TCS Makeover Boosts Competitiveness, Quality and Morale

Build new or rehab? That’s a vexing question for laundry operators mulling their options for dealing with an older facility. Textile Care Services (TCS) recently opted for the latter, and they’re finding that their $10 million makeover of a 31-year-old plant is exceeding expectations. For details, see October’s Textile Services magazine.

Paul Jewison, general manager of this 96,000-square-foot (8,198 square-meter) healthcare/hospitality laundry in Rochester, MN, said he’s happy with TCS’s choice: a lower capital expenditure is delivering positive results that are pleasing staff, as well as customers and prospects. “We just took a potential customer through the plant,” said Jewison, who also serves as vice president of TCS’s parent company, the Healthcare Linen Services Group (HLSG). “I mean they were blown away. That’s pretty impressive to walk into an operation like this, and see that it’s all brand-new equipment. Prospects notice when a company is investing for the future,” he said. “It tells the story that we’re going to be around a long time.”

In the article that begins on pg. 34, we note that the plant has added:

• Three new 16-mod (132 lbs./59 kg.) tunnel washers from Kannegiesser along with 16 new Kannegiesser dryers
• Vis Tex UV systems from Gurtler Industries Inc. on each tunnel. This has improved hygiene and whiteness by treating tunnel rinse water with UV light and advanced oxidation. Water use – already low – has dipped to .33 gallons per lb.
• Six new hoists that are raising more slings faster to the Kannegiesser ETECH overhead-rail system, thus improving efficiency and reliability.
• A $1 million roof upgrade and other improvements to the building that TCA has occupied since 1993, thus ensuring long-term structural integrity.
• A large-scale on-site parts inventory valued at roughly $350,000 to keep systems running smoothly.

These and other improvements are popular with customers, while also boosting staff morale, particularly in the maintenance department. “It kind of gives them a morale boost to get new equipment like this that’s bright and shiny,” Jewison said.

Productivity gains related to the new equipment include:

Faster Processing: Jewison told us that the new tunnels are producing 37-38 transfers per hour, vs. 31 with the older machinery. “The dryers are really impressive too,” he said, noting faster drying times. “You know, we’re kicking out a couple of hundred pounds of laundry every 11-to-15 minutes (down from 18 minutes). That’s much better than we thought.”

Fewer breakdowns: Jams and other problems plagued the old equipment, and repairs were getting more complicated. “You know, I couldn’t pick the phone up and call anybody anymore to get help with my equipment because everybody had retired, and they had they had discontinued the parts and everything that’s obsolete,” Jewison said.

Enhanced Growth: The new equipment currently is churning out 660,000 lbs. (299,370 kg.) a week, up from 640,000 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the recent addition of new business, Jewison anticipates a yearly throughput of roughly 34 million lbs. (15.4 million kg.).

To help ensure timely progress on the project, Jewison treated the vendor and installation teams to lunch on a regular basis. “We cooked for all the crew almost every day on a barbecue outside,” Jewison said. “We kept the morale high and it kept people on the job!”

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