INTERNATIONAL
The TRSA, the North America linen rental trade body, at The Clean Show in Atlanta brought together a panel of CEOs from worldwide leaders in the linen, uniform and facility services industry. The panel discussed and answered questions on the state of the industry as we go forward from Covid.
Panelists included the Peter Egan, CEO, Johnson Service Group; Ray Hayes, executive director, SPL Holdings, Australia; Andreas Holzer, managing director, Bardusch; Jim Kearns, executive vice president and CFO, Alsco; and Juha Laurio, president & CEO, Lindstrom. The panel discussion was moderated by TRSA president and CEO Joseph Ricci.
Topics discussed during the hour-and-a-half session included:
- Big data and its use in the laundry, and using that data to improve communications and service with customers.
- Visiting plants and employees, and making sure they are working as a team to achieve company goals.
- Ways that independent operators can work with larger companies to move the industry forward.
- Tools and/or resources available to leaders to create a consistent, healthy culture across plant operations.
- Boosting employee engagement through recognition of staff members.
- Supply chain issues impacting operations.
- Communicating the value of the business in a time of high inflation.
- Rising private equity vs. family business operations, and its impact on the industry worldwide.
In a previous session the European Textile Services Association (ETSA) CEO Elena Lai and representatives from the individual national trade associations in Europe reported to TRSA members on global challenges, the importance of ‘circularity’, their achievements and ongoing projects.
More on these discussions will be forthcoming in an in-depth LCNi report.
