MAY 2017
Late News Three die in freak accident at linen plant ST. LOUIS — Three employees were killed April 3 at the Faultless Healthcare Linen Plant here on South Broadway when a hot water storage tank exploded at a neighboring business, the company reports. The explosion occurred at the Loy-Lange Box Co., killing one person there and injuring four others. The tank, the size of a van, landed in the offices of Faultless, killing three. The company has identified the victims as Tonya Gonzalez-Suarez and Christopher Watkins, who were married to each other, and their friend, Clifford Lee. Susan Witcher, president of Faultless, says the company has worked privately with victims’ families in providing direct support. In addition, the public has offered assistance, as evidenced in the Sons & Daughters of Soulard’s GoFundMe page: www. gofundme.com/faultlessexplosion-victims-fund. Witcher says that the office area sustained significant damage, and the tank has not yet been removed. The location won’t be suitable for normal office operations for months. The plant was evacuated the day of the accident and resumed normal operations by noon the following day, she says. ALN
Volume 43, Number 5
CLEAN ’17:
Industry trade show returning to form Biennial event reaching pre-recession numbers in terms of exhibitors, attendees BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — When the Clean Show wrapped in Atlanta back in 2015, it ended on a high note. The number of exhibitors was growing after the recession, attendees were pleased, and organizers were hopeful for the future. When Clean ’17 kicks off June 5-8 in Las Vegas, it seems that growth trend and positive attitude will continue for what is formally known as the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning. “We’re starting to get back to where we were before the recession hit us,” says John Riddle, president of show management company Riddle & Associates. “We’re starting to see that move. We had a good show in Atlanta, and I think we’re
going to see an improvement on that in Vegas this year.” At press time, about 450 exhibitors had signed up to be on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with more likely to sign up before Clean kicks off (a full list of exhibitors, as of April 7, starts on page 16). Well over 200,000 square feet of exhibit space is anticipated, according to Riddle. And attendees can expect to be joined by more than 11,000 people from almost 90 countries and six continents. “In terms of attendance, we’re up, and we’ve had a lot of interest,” says Riddle. “We’ve had a lot of people calling. From where we sit, there’s a good vibe. I think the industry is going to have a good show.” The show starts Monday, June
5, when attendees will be able to explore the exhibits following a 10 a.m. opening ceremony. Distributors have exclusive access to the show floor from 8 to 10 that day. The floor opens at 9 a.m. daily Tuesday through Thursday and
New kid on the block Chicagoland nursing home linen service provider finding success with new venture, ideas BY MATT POE, EDITOR SKOKIE, Ill. — EcoBrite Linen opened its doors in this north Chicago suburb in November 2015 with one customer in mind: nursing homes. It took some time for Brian Polatsek, CEO of EcoBrite, to see the vision of providing full rental laundry service for skilled nursing facilities, but when the idea clicked, he created an operation as efficient and automated as possible. “The value in the industry is by achieving efficiency both on the labor side and the utilities,” says
Polatsek. “If you do that, there’s room to provide added value for the customers, save them money and be able to make money as well.” The company opened with one client. Today, Polatsek says EcoBrite services 40 skilled nursing customers, processing about 180,000 pounds a week. START-UP
Polatsek hasn’t been in the laundry and linen industry for long. However, he is familiar with nursing home operations. He had relationships with
skilled nursing facilities because in 2009, he worked for an energy consulting firm in the Skokie area. “During my process of servicing these customers, I would occa-
“THE VALUE IN THE INDUSTRY IS BY ACHIEVING EFFICIENCY BOTH ON THE LABOR SIDE AND THE UTILITIES.” —BRIAN POLATSEK, CEO ECOBRITE LINEN
www.americanlaundrynews.com
INSIDE Equipment Mix Analysis In this issue’s OPL 101, learn the factors for picking the right machines.
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(File photo: Bruce Beggs)
closes at 5 p.m. daily Monday through Wednesday, and at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Besides interacting with exhibitors on the show floor, attendees also have the opportunity to take See CLEAN on Page 11
sionally walk through facilities and analyze energy usage,” says Polatsek. “Laundry was one of the items that came up. They were running ancient equipment, water heaters with efficiencies running below 50%, all this waste.” The question in his mind was why didn’t the facilities outsource laundry services. “The answer was always, ‘Way too expensive, doesn’t make sense when it’s cheaper to do it ourselves,’” Polatsek says. “That was the mindset of most nursing home operations. I left it at that.” Still, the idea of servicing nursing homes stayed within Polatsek’s orbit. He says there was a push for some facilities to start a centralized laundry, but the operators weren’t interested. Then, his friend, the son of his boss, suggested Polatsek should open a laundry. See ECOBRITE on Page 6
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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Panel of Experts Our experts discuss trade show strategies for success.
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Exhibitor Listings
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