NOVEMBER 2016
Late News Unitex to close Middletown plant temporarily to evaluate future MT. VERNON, N.Y. — Unitex Textile Rental Services plans to close its Middletown, N.Y., plant temporarily, while it weighs options for the future of the facility, according to the company and news reports. “Unitex is temporarily suspending operations at the site to review the ongoing needs of the physical plant,” says Sr. Vice President David Potack. “The nature of the evaluation is such that the review required that we cease operations at this point. “Once the process is complete, we will evaluate the long-term viability of the plant and determine the next steps.” The closure, slated for Jan. 7, will force the layoffs of 65 employees. Potack says that Middletown employees affected by the temporary closure were offered jobs at other Unitex facilities. The company says it gave notice of the closure of the Middletown plant to the New York state Department of Labor on Oct. 7. State officials recently made the information available to the public, according to news ALN reports.
Volume 42, Number 11
Setting laundry operations on automatic Plants look to automation to save labor costs, increase pounds per operator hour BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — Automation, simply put, is the use of various types of control systems to operate equipment and processes—without human interaction being necessary. Automation is seen in the production of cars and trucks, food and beverage processing, even in flying an airplane. The laundry industry has turned to automation as well. A main objective of laundry automation is to reduce labor costs by reducing the “number of physical touches” that employees have with the linen, which results in increasing PPOH, (pounds per operator hour), according to
David Carter, vice president of North America sales for equipment manufacturer Pellerin Milnor Corp. He says another objective is to reduce utilities usage per pound processed. Finally, the automation should help manage linen inventory levels and related investment without compromising customer service. “Automation has become very important in the laundry with the drastic increases in labor costs,” says Tony Jackson, director of national accounts for equipment maker Kannegiesser USA. “It is much safer for employees, especially in the washroom, to not manually load washer-extractors in large batches.”
Joe Gudenburr, president of equipment manufacturer G.A. Braun Inc., agrees that automation can afford a laundry operation a great many benefits. Improvements can reduce labor, overall operating hours, and energy, water and chemical consumption, and result in improved
inventory control and turn rates and better finished-product quality. He says the improvements can be achieved and sustained as long as the appropriate process controls, discipline and operational See AUTOMATIC on Page 6
Training the ‘face of the company’ Route drivers are key points of contact for laundry services BY CHRIS MAYER FORT MILL, S.C. — Training for route service representatives (RSRs) is paramount to any successful business. We all know that they’re the face of your company to your customers. With an average route running $10,000 per week, they’re the chief operating officer (COO) of a substantial small business of $500,000 annually. Simply stated, they’re a big part of the impact on your financial results, and they do far more than just being a “driver.”
Finding and keeping top-tier RSR talent is critical. Studies on the cost of employee turnover are all over the board. A more conservative study by the Center of American Progress (CAP) states that turnover costs a minimum of 20% of salary. For a person making $40,000 a year, that’s $8,000 in recruiting and training expenses. Many of us can remember when a route service rep received two weeks of training with another rep before they went solo. Maybe it worked then, but it’s the “doom loop” in today’s world, and it has become extremely expensive. Many companies wonder why their turnover is so high in the first six months. The initial onboarding training program is typically the
No. 1 reason. There are five key things to consider when it comes to route service rep training:
“MANY OF US CAN REMEMBER WHEN A ROUTE SERVICE REP RECEIVED TWO WEEKS OF TRAINING WITH ANOTHER REP BEFORE THEY WENT SOLO. MAYBE IT WORKED THEN, BUT IT’S THE ‘DOOM LOOP’ IN TODAY’S WORLD...” —CHRIS MAYER, PERFORMANCE MATTERS
Columnist at Large With retirement nearing, Eric Frederick reflects on his long career.
• Core Process, Branded Training vs. Tribal Knowledge • Consistent Repetition vs. One and Done • Daily Check-in Training vs. Cash-outs • Follow-up Verification vs. “Hope They Got It” • Route Rep-Conducted Meetings vs. ManagerDirected Meetings CORE PROCESS, BRANDED TRAINING VS. TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE
Tribal knowledge is how most RSRs are trained in our industry. It’s passed down from the RSR or manager before them who learned from another RSR or manager before them. See CONTACT on Page 10
www.americanlaundrynews.com
INSIDE
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Feeders, ironers, folders and stackers can significantly decrease labor and operational costs while bolstering throughput. (Photo: Girbau Industrial)
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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Panel of Experts Our experts look at efficient, effective sorting and arranging.
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From Service to Business
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In-house laundries can make money— by adding commercial work.
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