Integrated Laundry: Kannegiesser ETECH Eyes Future

(l/r) Kannegiesser ETECH CEO Phil Hart and the company’s COO Joe Schult.

Textile Services Weekly recently sat down for an exclusive interview at the headquarters of Kannegiesser ETECH in Minneapolis to get more information on its recent merger that was announced on April 6.

While the new company’s parent Herbert Kannegiesser GmbH is based in Vlotho, Germany, Kannegiesser ETECH will sell its products primarily to customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. “We have a clear focus on the North American market,” said CEO Phil Hart in an April 20 sitdown in Minneapolis that also included the company’s COO Joe Schult and TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci. Hart will serve as the CEO of Kannegiesser ETECH, with Schult as the COO and Shaw Merrill as the CFO. Schult was previously president of E-Tech Inc.

The newly formed company will operate out of a building in an industrial park near the University of Minnesota that previously housed E-Tech Inc.’s operations. The Kannegiesser USA headquarters in Dallas will remain open as a service and support center for the newly combined company. While the newly formed company will operate in the United States, it will have integration with the German headquarters on tasks that will help the business run smoothly, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and information technology (IT) infrastructure.

The goal of the combined company is to help its linen, uniform and facility services customers improve efficiency within the plant, Hart noted. “We are focused on providing the next level progression for integrated solutions, combining data flow, material flow and production flow together,” Hart said. “Seamless production flow in the laundry. The goal is to get each machine utilized to at least 85% of maximum productivity. Data shows now that each machine is utilized at 60% of its capabilities in the modern laundry. All of these inefficiencies happen when the production flow is not integrated.”

Schult added that, “We are going to provide a truly seamless integration – from logistics to equipment, from the front to the back of the plant.”

The impact on current E-Tech customers should be positive. “For our existing customers, the support will continue,” Schult said. “With the combined resources with Kannegiesser, the customer support should get even better, in fact.”

After discussing the new business model in a conference room at corporate headquarters, Hart and Schult took Textile Services Weekly on a tour of the facility, from the executive offices through the area where equipment is welded and assembled for delivery to its laundry customers. While on the tour, the duo showed off the company’s Clean Show booth design, which was still in the process of being assembled.

While on the show floor, stop by the company’s booth (No. 2231) at the Clean Show on June 5-8 in Las Vegas. Make sure you also keep an eye out for more on this merger in an upcoming issue of Textile Services magazine.