One of the industrial laundry industry’s most highly regarded leaders, Gerald L. Stempler, 87, the retired CEO of Textilease Corp., passed away on Nov. 19, 2018, after an illness. Stempler emphasized the importance of seeking input from employees at a time when most companies favored a top-down structure, according to industry sources.

Gaining insights from employees was a key to Stempler’s broad-based focus on continuous improvement. Another part of that effort included a push for companies like Textilease (sold to UniFirst Corp. in 2003) to work with rival industrial launderers on regulatory, labor and other issues of common concern through ...