TRSA Strengthens International Alliances

Posted February 9, 2018 at 12:08 pm



TRSA President & CEO Joseph Ricci recently participated on behalf of TRSA, the association for linen, uniform and facility services, at the European Textile Services Association’s (ETSA) 34th National Associations’ meeting in Paris. While discussions ranged from labor to politics, the meeting agenda focused primarily on areas of cooperation and information sharing.

Topics discussed at the meeting included:

  • Developing education and training resources, as well as recruitment and retention
  • Promoting the value of linen, uniform and facility services and commercial laundries
  • Leveraging research to protect and open markets
  • Participating in standards development

Led by ETSA Secretariat Robert Long, participants included executives from linen, uniform and facility services associations representing Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The National Associations are developing several projects cooperatively including:

  • Digital/Online Learning – Defining core skills, knowledge and attitudes to create educational content using a common digital/online format and platform for delivering training to enhance production personnel competencies.
  • Image Dictionary – Online image dictionary for laundry production employees on terminology for processing and managing linens, uniforms and garments including machinery.
  • Promoting Commercial Laundry – Developing messaging that leverages research to communicate the value and benefits of linen, uniform and facility services to our customers via websites, social media, videos and other channels.
  • Standards Development – Cooperative efforts to facilitate tracking and participation in the development of standards impacting linen, uniform and facility services including textiles, medical devices and PPE (personal protective equipment).
  • Economic Impact of Textile Services – Disseminating independent research by the Textile Services Association (TSA-UK) highlighting the positive economic impacts of our industry.
  • Technology Roadmap – Tracking and discussing market drivers and technology enablers including robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, digitization, smart textiles, RFID and more.
  • Microplastics – Reviewed research on the impact of microplastics on the environment and began developing an industry position.
  • International Textile Service Association (ITSA) – Updating the mission, content, calendar and contacts to better coordinate events and facilitate cooperative initiatives.
  • Conference Content – Partnering with Expo Detergo and Messe Frankfurt to develop content for international linen, uniform and facility services trade shows and conferences.

In addition, the National Associations update several documents including country specific market and employment, standards, training initiatives and meeting calendars.

The next National Associations meeting will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 19, in Brno, Czech Republic, and the ETSA, National Associations and ITSA will conduct a joint meeting on Oct. 18 in conjunction with Expo Detergo. TRSA established a joint membership program with ETSA several years ago that allows access to specific information and resources on the National Associations’ member websites, as well as the development of cooperative initiatives that serve the global linen, uniform and facility services industry.

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