TRSA Best Plant, Engagement Honors Set for Legislative Conference
Highlights of the March 22 Awards Dinner at TRSA’s Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, will include the presentation of the newest accolades in the annual TRSA Industry Awards series. These will honor one member company for exemplary plant operations and eight for their extensive participation in the association.
The Emerald Textile Services laundry in California’s Bay Area, opened in 2019, is the latest to be recognized as a TRSA Best Plant of the Year. The 85,000-square-foot facility in Livingston, CA, processes rental healthcare linens for part of Central California as well as the San Francisco and San Jose areas.
Recognized for deploying best practices and strategies that gain customer confidence and loyalty, the facility has a retention rate of 98% of customers who continue to do business and/or request additional services. Among the ways their feedback is gathered: taking surveys, monitoring online reviews and testimonials, and evaluating staff response time and effectiveness in addressing their inquiries.
Plant management is dedicated to predictive/proactive equipment maintenance. Don Luckenbach, Emerald regional director of operations, says that, “We are firm believers in performing PMs on our equipment, allowing downtime for the engineering staff to fully PM a piece of equipment for a clear view of its current state and a vision of what may be on its horizon.”
The newest TRSA Industry Award, for Member Engagement, honor companies for exemplary participation in the wide range of TRSA activities that improve individual and corporate performance. A rating protocol identifies winners by comparing their participation to companies of equivalent annual revenue. This enables those with less volume to stand out among their peers, rather than larger ones with more employees (and thus more chances to participate) taking all the honors.
For linen, uniform and facility services operators, rating hinges most on in-person and virtual event participation, and Hygienically Clean and Clean Green certification. Other factors are participation in committees and task forces, and benchmarking studies, as well as magazine and newsletter subscriptions. The 2023 operator winners (based on 2022 participation) are:
- Alsco Uniforms, Salt Lake City
- Superior Linen Service, Tulsa, OK
- Service Linen Supply, Renton, WA
Supplier-partner scoring most heavily weighs in-person event participation, magazine page and newsletter advertising, and event sponsorship. Other factors in order of such weight: virtual event participation, other magazine promotion, committee participation, website ads and subscriptions. The 2023 supplier winners are:
- JENSEN USA, Panama City, FL
- Kannegiesser ETECH, Minneapolis, MN
- Pellerin Milnor Corp., Kenner, LA
- Unitex International, Duluth, GA
- MIP USA, Anjou, QC, Canada
Activities at the Legislative Conference, based at the Westin City Center, begin at 2 p.m. on March 21 with a Supplier Partner Workshop specially designed for TRSA supplier-partner members featuring a presentation by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and interactive sessions on branding and buyer profiles specific to our industry.
In the early afternoon of March 22, TRSA committees meet to discuss industry issues and review and plan TRSA activities to support members in addressing these challenges. General sessions will prepare attendees for Capitol Hill meetings the next day. These include the keynote by Bob Cusack, editor in chief of The Hill newspaper; and an issue briefing featuring policy directors from lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Faber Schreck LLP: Drew Littman and Brian Wild, veteran federal legislative and regulatory staffers with Democratic and Republican perspectives, respectively. Awards dinner activities begin with a reception at 5:45 p.m. EDT.
The Hill Day excursion begins with an 8 a.m. EDT breakfast on Capitol Hill; visits to congressional offices begin immediately after and may run through the afternoon. Lunch will be available from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., with buses returning to the Westin immediately after.
A program paralleling the conference for attendees’ spouses/significant others begins with a meet-and-greet at 4:30 p.m. EDT on March 22, with these participants joining attendees at the awards dinner. The next morning, they can enjoy the Capitol Hill breakfast and an outing to Hillwood – a local favorite estate, museum and gardens.
Visit www.trsa.org/legcon for detailed event and hotel information.