JUNE 2015
Late News Whirlpool to acquire American Dryer Corp. BENTON HARBOR, Mich., and FALL RIVER, Mass. — Whirlpool Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire American Dryer Corp. (ADC), a privately held manufacturer of coin-operated, on-premise, industrial and specialty laundry equipment. Whirlpool brand Maytag Commercial Laundry and ADC each made the announcement via separate press releases. Terms of the planned transaction will not be disclosed, the companies say. Whirlpool says the planned acquisition gives its commercial laundry business a platform to reach new markets and channels. “Acquiring ADC strengthens our commitment to the commercial laundry industry and is aligned to our objectives of driving growth in adjacent businesses,” says Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool Corp. chairman and CEO. “The acquisition of ADC by Whirlpool is an important milestone in the evolution of innovative global commercial laundry equipment,” says Chris FitzGerald, CEO of ADC. Whirlpool expects to close on the ADC purchase in early July, with integration activities happening throughout the balance of 2015. ALN Volume 41, Number 6
The right vehicle can boost laundry operation effectiveness Load capacity, fuel efficiency, driver aids among selling points BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — Bryan Henke, marketing manager for Freightliner Custom Chassis, knows that his company’s delivery vehicles aren’t the least expensive on the market. Unfortunately, he sees many fleet buyers in the commercial laundry industry focusing on cost and purchasing cheaper vehicles. “It’s always been attractive to try to do your job in a panel van, cargo van, or in a cutaway box truck,” Henke says. “They appear attractive initially to someone in the laundry industry. The buyer just sees that price and goes, ‘I need to move this stuff to here, and I don’t really understand the efficiencies of a walk-in van, I’m just looking for the lowest price.’” That’s why panel vans and box trucks are so prevalent in the laundry industry. The problem with that, according to Henke, is that the cheap-
Hybrid vehicles like this Morgan Olson model can help laundries be more fuel-efficient and reduce emissions, experts say. (Photo: Crosspoint Kinetics)
er vehicles aren’t made to handle laundry loads. “They’re very inexpensive, but light-duty,” says Henke. “We’re not the cheapest on the market because our vehicles have been designed
See FLEET on Page 8
OSHA reality check: Is your facility safe? BY MATT POE, EDITOR ATLANTA — Edwin Foulke Jr. knows a thing or two about safety. He is a partner in Fisher & Phillips LLP, and he co-chairs the firm’s Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management Practice Group. Before that, Foulke was assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health and was the head of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) under President George W. Bush. During an educational session here at Clean 2015, Foulke revealed that the laundry industry isn’t as safe as it needs to be. “I do a lot of inspections with my clients, and a lot of times I get
called in after they get the citations,” says Foulke. “You’re in an industry that’s targeted. Like it or not, OSHA is targeting you and your facility.” Too many laundry operators, in Foulke’s view, think they have great safety because they have safety manuals. They have 4- to 5-inch thick manuals filled with procedures that employees and management are supposed to follow—and those manuals sit on the shelf. “Don’t try to pretend that you have great safety, because like it or not, you don’t have great safety,” Foulke says. “You may not have had lost time due to injury this year, but it may be just by luck.” He adds that, statistically, a facil-
safety program if you want to maximize your profits and be as competitive as you can possibly be,” says Foulke. WHAT IS “SAFE”?
(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)
ity can have no injuries, fatalities or illnesses in a year or two years but the company still can have an inadequate safety program. “It is critical to have a great
www.americanlaundrynews.com
INSIDE Retaining Hourly Employees
Foulke says that if safety is practiced just when somebody is watching or when the boss is there, if it’s just a “sometimes” thing, laundry facilities are never going to have “great” safety. Without a full-time focus on safety, according to Foulke, companies won’t maximize profits and are not going to be as competitive as possible. Even worse, there is the potenSee OSHA on Page 10
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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Strategies to help find, and keep, hourly laundry employees who excel at, and have satisfaction in, what they do.
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for those functions.” When a laundry purchases vehicles that have
Panel of Experts
A contingency plan can help maintain service during severe weather.
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Clean 2015 Attracts Attention
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Companies exhibited many products in Atlanta.
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