The LCN interview - Mike Kemp

4 August 2002



The National Laundry Partnership was formed to allow independents to compete on more equal terms with the big groups. Founder Mike Kemp talks to LCN


LCN: Describe your own background in the laundry industry briefly

Mike Kemp: I joined the industry in my early 20s, working first with Lavender Linen Services based in East Anglia, moving on after 14 years to the St George's Group, the company which privatised British Rail and British Transport linen services in the early '80s. I then acquired my first laundry, Barretts Fabric Care Services of Barnoldswick, later followed by a spell with Charles Baynes and from there I joined a medium-sized private laundry group where I stayed for several years. I started a consultancy, Bay Management Services in 1995. Its customers include both commercial and healthcare laundries and also end users in the hospitality and leisure sectors.

LCN: How did the National Laundry Partnership come to be formed and why?

MK: The National Laundry Partnership (NLP) idea evolved because I was constantly coming across independent laundries, in both hospitality and healthcare sectors, which were losing customers after servicing them successfully for some years, simply because they were unable to offer a national service.

The ability to provide service right across the country is fast becoming the procurement criteria in many leading companies. Equally, the end users were complaining that only a small number of companies could offer a "true national service" throughout the UK.

I floated the idea of the "Partnership" to a number of independents to gauge reaction and was basically told "great idea - make it happen!". The first meeting was held in Manchester in November 1999. The NLP was launched in March 2000 and by the end of the year we had achieved our initial target of 20 members.

LCN: Explain how the organisation works? What is your role?

MK: The organisation is open to any independent laundry operator. There is complete equality between partners irrespective of the size of operation or the sales volume. My role, via Bay Management Services, is to provide the administration necessary to support the objectives of the NLP as it develops.

LCN: Who, besides yourself, is involved in its organisation and administration?

MK: The NLP is supported by the chairman, John Shonfeld of Holmfirth Laundry and Tibard, together with the treasurer, Trevor Carter of BTS in Doncaster.

The work of the partnership is shared with the members. We form small working groups, using available expertise, to undertake certain tasks and exercises as required.

LCN: What are the benefits of NLP for its members and customers?

MK: The benefits offered by NLP membership are simple.

For members it offers:

• improved procurement

• synergy and support between companies and partners

• national sales representation

• the opportunity for training on a local basis.

• quality recognition and improvement.

The partnership offers customers:

• increased competition at national level

• the advantage of using local laundries under a "national agreement"

• greater flexibility and individuality of service and product

• access to senior management and directors at the service level.

LCN: What is the NLP's relationship with suppliers?

MK: NLP will assist partners to identify new suppliers and opportunities. It will also help existing suppliers of goods and services to promote themselves across the NLP membership.

LCN: How has the organisation developed since its formation? How many members do you have currently and how much of the UK do you cover?

MK: The organisation is still in its developing phase and continues to change and debate its objectives as more partners join and bring fresh ideas into the forum.

Our target membership for the current year is 30. We currently have 26 laundries with others in the pipeline and are already providing service on a national basis.

LCN: Who are your main customers and in what areas do they operate?

MK: The partnership's customer base spreads right across the service user board. All services are represented including linen and garment rental, commercial and domestic laundry, drycleaning, healthcare, washroom and floorcare.

We have partners with specialised processing for rental, for four- and five-star hotels and restaurants, NHS hospital trusts, private healthcare, contract drycleaning and workwear. These are just a few examples of the kind of services our members can provide.

LCN: Describe one or two of the projects NLP has undertaken - what did they involve and how they have affected NLP?

MK: We have recently completed a benchmarking exercise across several procurement lines and as a result improved terms have been achieved. This has helped smaller to medium operations in particular to reduce their costs.

Additionally, we have organised energy and water management presentations. These have encouraged partners to give greater emphasis to efficiency in utility and energy use in order to offset the recent increases caused by market prices and by government tariffs.

LCN: What are the organisation's strengths and how do you plan to develop them? Are there any particular specialisations that the organisation can offer to customers?

MK: The strength of NLP lies in the partners themselves. Together they bring a vast amount of experience in laundering and cleaning to the forum and also a range of more specialised skills including chemistry, computing, accountancy and sales and marketing. The list is endless and grows as the NLP grows.

LCN: What areas could you develop to improve NLP and how do you plan to do this?

MK: This is always the "how long is a piece of string" question! The NLP and its member companies will always be looking to improve in all areas. In modern business you simply cannot afford to stand still.

We will identify those areas of operation or service that we believe should take priority, look at the options and objectives and, using our "working group" approach, create a planned way forward and then implement it as appropriate.

LCN: How do you promote the organisation to members and customers?

MK: In order to make the NLP affordable to all independents, we do have limited resources for promotion.

Consequently, we use our own networking, together with articles (such as this one), to let prospective members know what we are trying to achieve and to tell national companies and organisations that we already serve on a more local basis about what we can offer them nationally.

Additionally, we contact national and multi-location companies directly and ensure that we are on the mailing list when tendering invitations come around.

LCN: What do you see as the main issues affecting the laundry market and how do these affect NLP members and customers?

MK: In my opinion, the main issues affecting both our industry and our customers do not change.

Our base costs keep increasing and our customers don't want or cannot afford to pay more. We therefore have to find ways of becoming more efficient and/or more effective.

Alongside this we have to consider the problematic rural areas of the UK in terms of transport costs and also the elusive ability of the industry to deliver consistently the high level of both service and quality demanded by the commercial end user at prices the marketplace can afford. Working together I believe that we can resolve many of these problems.

LCN: How do you see NLP developing over the next five years?

MK: Once the NLP settles down to what I consider to be its ideal operating level of 30 to 40 members, it will be able to identify and prioritise its goals and ambitions more easily. There is no doubt that quality issues, efficiency, cost control and training will head up the agenda over the next five years. We will also see the successful development and expansion of many of the embryo laundry companies that are evident around the county following the polarisation at the larger end of the market.



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