Service Uniform – Plant Upgrades Powering Competitiveness
Clean, wet goods move up a shuttle toward a dryer at the recently revamped wash aisle at Service Uniform, Englewood, CO.
In today’s fiercely competitive market, an independent industrial launderer has to ensure a high value proposition to keep pace with national and regional rivals. That’s precisely what Service Uniform, Englewood, CO, has sought to do with a recent upgrade of its wash aisle in a plant that serves some 2,200 customers in metro Denver and beyond.
Dennis Tschida, the corporate general manager for this family-owned independent that operates plants in Englewood and San Antonio, recently led Textile Services Weekly on a tour of the 55,000-square-foot (5,109-square-meter) two-building facility in suburban Englewood, south of central Denver. The company’s phased purchase of six 450-500 lb. (204-226 kg.) open-pocket washers from G.A. Braun Inc. and three 500 lb. dryers from Consolidated Laundry Machinery includes an automated shuttle system that’s saved roughly 2.5 full-time equivalent employees on labor, while improving efficiency with an average water consumption of 1.57 gallons per lb.
The project’s main goal was to add operating capacity to a landlocked plant built in 1977. This posed a significant challenge for Service Uniform, which tapped outside experts to help reconfigure its wash aisle. This team included engineering staff from Braun as well as an architect and a laundry consultant, Tschida said.
“It was about three or four years ago,” he said. “I knew we were going to be out of capacity with our current model, and I went to several people and said, ‘OK, without building a brand-new building, can I get more out of our existing plant?’ Then we got two more washers in there for a maximum of three. I said, ‘Well, that’s not enough.’” After discussing options with these experts, Service Uniform settled on a recommendation to relocate the plant’s boiler room in a move to free up space. Tschida checked with the Braun engineers to see if additional machines would fit into the revamped wash aisle. “They came out and did a ton of measurements,” Tschida said of Braun. “And we finally figured we could get five more washers and three more dryers in the facility. So we were going to increase our capacity by somewhere between 70% and 80%.”
Today, the revamped wash aisle includes an extensive shuttle system that adds automation over the equipment used previously. Tschida elected to implement a semi-automated system for his company. “It’s all interconnected now,” he said, noting that software from Braun allows the washers and dryers to exchange information. “I use a software tool to communicate between the two because I wanted automation,” he said. The system drops soiled goods from slings into the washers. When the washing is complete, a shuttle moves up to the washer, which tilts to drop its load onto the shuttle. It then moves the goods into an adjacent dryer. Tschida felt it wasn’t necessary to have a person in a protective booth to oversee this process. “I have to have somebody in there anyway,” he said, adding that having an employee on hand helps ensure quality control and the proper functioning of the equipment.
The shuttle system includes extensive safety features, such as a buffer bar that automatically shuts the system down if anything touches this area that extends out from the edge of the shuttle. “Braun does a good job with the safety part of things, a really good job,” he said, adding that the system also is versatile. “You can run it on automatic or you can run it on manual.”
The bottom line is that the project succeeded in its quest to give Service Uniform added operating capacity in its plant. “That whole expansion was to get capacity because we’re running out of it,” he said. These improvements have enhanced the company’s competitiveness by facilitating business growth.
Watch for follow-up coverage of Service Uniform in June’s Textile Services magazine. Click here for more information or to subscribe to Textile Services.