Steve Larson: Reflections of a ‘Go-To Guy’
Steve Larson, Alsco Inc.’s longtime vice president for its North American Division, emphasized the value of building industry knowledge as he accepted TRSA’s highest honor for a laundry executive, the Operator Lifetime Achievement Award, on Oct. 17. Larson addressed a crowd of more than 200 operators, supplier executives, family members and guests who gathered for an awards dinner during TRSA’s 105th Annual Conference & Exchange at The Meritage Resort & Spa in Napa, CA.
A 50-year veteran who’s dedicated his entire career to Alsco, Larson began by thanking his wife for her backing over the years. “I would like to thank my wife Laurie,” Larson said. “As all of you know, it’s hard to be successful at anything you do without the support and encouragement of somebody you can trust. She has always been there and could always be counted on. I’m getting to the end of my career, and I have to say it’s been a great ride.”
Larson recently announced plans to retire at the end of this year. His pending departure from Alsco represents the end of a laundry industry journey that began at an early age. As a teen-ager, Larson described going into work with his father, the chief engineer at Alsco’s Portland, OR, branch. There, Larson undertook a variety of tasks. “I would do odd jobs for him in the plant when he went in to work on Saturdays,” Larson said of this initial phase of his career. “Painting was my forte,” he said. “But soon, I progressed to washing the fleet every Saturday.”
Apparently, the company liked what it saw in young Steve Larson. He soon advanced to filling in for vacationing staff on routes during the summers and school holidays. In 1968, he received a scholarship created for the children of employees that gave him an opportunity to work in the Portland branch. After completing college, Larson joined Alsco’s Portland branch full-time in 1972. He advanced quickly and a few years later accepted a post as general manager of the Tacoma, WA, branch. Not long after that, he was promoted to a job overseeing the Honolulu branch of the company. There, Larson led the consolidation of an acquired company, Young Laundry, into a more efficient operation. This effort and others led to a regional post overseeing Alsco operations in California, Arizona and Hawaii. Larson made light of his career ascent, noting that, “Not many people can say they worked for the same company for all these years and can say that they never really interviewed for a job.”
Throughout this time, Larson said he continually sought to increase his level of experience to help make him a “go-to guy” for the company. He likened this role to that of a key player on a sports team who’s viewed as the one who’s most likely to score at the buzzer and win the game for the team. In the laundry business, the go-to guy is the person that management counts on to evaluate problems and devise solutions. “There are a lot of people who can tell the boss when something’s gone wrong,” he said. “And there are a few people that can explain why it’s gone wrong, but there ordinarily are only a few people that can fix it. The go-to guy is the person who understands the importance of experience and reputation. And experience and reputation fuel each other. The more experience you have, the more you become the go-to guy.”
TRSA and UTSA, which was blended into TRSA in 2008, helped Larson expand his range of experience, as well as his professional contacts. That, in turn, helped him advance to the post of vice president for its North American Division in 2006, a job he continues to hold today. “I have always supported TRSA and in the past UTSA and the many regional organizations,” Larson said. “I have seen merit in opening up our plants for these groups because the knowledge we can share makes the whole industry stronger. Alsco has always supported industry committees and the many learning opportunities that TRSA has to offer and will continue to support our industry.”
Alsco’s robust growth under Larson’s leadership is a sign that his methods of building a strong knowledge base and developing a reputation for solving problems have contributed to his own career success, as well as that of Alsco. “During this time, we weathered the Great Recession, but still doubled our revenues and added 30-plus more processing centers, expanding our footprint into more areas of the country,” he said.
In recent years, Alsco also has broadened its ties to NASCAR and, specifically, Richard Childress Racing. Larson likened his own experience in the laundry business to that of Childress’ career in auto racing, noting that “One thing I’ve heard Richard say a number of times is ‘Where else could a guy like me with $20 and a dream have a successful business like I have today?’ I totally believe that because I’m proof of it.”
Looking ahead, Larson predicted future growth for both Alsco and the industry at large. Part of the reason for that is that so many industry colleagues embrace the same values of experience building and professional networking that Larson has practiced for 50 years. “This is a strong and growing industry and I think it represents American business at its best,” Larson said. “What we do day-to-day may not be the most visible to folks outside of our industry, but this industry has been around a long time and will continue to provide benefits for many years to come.”
The crowd erupted into applause and gave Larson a standing ovation as he ended his address by thanking both TRSA and Alsco for the award. Then, as a “go-to guy” who never stops promoting the industry’s virtues, Larson urged the attendees to “Enjoy Napa and the many fabulous restaurants that use our products and services.”