OCTOBER 2018
Late News Laundry workers, others, to get wage hike at Disney ORLANDO — An agreement has been reached for members of Teamsters Local 385 who work as laundry workers, bus drivers, characters, parking attendants and ranch hands at Walt Disney World, the union reports. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, Walt Disney World workers will receive a minimum of $4.75 in wage increases over the lifetime of the contract, with everyone at the resort getting a minimum increase of $2.50 by March 6, 2019. Employees will receive retroactive pay back to September 24, 2017, as well as a $1,000 bonus. All employees will be at a minimum starting rate of $15 by 2021. The contract has no cuts to healthcare or pension benefits. This comes after more than a year of negotiations with the company and the Service Trades Council Union (STCU), a coalition of Teamsters Local 385 and the five other unions who represent more than 39,000 workers at Walt Disney World. ALN
Right relationship, right chemistry Laundries, chemical companies share relational, processing success stories BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — Relationship building is key to the success of all businesses. Customers and vendors must create a strong relationship built on trust to ensure the relationship continues to run smoothly over the course of time. This could not ring truer in the laundry industry. The relationship between a laundry and its chemical provider is absolutely critical and should be that of a “true partnership.” “Building a solid relationship with a chemical supplier in an industrial laundry business is vital,” says Amanda Genthe, CITY Laundering|Clean & Simple in Oelwein, Iowa. “It can take time and research to find the right suppliers for any business. Once you’ve found the right fit, it’s important to develop a productive and professional relationship. Each day we strive to provide our customers with responsive and dependable service.” If that trust and strong bond between the laundry and the chemical provider is not there, both parties are at risk. The laundry is at risk of not being able to properly clean the linens, and the chemical provider is at risk of losing the account to a competitor. It is this partnership that brings increased value to the account. “It’s not just a relationship; it’s a strategic partnership,” says Karineh Minissian, founder and lead innovator at Norchem, a clean-
Q&A:
technology engineering firm based in Los Angeles. “We value our customer’s trust and work hard to show that Norchem can provide value in more than one way to their operation as a whole, start to finish.” See CHEMISTRY on Page 6
Remanufactured equipment programs
Three laundry equipment manufacturers talk remanufacturing BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — Laundry/linen service operations have to stretch every dollar as far as possible. Labor, textiles, utilities—plants are saving money everywhere they can, without sacrificing quality. Equipment like washer-extractors and dryers may not seem to be an area where operators can save money on the purchase, and maintain quality, but there is an option: remanufactured equipment. American Laundry News communicated with representatives from three companies that offer remanufactured equipment and programs to learn more about this option—Joe Gudenburr, president of G.A. Braun in Syracuse, N.Y.; Gabriel Camacho, president of Consolidated Laundry Machinery (CLM) in Pomona, Calif.; and Keith Ware, vice president of sales for Lavatec Laundry Technology Inc. in Beacon Falls, Conn.
Why does your company offer a remanufactured program/ service? Gudenburr: This program was born out of our relationships with our many client partners. We saw that as we replaced equipment Volume 44, Number 10
INSIDE Financing for Cash on Hand In this month’s OPL 101, learn how laundry financing can help with the front of the house.
1018aln_p01,06,10,18-21.FINAL.indd 1
Senior Norchem Service Engineer Jaime Gastelum (left) and Bud Hoffman, general manager of Topper Linen in Toronto, after successfully installing a new Norchem NorFlow-Win® Chemical Injection System. (Photo: Norchem)
An open pocket washer-extractor receives new components during the remanufacturing process. (Photo: G.A. Braun)
that our product is so durable that it structurally still had a great deal of life left in it but required updates to align with the advancements
www.americanlaundrynews.com
[12]
Panel of Experts In this issue, the experts look at textile trends to be aware of and their operational impact.
See REMANUFACTURED on Page 10 The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
[14]
The Man of Five Decades Richard Warren spent more than 53 years in laundry, and he finally retired eariler this year.
[19]
9/18/18 8:21 AM