Tim Williams, CEO of Crown Linen Services, a nearly 130-year-old company based in Mexico, MO, opened a second-plant in Columbia, IL, in 2007 with a focus on targeting restaurants in nearby St. Louis. The company succeeded in that goal; it currently serves some 400 restaurants in the Gateway City. But beyond that, Crown moved quickly into the hotel trade as hospitality operators have sought to enhance their focus on guests by outsourcing linen processing.

“When we opened this plant, it was really opened as an F & B plant,” says Williams, who served as TRSA Chairman from 1999-2000. “It was ...