The pace of consolidation among linen, uniform and facility services companies in United Kingdom (UK) has advanced even faster than that of the U.S, so that today the UK industry is largely dominated by a handful of major chains, including CLEAN Linen & Workwear and Johnson Service Group (JSG).

Yet, as in the U.S., there are exceptions. One we encountered recently is Scotland-based Fishers Services Ltd. We recently toured Fishers’ new plant outside Glasgow, and interviewed two key managers on a range of issues.

First off, in terms of market orientation, consider the contrast between Scotland ...