Content about North America

Equipment Manufacturing: Kim Shady, Laundrylux Corp.

Since graduating a long time ago from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management, I have been involved in the hospitality industry in some form. I managed private country clubs for three years, owned a restaurant and banquet facility for five years, and have managed professional laundry sales organizations for the past 24 years.

Laundrylux, founded in 1955 by Bernard Milch as Wascomat of America, has been a leader in North America laundry equipment sales. In the past three years, with the introduction of the Electrolux brand in North America, the company changed its name to better match its future. Now, we offer two world-class brands—Wascomat and Electrolux—and both bring something unique and valuable to the table.

Our core business is providing laundry solutions for lodging and long-term care facilities, but we are also strong in the fabricare and athletic industries. The challenges we face include helping our clients understand how to operate an on-premise laundry professionally and profitably.

The majority of our clients are focused on their guests or customers, and laundry operations tend to attract little focus. Lack of expertise in the laundry operation keeps them from understanding how to reduce costs and operate at their highest efficiency. There is a lack of understanding that all washers and dryers are not built the same. Selecting the proper laundry equipment can significantly reduce labor and energy costs. There can also be great savings in linen replacement with properly featured washers and dryers.

Our most impressive accomplishment for 2011 was assisting a nursing home group with 30-plus facilities in reducing its energy and labor costs. We brought an integrated system in which all pieces of laundry equipment communicate to a central computer. The nursing home group has taken control of its laundry operations through machine controls that monitor every facet of laundry costs. It outfitted most of its laundries with state-of-the-art equipment to monitor every location via the Internet. The information allows the group to compare facilities and set operational baselines. They can easily identify problems within days and define corrective actions to reduce energy or labor waste.

I look forward to sharing my industry experience and further building my knowledge from this panel.

Member at Large: Douglas Story, Swisher Hygiene

Most people call me Doug. I started as a researcher responsible for creating something new from the by-products of the papermaking industry. That research yielded various types of surfactants (detergents) and coupling agents that are now widely used in the laundry industry. That research effort, and leaving South Carolina to live with my bride in North Carolina, is the core of how I moved from research and development to the laundry industry.

I’m a biology/chemistry graduate of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., with an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago. For more than 30 years (25 in the laundry industry), I have worked in a career that has crossed many boundaries within today’s laundry business organizational structure.

From research chemist to global marketing and portfolio management, I have gathered a diversity of experience that has allowed me to develop a unique 4-D view of how organizations and their employees must work to accomplish the strategies and objectives of a viable laundry operation and business.

From personnel to operational needs, I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from the best our industry has to offer. I hope that I can pass along some of those “learnings” in this publication.

I am vice president of innovation for Swisher Hygiene, an international service organization that provides full-service programs for a wide range of cleaning and cleaning service operations. From the special expertise of servicing laundry needs or operation to the expertise required to handle solid-waste programs, Swisher Hygiene is a single source supplier.

My team and I are continually looking to the challenge of providing new technologies and services. We not only want to make everyone’s life easier but also aid our customers in reducing costs and enhancing the sustainable future of their operation and business.

Swisher Hygiene has been on the leading edge of driving a wide range of programs and services that will take the day-to-day burden of many operational procedures off the collective backs of management so it can focus on customer service and business growth.

Our challenges are also our accomplishments: we use innovation models to create new solutions to old and new problems for our customers. We are also looking beyond “what we’ve done for you today” to the next generation of ideas and innovative solutions.

Chemicals Supply: Marlene Williams, Anderson Chemical Co.

I am the lab/research and development manager for Anderson Chemical Co., a family-owned business in Litchfield, Minn. My background is in product development and support for laundry, kitchen and housekeeping for the institutional and industrial markets as well as sanitation technology and water management. I manage our R&D laboratory and have responsibility for quality control and our technical service network.

I’ve been the lab/R&D manager for 22 years and am part of a group of specialists with similar longevity who provide services for formulating and textile evaluation. We have developed laundry chemistry, most recently green products, in partnership with the EPA’s Design for the Environment Safer Product Labeling Program. We service institutional and industrial laundries through distributors across the country.

Our daily operation is variable, balanced between product development, quality, and support for chemical specialists in the marketplace. We provide machine and chemical program information, and laboratory troubleshooting support for our accounts. In addition to a well-equipped laboratory, we have established a network of industry specialists to cover the gamut of laundry challenges.

Challenges for the future include green chemistry product development for both chemistry and performance. Increased awareness and regulation requiring green formulations are with us now and will continue to expand in the coming year. Raw-material availability and cost will continue to be challenges as global markets compete for limited and specialized materials. Effective cleaning and sanitizing at lower temperatures and against a larger base of pathogens will require an expanded focus in 2012.

Our company has just celebrated its centennial. During those 100 years, we expanded our offerings from local to national/international. Our fourth-generation leaders are dedicated to moving the company forward in response to new and developing industry needs. I am excited to be a part of this year’s panel and look forward to the opportunity to learn and share with others in the industry!

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.
Click here for Part 3.

NEW YORK — North America’s leading hospitality industry event returns to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Nov. 12-15, presenting more than 700 exhibitors and drawing some 30,000 professionals to discover the latest products, make purchasing decisions, and conduct business.

Highlights of the 96th annual International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show® (IHMRS) include the Hospitality Leadership Forum, return of Boutique Design New York (BDNY), debut of the Hotel F&B Zone, and launch of an iPad application area.

Products to Discover

Product discovery will prevail next month as suppliers representing every hospitality product category convene to showcase their latest innovations and services, including food and beverage, furnishings, equipment, linens, amenities, cleaning and more.

