Don't miss out on the industry's best option for training future leadership! ALM's Laundry & Linen College prepares leaders to run successful operations.

Select the session that best fits your needs:

• Laundry Management: Processing & Operations
• Linen Management: Textile Care Services

To maximize your learning opportunity, and ultimately prepare you for the RLLD certification, if you have never attended the Laundry & Linen College, we recommend starting with Processing & Operations first, followed by Textile Care Services in spring 2021.

For full details about both sessions, please visit ALM's Laundry & Linen College page. To register for the session you want, please click the appropriate link above. 

1. Learning
ALM's IMPACT Conference will help you generate ideas that take your facility operations from good to great! With this year's virtual option, you won't miss a thing, because all sessions will be recorded and available on-demand to ALL attendees after the conference. If you can't view the live broadcast of the session, or you're in Colorado with us and torn between concurrent sessions, you can watch afterwards on your schedule. Best of all, you still gain contact hours from watching the recordings!

2. Connecting
Making new contacts will be even easier, because you will have other attendee information at your fingertips through the IMPACT app, no matter how you or others are participating! Set up conference calls, Zoom meetings or email with just a click.

3. Fun!
We know one of the draws for IMPACT is the fun attendees have at our evening events. With the current pandemic, we can't all get together like we normally would, but we are going to have games, competitions, yummy treats and fun delivered directly to you! In-person attendees will get their goodies on-site, but the first 50 virtual attendees are guaranteed a goody bag mailed to them!

One last thing...
We know plans for nearly everyone are up-in-the-air right now. If you're not sure whether you want to attend in person or virtually, no worries! Register now, and you can change from one to the other at any time with no penalties.

Two healthcare heroes were featured on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, August 4. We are proud to recognize Lesa Kelly, Environmental Services Manager  from Emory Hillandale Hospital and Tina Jones, Laundry Lead from Emory Decatur Hospital as being our ‘Cleaning Warriors’ for the DeKalb Operating Unit. Lesa and Tina were interviewed virtually by GMA anchor TJ Holmes about the importance of support services, such as environmental services and laundry, to everyday hospital care. They described how their jobs have become more challenging because of COVID-19, but emphasized that their teams are the backbone of a clean and sanitized environment.

After discussing their frontline work with TJ Holmes, the ladies received a pleasant surprise when one of their favorite celebrities appeared on the zoom call: Tyler Perry surprised them with a heartfelt thank you and appreciation for their dedication. Lesa and Tina are devoted Tyler Perry fans and did not know that they were going to meet him during the interview. In addition to Perry thanking Lesa and Kelly for their role in patient care, they were able to thank him for all the charitable work he does for the metro Atlanta community.

“I just want to say congratulations to Lesa. We are very proud to have you as part of our team. All of our team members go out of their way each day to ensure our patients, family and other staff members are taken care of. We are so delighted to see Lesa and our staff getting the recognition they deserve,” said Gina Smith, Director of Environmental Services.

“Tina Jones is a super dynamic team member and we are so proud of what she does for our staff daily. Thank you, Tina, for your years of dedication and motivation towards our staff. We are extremely honored to have you on our team. Our department works hard to ensure our three hospitals are receiving what they need,” exclaimed Grover Evans, Director of Laundry Services.

To watch the complete Good Morning America segment, visit their website.

The American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA) is pleased to announce the completion of a study on the environmental and economic impacts of using reusable and disposable cleanroom garments. The ARTA-supported study was conducted by Environmental Clarity and based, in part, on a previous life cycle analysis on cleanroom coveralls published in the PDA Journal.

In cleanroom facilities, both disposable and reusable textile garments meet the particulate standards from most rigorous to the most basic levels. However, the reusables offer two additional benefits, lower cost and reduced environmental impact. The environmental and economic benefits when cleanrooms select reusable textile garments are now clearly defined in detail (based on estimates from detailed life cycle data on reusable and disposable products) and can be used by both suppliers and customers to add to their own environmental sustainability scorecards.

