up, it might be a commercial laundry.
• If the laundry manager, when asked why he has 10 washers and two flatwork ironers stored in the parking lot, answers, “Parts,” it might be a commercial laundry.
• When employees stay later to produce more laundry, it might be a commercial laundry.
• When employees stay later to clean the rooms or provide patient care, it might be an institution-based laundry.
• When the flatwork ironer goes down and the laundry manager prays for its recovery, it might be a commercial laundry.
• When the laundry manager can give you the cost per piece, labor, utilities, fixed and variable cost itemized, it might be a commercial laundry.
• When the laundry manager says, “I don’t know all of my utility costs,” it might be an institution-based laundry.

There are philosophical differences between commercial (for-profit) and institutional (not-for-profit or support services) laundries, but it is not, for the most part, in the equipment or processes they use. It is more in how management approaches the business and customer service sides of the operation.

In the past, the primary focus of a commercial laundry was the customers that paid for their service. By contrast, this was/is not always the case for the institutional laundry. But as we look to the future, I believe that we are seeing the philosophies of these two operations beginning to merge.

Institutional laundries are becoming more like their commercial counterparts because of economic pressures and because many of the organizations operating these laundries have realized the impact they have on the bottom line of the institutions they serve.

Commercial and institutional laundries are becoming more customer-focused, so both are looking at better, or more efficient, ways to improve the way they do business for the customers they serve. For both, it is a matter of survival.

Click here for Part 1.

An AmericanLaundryNews.com Exclusive

CHICAGO — I continue to be astonished at the lack of etiquette regarding use of the cellphone, a device that has become commonplace in the workplace. No matter if you are in an office, the airport, a social environment or just sitting down with your family at dinner, you should show common courtesy and follow proper etiquette.

I heard recently on a national TV show that experts seem to think cellphone use will soon be the major cause of divorce or relationship break-ups. Think about it: during the day or evening, how many times do you break the 10 cellphone etiquette rules that I have listed here?

1. Lower your voice when talking on cellphones in public. Observe the 10-foot rule; if someone is within 10 feet of you, move to a different location to create some space between you and the other person. Use the technique practiced in the Orient: cup your hand over your phone and mouth when talking on your cell.
2. No one, I repeat, no one wants to hear your personal business or issues, so avoid talking about those topics when others can listen in.
3. Avoid taking cellphone calls when you are speaking with someone face to face, unless you think the call you’re receiving may be related to an emergency. In that case, ask the person with whom you are speaking to excuse themselves, or ask them if it would be OK if you took the call.
4. Avoid texting during face-to-face conversations or during conference calls (believe me, this happens). FYI: Others can actually tell if you are texting.
5. You’re using a cellphone, not a landline, so be mindful of the technology. All cellphones have latency, which means there is a delay—some greater than others—when you speak and others hear you.
6. Avoid leaving lengthy voice mails. Simply leave your number, the time of your call, and the issue you’re calling about (be brief).
7. Place your cellphone in silent mode if you are at a conference, theater or restaurant. If you are having dinner with your family, turn it off!
8. Drive now. Talk later. Multitasking isn’t always a good thing. Evidence shows that accidents are on the rise due to cellphone use. Most calls can wait until you’ve reached your destination, and if a call is upsetting or distracting, pull over to have the conversation.
9. Use common sense. Turn off your phone before a job interview, presentation or boardroom meeting. Leave it off at funerals, weddings or anyplace where a quiet atmosphere is mandated, such as a courthouse, library, museum or place of worship. Do not talk on your phone when you are in a public restroom.
10. If you walk around at work or at a trade show with a hands-free device attached to your ear, you impress no one (except maybe an alien who is observing and laughing from afar). Hands-free devices should be used at times when you don’t have the ability to pick up or hold your phone, such as when you are driving a vehicle. Do not engage anyone in a conversation when it seems you are wired to places unknown; this is very distracting.

When it comes right down to it, proper cellphone etiquette is just a matter of being considerate of others.

LAS VEGAS — The Clean Executive Committee (CEC) announced sites and dates for the next three Clean Shows during a press conference earlier today. As reported Sunday by American Trade Magazines, New Orleans’ Morial Convention Center will host the event over three days in 2013.

In 2015, the Clean Show returns to Atlanta, which last hosted the exhibition in 1987. Las Vegas has been chosen to host the 2017 event.

Show dates are:

• 2013 – June 21-23, 2013
• 2015 – April 17-19, 2015
• 2017 — June 19-22, 2017

The 2013 and 2015 dates reflect a more concise and efficient three-day format designed to give exhibitors and attendees a better value for their time and money invested in the Clean Show, the CEC says.

If the three-day experiment doesn’t work as well as hoped, the CEC could return to the four-day format, according to David Cotter, CEO of the Textile Care Allied Trades Association and Clean 2011 Chairman.


“What planning and training must a laundry manager or textile rental operator coordinate to prepare his/her employees to react safely and swiftly during a crisis in the facility, such as a fire or other life-threatening event?”

Hotel/Motel/Resort Laundry: Phil Jones, Sheraton Vistana Resort, Orlando, Fla.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — UniFirst CEO Ronald Croatti, recently featured on the CBS reality TV series Undercover Boss, wasted no time implementing corporate policy and procedural changes as a result, the company reports.

WASHINGTON — Natural-gas working inventories (underground storage quantity) at the end of October are about the same as last year’s record-setting level, resulting in a decline in prices for the last two months, according to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) short-term energy outlook.

Mild weather, high production and the absence of significant hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico also contributed to the large inventory build.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — TRSA is continuing to seek Congressional support for the industry’s effort to convince the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it should adhere to its 2008 plan to maintain rules governing deductibility of rental textile items. The agency seeks to disallow such deductions unless rental laundry companies account for the life cycles of individual items. That would create an onerous, if not impossible, inventory-tracking challenge for the industry, TRSA says.

LAS VEGAS — Since it was formed a decade ago at the behest of a local hotel, Brady Linen Services has experienced remarkable growth, prompting not one but two laundry expansions. Its three facilities collectively process in excess of 100 million pounds annually here.