Supporting new products, resources and innovation, the IHMRS will roll out two new special focus areas this year. Attendees will discover new attention to food-and-beverage operations through the Hotel F&B Zone, and insight into the world of “apps” within a tech-savvy iPad application section.

“IHMRS 2011 is all about cultivating new business and offering inspiration, as industry professionals get their footing in a new economy and look to make smart purchasing decisions that will impact the bottom line,” says Lynn White, show manager. “There’s a new way of doing business, and IHMRS offers the products, resources and education to succeed.”

Hotel F&B Zone

The Hotel F&B Zone is an edited division of statement-making products for hotel, resort and casino food-and-beverage operations. Exhibitors within this area will feature such products as bar equipment; breakfast foods; cooking equipment; menus; software and technology; specialty food and beverages; and table linens and uniforms.

iPad Application Area

With new applications launching at a rapid pace, the IHMRS will offer an iPad application area for the first time this year.

Sponsored by Hospitality Upgrade magazine, visitors will experience a first-hand look at apps to assist both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house operations, such as concierge, engineering, housekeeping, check-in, security and more.

Education

Technology Issues that Keep a GM Up at Night, Bells & Whistles for Your Marketing Mix, Hotel Green Pro-grams with Return on Investment, and Boutique Brands…Global Plans are among the topics to be addressed during the 2011 Hospitality Leadership Forum (HLF) on Saturday, Nov. 12.

A full-day conference for senior-level hospitality managers, the event also will feature the highly anticipated CEO Leadership Panel and U.S. Lodging Industry Summit Panel.

Education continues on Sunday, Nov. 13, and Monday, Nov. 14, with such programs as Upgrading After the Downturn: Maximizing Hotel F&B Renovations, Tiered Purchasing Strategies, and Missed Opportunities in Hotel Food-and-Beverage Operations. These programs are free with IHMRS registration.

A complete listing of educational programs is available at ihmrs.com.

Boutique Design New York

The event that brought hospitality design back to New York returns alongside the IHMRS Nov. 13-14, at Javits Center North.

BDNY will present 50% more exhibitors over its 2010 debut, with a carefully-edited selection of suppliers. Some 5,000 designers, architects, purchasers and developers, along with crossover attendance from the IHMRS, are expected.

Registration

Registration fees are $50, and registration for either show offers admission to both markets.

HLF registration is a separate fee of $139, which also includes admission to the IHMRS and BDNY.

Lodging, foodservice and design professionals can register at ihmrs.com or bdny.com, where they can also review participating exhibitors, travel information and more.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Adopting a “hippie look” to go undercover in his company for the CBS series Undercover Boss, UniFirst President and CEO Ronald Croatti often found himself unable to match the speed of the workers training him, as he sought to discover if he could “make the cut” as an employee.

But his week-long journey was as much about seeing the company through his employees’ eyes and learning if the “family culture” he believed to be in place was truly there.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Approximately 150 laundry industry professionals from across North America recently attended Synergy VI, a biennial manufacturer/dealer educational conference sponsored by Pellerin Milnor Corp., Chicago Dryer Co. and American Dryer Corp. (ADC).

INWOOD, N.Y. — Bermil Industries Corp., which distributes the Wascomat and Electrolux brands of commercial and professional laundry equipment in North America, has unified its equipment offerings under the Laundrylux trade name for purposes of marketing, advertising and communications.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Selling Power magazine has named UniFirst Corp. to its list of “50 Best Companies to Sell For” in North America. Out of the 25 “Service” companies on the list, UniFirst tied for 15th place.

Jerry Messenger, director of sales support at UniFirst, says the recognition “helps validate the nurturing environment we have in place at UniFirst to provide our sales reps with all the personal and professional tools they’ll need for long-term success.”

RIPON, Wis. — Texas Laundry Service Co. has won the 2008 Speed Queen Commercial Distributor of the Year Award for its commitment to customer service, innovative efforts to expand sales, and overall outstanding sales performance.

INWOOD, N.Y. — Electrolux brand professional laundry products will be available in North America for the first time at the Clean Show, thanks to Bermil Industries Corp., the business team that makes Wascomat brand equipment available in the United States, according to the company.

“MRSA is a four-letter ‘word’ no healthcare worker wants to hear. What exactly is it? How does it spread, and how can it affect my laundry operation? Does my staff need to take any special precautions? Should I be concerned about my workers unknowingly taking it home to their families?”

Equipment Manufacturing: Dan Goldman, Wascomat Laundry Equipment, Inwood, N.Y.

NEW YORK — Blue Wolf Capital Management LLC has acquired the assets of Chicago-based Hospital Laundry Services and the assets of Northern Illinois Hospital Services, based in Rockford, Ill., each from a consortium of not-for-profit hospitals. Blue Wolf also announced that Blue Wolf Capital Fund II L.P. has established Healthcare Laundry Systems (HLS), which provides laundry services to hospitals and clinics in the greater Chicago area.

CINCINNATI — Cintas Corp., in conjunction with Washing Systems LLC (WSI), has become the first major industrial launderer to make a company-wide transition from a nonylphenol ethoxylate- (NPE) based detergent to a new, more environmentally friendly detergent in its industrial laundry facilities, Cintas says.

With more than 175 facilities in North America, Cintas has begun the transition in several of its locations and plans to be completely NPE-free by the end of 2008.

According to Cintas, benefits of the NPE-free detergent include:

In the second of a series, this year’s contributors to the American Laundry News Panel of Experts introduce themselves, describe their operations, identify challenges and list their accomplishments for 2007.