TRSA delivered valuable industry insights during its Midwest Regional Production Summit and Plant Tour on March 26-27. The event – part of a series of gatherings in different parts of the U.S. – emphasized making a quality program accessible to all members by bringing it to a central location in their region. The summit was held in Rosemont, IL, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Association of Textile Services (WATS).
The summit kicked off on March 26 with a keynote session from Lisa Ryan, founder and chief appreciation officer at Grategy. Ryan delivered an action-packed opening address on how employee engagement can drive business success. She discussed strategies for creating a workplace where employees feel valued, driven and inspired to contribute their best every day. Ryan’s session was highly interactive, with attendees breaking into small groups to discuss ideas and best practices. She even had everyone in the room compliment each other to underscore the value of appreciation.
John Tingue, regional sales manager at Tingue, followed Ryan with a discussion of linen quality. Tingue discussed the key factors that their organization uses to ensure the best quality and maximize customer satisfaction. He also addressed best practices for storage and laundering to increase linen lifespan.
In another session, Matt Chambers, operation manager at Alsco Uniforms, gave a presentation on managing quality control. Chambers offered attendees an in-depth look at methods for ensuring quality control. Topics discussed included techniques for driving quality assurance, and identifying and addressing common concerns.
Brian Varner, the owner of Safety Solutions for Healthcare, then delivered an address focused on analyzing claims processes. Varner cited personal experiences to illustrate the importance of a robust safety and claims process. He also addressed how to properly investigate a claim and manage employees who are placed on modified or restricted duty.
The final presentation of the day featured a discussion on automation led by Darrin Smith, customer success representative manager at Kannegiesser ETECH and Mads Andresen, CEO of Inwatec. They offered diverse perspectives on the role of automation in a commercial laundry. After they had both spoken, Andresen and Smith took questions from the audience, including whether they thought a time would come when machines could run a laundry operation without human intervention.
After this presentation, the summit concluded with Ryan, Varner, Andresen and Smith hosting roundtables with the attendees to further explore the topics of their respective presentations.
On March 27, the attendees headed to The Roscoe Co. in Chicago. Roscoe operates one plant with 60,000 square feet (5,574 square meters), with 75% percent of the space dedicated to the production floor and the balance used for offices. This facility processes 110,000 lbs. (49,895 kg) per week, including garments, mats and shop towels. Roscoe primarily services area manufacturers. Additionally, they support the automotive and wholesale distribution sectors. The plant’s semi-automated wash floor has three 450-lb. (204 kg) and two 900-lb. (408 kg) Ellis Corp. open-pocket washers and two Ellis dryers. Finishing equipment includes a Leonard Automatics tunnel.
Attendees not only got a birds’ eye view of the plant, but were treated to a close look at the assets that Roscoe values most highly – its people. Management staff were each given the opportunity to tell the attendees who they were and how they got into their position. These company leaders range from longtime employees such as Mark Stedman to relative newcomer Ryan Simmons. Stedman started at Roscoe as a marketing intern and worked across multiple areas before rising to the post of general manager. Simmons has served as the senior business analyst for three years. All the company managers had the opportunity to discuss how Roscoe has bolstered their careers with industry training initiatives such as TRSA’s Executive Management Institute and Level Up supervisor training program.
“All the money or equipment in the world means nothing without awesome people, and I have awesome people” said Roscoe Owner Jim Buik.
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