Magic Laundry Accelerates Capacity Expansion

Posted November 29, 2016 at 12:19 pm

Hotel industry textile services provider Magic Laundry Services continues to expand in Southern California. The company recently purchased a new 30,000-square-foot building directly adjacent to its current two facilities. This move brings production space to almost 100,000 square feet. The Montebello, CA, operation will launch a third new laundry plant operation in the added space, bringing its processing capacity to more than 100 million lbs. a year of linens, towels and other textile products for the So-Cal hotel market.

“The expansion will add jobs to our area and create significant additional linen supply capacity for Southern California hotels to outsource laundry operations,” said Harry Kertenian, Magic’s owner and COO. Magic launders hotel-owned linens, supports their inventory management and provides pickup and delivery services from Los Angeles County south to San Diego, north to Santa Barbara and east to Palm Springs. Hoteliers are increasingly turning to such laundry outsourcing to control costs, conserve resources and dedicate building space to other functions.
 
 

Magic’s quality and timely service have captured additional business for the operation, he says, enabling the company to invest in its future growth, “providing hotels in Southern California with a true option to outsource for a better future.” Linen services such as Magic are more efficient and effective and less expensive for hotels than operating their own on-premises laundries, as outsourced laundries yield greater economies from processing larger volumes and use less water and energy per pound processed. 

This is Magic’s second major expansion in two years, having created a second laundry plant in 2011 and renovating and expanding its original plant in 2015. Each of the three facilities will share newly expanded loading docks that can house up to 17 semi-tractor-trailer trucks at the same time, but otherwise run separate operating plants consisting of six tunnel washers. The newest plant will be equipped with the latest washing and material-handling technologies available, including two new energy- and water-saving tunnels that wash more than 5,000 lbs. an hour each. Six new ironer lines will be added with automated feeders and six automated folders.

Kertenian (shown above at right) observed that Kannegiesser USA has been the turnkey equipment provider for the new plant, providing all machinery for every step of the laundering process, from sorting incoming laundry to folding laundered items. Kannegiesser's Phil Hart (left) and his team designed washing and finishing processes and blended material handling systems to create a very high efficiency workflow, he said.  

Total employment will approach 600, Kertenian forecasts. “Our team and facilities position us to cater to the growing demand. Without the great team here at MLS and their hard work and commitment to the hotel industry, from our management staff to our production line, expansion and growth would not be possible.” He added that Magic is pleased to create new jobs in this community and increase its ability to conserve resources.

The first Magic facility opened in 2004. In 2014, employment stood at 340. The staff grew to 500 with the 2015 expansion. Morale is high, Kertenian says, because the company is busy enough to provide full-time jobs with hourly-plus bonus pay programs. Employees who meet production standards get this extra bonus pay hourly. Other laundry companies, he adds, insist workers constantly attain such standards just to continue employment at base pay.
 
“Our growth, prior upgrades and compensation and benefits practices have all helped tremendously with employee retention and morale,” Kertenian says. “Our workplace is a family atmosphere.”

 

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