Alsco Vista: A Vision for Growth in SoCal

Alsco Uniforms recently invited Textile Services Weekly to visit their new plant in Vista, CA. We were wowed by the company’s transition from its now-retired plant in downtown San Diego to today’s ultra-modern, 74,000-square-foot laundry nestled in a suburban hub some 40 miles north of “SD.”

Walking onto the wash floor, we noticed employees wearing t-shirts dyed in the company’s signature green. On the back was a message that said this new laundry offers the “Same Great Service” in a “Brand New Facility.” The Alsco Uniforms “A” logo appeared between the two phrases.

Opened in May 2024, the Vista plant reflects a strategic commitment to the company’s guiding mindset: “Growth is our Water,” according to General Manager Francisco Lopez. The phrase is inspired by AG1 CEO Kat Cole, who, after visiting an African village, observed that access to water was fundamental to the community’s ability to grow and thrive. She later applied this insight to business, identifying the single most essential element needed for sustained success.

Lopez said that Alsco Uniforms adopted this philosophy to emphasize that growth is critical to the company’s long-term future. Achieving that growth, he notes, depends on an ongoing commitment to quality, efficiency and operational excellence. The Vista plant was designed to promote these two goals, provided that every team member does their part. “We depend on every department in our business,” he said, “The sales, service and production departments all ensure that we grow our business, retain our customer base and provide quality products and service.”

The Alsco Uniforms Vista team has ample tools to meet these goals in the fiercely competitive market for uniform and linen services in Southern California. During a walk-through of the plant, we saw examples of cutting-edge equipment, including a system designed to preserve a scarce resource in this part of the Golden State: water. The plant has a Norchem UltraPure ceramic filtration system. “It’s been very helpful,” Lopez said. “We’re reusing about 58% of our water.”

In the wash aisle, we saw two Kannegiesser tunnel washers with 17 and 18, 242-lb. (110 kg.) chambers, respectively – goods emerging from the press move via conveyor to any of 8, 264-lb. dryers.

There are also three 660 lb. (300 kg.) washer/extractors from Kannegiesser and three 300 lb. (136 kg.) dryers.

Currently, the Vista plant is processing 265,000 lbs. (120,202 kg.) per week with 56 production employees, Lopez says. The team has experienced brisk growth, he says. This includes advancing the company’s strategic goal of diversifying their product mix to include more industrial and healthcare rental uniforms. Since Lopez left an industrial uniform competitor in September 2024 to join Alsco Uniforms, he’s seen progress in this area. “It’s going well,” he says. “I think one of the biggest things that has helped in that space is changing the compensation plan for the sales consultants. The sales consultants are incentivized to sell what we call ‘industrial accounts.’” The plant was processing 65% F&B textiles when Lopez started. When Textile Services Weekly visited in late March, that figure had dropped to 58%. “The goal for me is by the end of this year to have a 50-50 split when it comes to F&B and industrial markets.”

Stepping onto the finishing side of the plant, we saw where Alsco Uniforms Vista processes uniforms for packout and delivery. All of its garments are tagged with radio frequency identification tags from Positek RFID. After washing, an employee places the garments on hangers and enters them onto a rail system. This runs them through a Kannegiesser tunnel finisher and onto a sortation system that organizes them by route, customer and individual wearer. Productivity throughout the plant is tracked with a monitoring system from Spindle. This includes flatwork processing on six ironer lines from Kannegiesser.

The plant occupies 74,000 square feet (6,875 square meters) in an industrial park. Watch for follow-up coverage of this Vista plant in Textile Services magazine. Click here to subscribe to Textile Services.