SCOTLAND
Establishing an on-premise laundry has proved to be a successful long-term financial investment for Scottish Championship side Falkirk Football Club.
For 12 years, Falkirk FC outsourced the laundry of all garments worn by players, including kits, socks, bibs and waterproof jackets. The club’s kitman regularly had to haul the kit, often in busy traffic, to a laundrette and it was a lengthy and challenging task to make sure it was clean and ready for training and match days.
Falkirk FC decided that it was time to take a whole new approach to its washing requirements. The first challenge was finding a space for a laundry room. After converting a storage room into an area suitable for washing machines and tumble dryers, the club approached local white goods supplier Thain Commercial.
The club’s managers were looking for machines that offer programmes that specialise in washing muddy clothes. With this in mind, they selected two Miele PWT6089 washing machines and two Miele PTT7189 tumble dryers. Thain Commercial installed the machines in the new laundry room in a matter of days.
Now in greater control of the laundry process, the club’s kitman can ensure clothing that gets muddied easily, such as t-shirts and shorts, is put on a specialist sports setting that thoroughly washes the items. Detergent choice is also now down to the club, so all kits comes out of the machines smelling fresh and ready for players to wear. Removing the need to outsource laundry, the club is no longer faced with high laundry bills every week for the dozens of items the team uses.
Willie O’Neil, kitman at Falkirk FC says: “While fans only see our players on match days, our players spend the week training to stay on top of their game. As a result, laundry is a daily task. Now that we have an OPL facility, I can wash garments there and then, making the process much less burdensome than when we were outsourcing the service. Thain Commercial made our transition to OPL seamless, and the team are on hand if any issues occur.”
