Examining the future of the industry

The laundry industry in 2020 was one of the conference themes, and given the economic mood at the time, the future was certainly a topic on the audience’s mind.

For as the conference opened on 23 January, the UK was officially confirmed to be in recession.

Still that announcement was hardly unexpected and there was some optimism in the conference addresses. TSA president Colin Hill underlined this by affirming his belief that the laundry industry is robust enough to survive, even though prices will be affected.

The opening keynote speaker was the RT Hon Patricia Hewitt, MP for Leicester West, and a former Secretary of State for Health and also for Trade and Industry. Her address stressed the global nature of the downturn and the need for governments worldwide to act. At that time, the UK had already acted to recapitalise banks and other initiatives were being taken to restore lending facilities, particularly to small businesses.

She also stressed the importance of direct stimuli to the economy, such as direct investment in “green technology” and the growing emphasis on sustainable economy. Here, she praised the huge contribution the laundry industry was making.

Returning to an underlying theme, she said recovery needs to be global and that President Obama’s responses will affect the UK. Hewitt concluded by comparing the current UK situation to that of the 1930s but she stressed that this time, the scale of government action worldwide was already considerable and we would come through.

Anne De Boer, president/CEO of software integration company ABS Laundry Solutions examined how the laundry industry in 2020 would be influenced by the way we handle information. ABS sees the world as its market and currently Europe is the most developed sector.

He said that information systems always operate on a business specific basis and globalisation is changing the laundry industry. It is moving from a labour intensive industry to a process driven one.

De Boer predicted that there would be more on-site information systems, wider use of hand-held data gathering devices and more integrated systems that share information between customer and vendor. Production lines will be equipped with software that links “islands of information” and brings them into a central system. By 2020 web-based services should be standardised to allow businesses to have greater control over their merchandise within a closed loop.

The TSA has long fought to secure the laundry industry’s right to negotiate a discount on the Climate Change levy. Murray Simpson updated the audience on the state of play at the time.

The industry must pass five crucial tests. Simpson was confident that it would pass the four that would bring the UK government on board.

However, as LCN went to press with this report it learnt that having been advised by the Department of Energy and Climate Change that the EU would probably refuse the necessary state aids approval, TSA?had decided to withdraw from the current round of Climate Change Agreements and instead concentrate its efforts on the next round. This was launched on 11 March and the agreements will become effective in 2011 and last till 2017. As the laundry industry’s negotiator TSA has now been recognised as an eligible party and is in a much stronger position (see page 4 this issue and LCN’s website, live news 23 March).

Invitations to non-industry speakers are a conference tradition. The Friday session closed with a memorable address from Frank Gardner, OBE.

As BBC security correspondent, he reports and analyses domestic and international issues on TV, radio and online. Gardner is a former Middle East correspondent and has lived and worked in several countries in the region. In 2004 he was shot six times in an Al Queda gun attack. He was awarded the OBE for services to journalism.

Gardner gave a comprehensive explanation of the problems faced in the Middle East, highlighting the areas that would have a crucial influence on global politics.

These included not only Afghanistan but also Pakistan, a problem that has been ignored (as subsequent events have shown) and Gaza.

Gardner said that he could not stress too much how pained Muslims feel by the events in Gaza.

These were all areas that President Obama’s policies would have to address, although in Gardner’s view world expectations of what Obama could do were exaggerated.

Jim Franklin Ecolab’s senior vice president and general manager, textile care, Europe, Middle East and Africa, returned to the theme of the laundry industry in 2020. He said that managers must get more productive and reduce costs.

The environment is moving from a feel good factor to an essential. It needs fresh ideas. Developments in fossil fuels will influence the industry’s progress. Future generations will benefit from our actions now. Laundries will face problems with a reduced raw materials’ supply. The concern goes beyond price to examining how materials can be secured in view of shortages. There will be a need for operational and cost efficiency and for simplicity.

The healthcare laundry sector will have to take account of disinfection and the effects of global disease.

It must consider how it ensures employee safety and the development of new materials. Sustainability will be a key driver for all laundries.

Geert Böttger, of Expo and Consultancy, looked at the future of textile rental from a European view.

The use of textile rental services across Europe is diverse. Benelux and Scandinavia have the highest expenditure per capita.

The basic problem for the industry is the pressure on margins and with prices expected to decline, attracting new customers is the only way to obtain better prices.

Companies therefore need to be innovative both in controlling costs and developing new products. Healthcare laundering will become increasingly important as the need for professional care for the elderly grows across Europe.

The need to apply logistics will grow to meet customers’ raised expectations of the supply chain management.

The internet will become the foremost marketing platform. Sales staff need to be given more impetus and must be encouraged to get out of the comfort zone.

But he still believed that long-term the future would be positive.

A short presentation by Terry Sheldon of Tonrose raised the subject of corporate responsibility and ethical sourcing – perhaps for the first time in this context.

While visiting a supplier, he noticed a girl of around 12 working at the factory, which raised several questions in his mind. Should he take action to stop her working there? Should companies, such as his own, be looking at seeking sources that do not use child labour?

There’s no easy answer. The children in such cases may be employed as cheap labour but they and their families need the money. There also other concerns such as health and safety standards.

His own short term conclusion was that such employment could be acceptable for short periods if the children are also given opportunities for education and efforts are made to provide adults’ jobs.

Some of the questions to Sheldon were more verbal jibes, a response that I personally thought unfair, as did others. This subject may make us uneasy but it is one that should be raised.

Monty Halls, explorer photographer, broadcaster and journalist, gave the closing address called “Getting it wonderfully right and hideously wrong.”

He recounted in “true ripping yarn style” the stories behind some of his explorations, in particular the TV series, Beachcomber broadcast in March. “We’re all heading for uncharted waters but how we behave is going to be the basis for “self judgement”.

The Beachcomber series sent Monty and his dog to a virtually derelict cottage on Scotland’s west coast. This was a challenge as he’s not a practical man. However the local community decided they wanted the experiment to work and together they demonstrated the power of the collective,” said Halls.

It took him four weeks to make the cottage habitable and he was tested every day. The experience was often stressful but 20 years of handling stress taught him that while change is stressful it opens up opportunities.

This was David Stevens’ last conference as chairman and a montage of slides reviewed some of the highlights of past years.