TRSA Holds First Summit of 2026 on the West Coast

TRSA kicked off its 2026 Regional Summit series in Arcadia, CA, bringing valuable industry insights and networking opportunities closer to its members on the West Coast. Taking place at the Embassy Suites Arcadia Pasadena Area on Jan. 21-22, this day-and-a-half event was tailored for production professionals that aim to enhance their plant operations through innovation, safety and employee engagement.

The summit began on Jan. 21 with a presentation by Lisa Ryan, CSP, founder of Grategy®. The presentation, titled, “The Fabric of Success: How Engaged Employees Drive Business Excellence in Textile Services,” offered attendees practical strategies for cultivating a workplace culture that values and motivates employees, and ultimately improves retention, while boosting productivity and helping businesses stand out in a competitive linen, uniform and facility services market.

Attendees explored the following topics throughout the first day of the event:

• Linen quality
• Quality-control management
• Safety awareness
• Automation and digitalization

Sessions at the summit were interactive, including facilitated roundtable discussions that encouraged peer-to-peer learning and collaboration.

The final day of the summit featured an exclusive plant tour of Magic Laundry Services in Montebello, CA. This impressive facility spans 93,000 square feet across three buildings and processes more than 2.6 million pounds of laundry weekly, serving a wide range of hospitality clients. Attendees gained firsthand insights into efficient plant operations and participated in a post-tour debrief with plant leaders and fellow participants.

After the 2025 Summit was canceled due to the California wildfires, the 2026 West Coast Summit was rescheduled for this January, featuring the same content and plant tour that was originally planned. Future dates for regional summits in 2026 include: April 15 in Detroit and Sept. 16-17 in Boston. For more details on the Midwest Regional Summit in Detroit, click here.

TRSA also hosted a Regional CEO/Executive Dinner on Jan. 20, prior to the start of the West Coast Production Summit & Plant Tour. The evening was hosted by TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci and Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Schwalb. Advocacy issues discussed at the CEO/Executive Dinner included:

• The recently completed, and not yet released, Oxford Economics Industry Impact Study.
• Highlights from the TRSA CEO/Executive Peer-to-Peer Discussions facilitated in November.
• Regional issues such as reusable textiles, PFAS and microplastics.
• National efforts to secure recognition as qualified production activity under HR-1 and advance the release of the CDC study supporting reusable textiles.