ETSA ’15 Confab Targets Growth Markets

TRSA Chairman Doug Waldman and President and CEO Joseph Ricci recently addressed the European Textile Services Association’s (ETSA) 12th annual conference with a focus on strategies for increasing market penetration by textile services companies in the U.S.

Overall, the market’s potential is estimated at $28 billion, with current market exploitation at roughly $17.8 billion, or 64%, they told some 130 attendees at the June 11-12 event in Vienna. Waldman and Ricci said they anticipate growth in several market segments – most notably in hygiene areas, such as food processing and healthcare. By contrast, a recent Deloitte study Quantifying the Opportunity, published by ETSA in 2014, indicates that textile services achieved a market penetration of about 30% in Europe.

In his kickoff address, ETSA Chairman Juha Laurio challenged attendees to consider ways to grow their businesses and increase market share: “After all, to enhance success in the sector, we need a general disposition for comprehensive change,” said Juha, who also will address TRSA’s Annual Conference on Sept. 10 in Isle of Palms, SC. Other presenters who followed discussed ideas for reaching the market’s potential, according to a news release from ETSA. Highlights included:

ETSA Secretary-General Robert Long and Aisling O´Kane, communications & European affairs coordinator, presented findings from a series of projects, including a study analyzing the hygiene issues of industrial laundering vs. washing at home, which is still a key competitor to commercial laundering. “It is most important to extract strong arguments from our activities and studies that show the opportunities and advantages of textile service, helping our members to exploit the markets,” Long said.

Olivier Picard, CEO of Rentokil Initial France, discussed industry opportunities and the challenges of keeping pace with rapid market shifts and advances in technology. “We must also succeed externally,” said Picard, “to reach out to clients and to society with the same drive and innovative spirit, to increase the welfare contribution of our sector.”

The two-day event saw a 10% increase in attendance over the 2013 ETSA Conference. The program included a tour of Salesianer Miettex, a healthcare plant in Wiener Neustadt (south of Vienna). The next ETSA conference is set for June 15-16, 2017, in Paris. Tours will include plants operated by Elis and Initial.