Forecast For The Future

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Created on Saturday, 03 February 2007 02:29

Written by Ken Tyler

After being a part of this industry for over 30 years, I’d like to take a look past day-to-day operations to offer a forecast for our industry within the next 20 years.

Laundry Management: Large organizations that support laundry operations, government, institutional, hospitality, and linen rental must escalate the training of personnel that are responsible for production and management in order to be competitive in the next 20 years. Laundry managers who are very competent, experienced and well educated by the industry are starting to become a thing of the past.

Web Based Linen Management and Laundry Production Programs supported by many textile companies and applicable consultants should be the norm in each highly productive laundry plant.

Equipment: The use of steam heated flatwork ironers will soon become a thing of the past as these systems that require expensive boiler operations and operators will be replaced by highly efficient self contained gas and or oil fired systems. The use of steam may become a thing of the past in laundry operations.

While the basics of automation have been here for several years, mostly supported by Continuous Batch Tunnel Washers, I believe that methods of extraction will change the way we wash and finish textiles. While I would like to forecast drastic improvements in soiled sorting and conveyance, to date nothing spectacular has caught my attention.

Chemicals: Service is the key. Those receiving poor or even average service should simply change suppliers, managers should never place themselves in a situation of just not changing, it is really very simple.

Textiles: Bio-Based products may be the future providing the industry can develop these products economically. The next 5 years will be critical.

I forecast a very unique move by laundry managers responsible to purchase items that provide the best value to the operation in lieu of low cost. Education is essential.

Clean Show: I feel that The Clean Show will remain status quo and stable. It will continue to influence the market place in a positive way.

Education: All organizations responsible for such endeavors must expand horizons to match the state-of-art emphasis on process. However, educating in areas such as production methods for different systems, maintenance and systems design must receive a renewed emphasis. Managers need to learn how to build on their operations.

Regulatory Issues: I forecast that many states will incorporate the requirement that healthcare laundries be certified by some process, absent the involvement of other regulatory elements like OSHA, EPA, CDC and JCAHO. For this to happen someone needs to make a political push.