HandCraft Linen Services celebrated the grand opening of its fifth laundry facility on Dec. 9. Located in Martinsburg, WV, the new acute plant, combined with an attached non-acute facility scheduled to open in early 2027, is 152,000 square feet and is capable of processing 65 million lbs. of acute and 20 million lbs. of non-acute healthcare textiles. These facilities will employ more than 200 people and increase HandCraft’s capacity by nearly 60% when fully operational.
“I remember being at the grand opening of our first ‘modern’ plant in 2008,” said Curtis Nichols, HandCraft CEO, representing the company’s third generation of leadership. “We were processing about 23 million lbs. for 30 hospitals with a handful of non-acute routes annually. Today, we are processing more than 105 million lbs. of laundry for 140 hospitals and another 25 million in our non-acute plants with 42 routes.”
Joe McKeown, HandCraft COO, added that, “Martinsburg is well positioned, allowing us to service a significant portion of our current customers and capacity to serve larger healthcare systems in Maryland and West Virginia. The new plants really check all the boxes, increased capacity, improved routes and flexibility.”
Curtis Nichols was joined on stage by McKeown and second- and third-generation family leadership including Ward Hackett, chief growth officer; Kattie Nichols Dibert, chief safety officer; Maggie Nichols Anthes, chief human resources officer; Whit Anthes, director of non-acute transportation; and Hunter Nichols, production supervisor, as well as owners Keith Nichols, Jeff Nichols and Jay Nichols.
“We understand the importance of reinvesting in the company to better serve our customers and achieve organic growth,” Keith Nichols said. “We’ve worked hard to establish an example of the commitment necessary for growth and know the next generation of leadership will continue to reinvest for the fourth generation and beyond.”
TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci participated in the opening ceremonies, highlighting the foundation independent family businesses provide the linen, uniform and facility services industry. He also noted “HandCraft’s commitment to TRSA’s mission of information-sharing that has also been passed from one generation to another,” recognizing the contributions of Maggie Anthes, Carlos Iniguez, McKeown, Dyan Troxel, Brian Sullivan and others to TRSA events and publications.
In addition to Ricci, representatives from West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office and Berkeley County’s Commission, Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony recognizing the investment and collaboration necessary to complete the project and the importance of creating good jobs in the community.
Also attending were representatives from supplier partners that contributed to the development, construction and operations of the new facility including ARCO Murray, American Dawn (ADI), JENSEN USA and Kannegiesser North America.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Receive the latest updates on the linen, uniform and facility services industry from TRSA delivered straight to your inbox.