When you serve the healthcare industry, best practices for hygiene are imperative. A reputation for clean facilities is central to success.

As the premier textile service provider and commercial laundry for healthcare organizations in the mid-Atlantic region, Commonwealth Linen Service is dedicated to meeting these rigorous standards. Key to this mission is proper management of lint dust.

“Lint is the biggest carrier of pathogens in the laundry environment,” explains Jim Buchbinder, Director of Commonwealth Linen. “So, if lint isn’t present for the pathogens to attach to, then you’ve eliminated a big problem in your plant.”

To maintain top hygiene protocols for their 42,000-square-foot facility, Commonwealth Linen Service installed a system of industrial dust control fans.

Buchbinder reports, “Any laundry that becomes accredited by the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) needs to have a processing area environment that is free from lint. We find that the dust control fans really help us maintain that environment, making it a lot easier for my team to keep the plant clean and free of lint.”

Pellerin Milnor Corporation of Kenner, LA, recognized their top dealers for machinery sales in 2019. For more than 70 years, Pellerin Milnor’s dealer network has provided sales and service support to Milnor customers around the world.

TLC TriState Laundry Companies, headquartered in Valdosta, GA, was awarded first place for machinery sales amongst Milnor’s worldwide distributor network in 2019. (pictured above are Matt Stephenson, left, and Keith Quarles, right, of TLC TriState Laundry Companies)

“Pellerin Milnor’s strong distributor network is one of the cornerstones of our success. TLC TriState’s achievement for the highest machinery sales for 2019 is well deserved,” said Rick Kelly, Vice President Sales and Marketing for Pellerin Milnor Corporation. “TLC TriState’s results are a testament to the value they provide to their market by offering our industry-leading products, solutions and strong service support.”

Rounding out the top five dealers for the 2019 machinery sales year include second place - Pellerin Laundry Machinery Sales Company, Kenner, LA; third place – Western State Design, Hayward, CA; fourth place – Yankee Equipment Systems, Barrington, NH; and fifth place – Steiner-Atlantic Corporation, Miami, FL.

Tyler Willman, of Oshkosh, WI, recently joined Girbau North America (GNA) as regional sales manager in training. In this training role, he is immersed in all aspects of GNA’s internal departments, including shipping and receiving, parts, technical services, customer care, lead fulfillment and sales. His responsibilities include daily interface with end-user lead inquiries, distributer lead fulfillment and service request follow-up, among many others. This position ultimately leads into a regional sales manager role.

Colmac of Colville, WA, is pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Doppenberg to their production staff.

Colmac Production Manager Dan Melvin said, "Matt has been an HVAC technician for several years and brings good electromechanical skills and an understanding of refrigeration. He is a skilled hand at manufacturing, installing and troubleshooting heat pumps.”

Lanier Bone recently joined the sales team of Softrol Systems Inc. in Acworth, GA.

Bone spent more than seven years gaining operational experience as a general manager of both large and small scale healthcare laundry operations. More recently, Bone expanded his skills through work with laundry equipment sales and engineering, and laundry management consulting.

“With his extensive background in both material handling systems and laundry management, Lanier will quickly become an integral part of our sales team,” said Dave Smith, Softrol’s Director of Sales & Marketing. “Softrol’s material handling division is growing rapidly each year, and we’re excited to have Lanier’s skills to advance future growth in that market.”

All laundry products are supplied through Hillyard's distributor network.

Laundry Program Managers 

Jim Voelkel is the Product Manager of the program. Jim comes to Hillyard with 26 years of experience in the laundry industry. He is based out of St. Joseph. Jim can be reached at JVoelkel@hillyard.com.

Keith McLeod is a Laundry and Ware wash specialist. He comes to Hillyard with 32 years of experience in the laundry industry. He is based in Charleston, SC and works the east coast. Keith can be reached at Kmcleod@hillyard.com.

Kannegiesser ETECH, of Minneapolis, MN, recently completed an eVue laundry technology upgrade project at Maruwa in Wakayama, Japan. Wakayama is south of Osaka in the central area of the main Japanese island of Honshu.

The Maruwa plant has several separate Kannegiesser ETECH rail systems, including an incoming customer bag system delivering soiled goods to two separate six-station sort soil processing systems, and an automated clean goods transfer and storage system.

Ecolab, the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services, will supply England's NHS Supply Chain with five million liters of hand sanitizer, Skinman Soft Protect FF, by the end of the year. 

“Ecolab has been a reliable partner at the heart of the crisis,” said Miranda Gordon, Head of Category, Wound Care and Infection Control at NHS Supply Chain. “Their healthcare team has always been a phone call away and have proven great resilience to help supply disinfection products. Now that the peak has passed, we are building new stock of critical products and ensure our preparedness, whatever may come. We are grateful to Ecolab for the continuous support.”

Ecolab has increased manufacturing capacity by 700 percent across Europe to help meet demand for critical infection prevention solutions. To supply this record quantity of hand sanitizer to NHS Supply Chain, Ecolab has mobilized its Weavergate production plant in Northwich, Cheshire in the U.K. The manufacturing team has set up a new mixing and filling line in six weeks to locally produce alcohol-based hand rub for professional use in large quantities. The first bottles were filled and delivered in early July, and further enhancements will help produce a quarter of a million bottles per week from September. Twenty new associates have been hired locally to support the production team of more than 50 full-time workers.

Working at a manufacturing facility may be considered one of the most physically involved jobs ever. Duties include lifting, squatting, walking, standing and operating machinery for hours. Injuries and mishaps involving forklifts, machinery and trucks (loading and unloading) can occur. Some manufacturing facilities can go a week, or even a month without injuries. Others may report an injury every day or every few days.

This is not the case for Connecticut company, EDRO Corporation. The third-generation, family-owned company proudly celebrated 300 consecutive days without a reported injury in their manufacturing facility on Monday, August 10. EDRO employees weld, cut sheet metal, assemble and test their range of ‘Battleship Quality’ washer-extractors and tumbler dryers. The management team and safety committee take safety protocols and procedures seriously, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Diamond Chemical Company Inc. of East Rutherford, N.J., a national manufacturer of laundry, warewash, floor care, housekeeping, organic intermediates and industrial products, is pleased to announce the addition of Brian Oels (left) as Technical Representative and Peter Lisiecki (right) as New England Regional Sales Manager, as well as the return of Lucas Ireland (middle) as Systems Installation Manager.

Kemco Systems, a global water and energy technology company, recently announced the hiring of Regional Sales Manager, Nathan Mein.

Nathan began his career as an Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army and earning his master’s degree from The University of Texas, El Paso. After working in management of a textile and polyurethane manufacturing plant, Nathan transitioned to Sales Engineer in the commercial laundry industry with Tingue, Brown and Co. Nathan brings with him a passion for knowledge and a commitment to bringing conservation solutions across all industries.

Nathan will be based in Houston, where he resides with his wife and two children.

Standard Textile, a leading global innovator, manufacturer and distributor of healthcare, hospitality and consumer products, announces the addition of two new associates to the company’s healthcare team, focused on serving the government marketplace.

Lyddane Knewitz (far left) has joined the company as Government Sales Manager. Ken Tyler, HRLLD, CFM, FAC3, CPCM (near left) has joined Standard Textile as a Government Program Advisor.

“We are excited to welcome Ken and Lyddane to the Standard Textile team. They will both provide focused support, tremendous vision and expertise, and excellent service to our government partners,” said Tom Main, Group Vice President, Standard Textile.

Alexander Seitz, President of Seitz – The Fresher Company (North America) and parent company, Seitz GmbH, welcomes Frank Briercheck as National Director of Marketing and Development.

Briercheck brings nearly 30 years of industry experience to the table. Briercheck owned and operated a cleaners including dry stores, routes, restoration and formal wear rental in north central Florida from 1991 to 2006, before accepting a position as Director of Marketing with then-Phenix Supply and later promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing, a position he held for nearly 12 years, including time post-acquisition of Phenix by FabriClean Supply.