Linen, Uniform & Facility Services Podcast - Interviews & Insights by TRSA

TRSA's Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Schwalb gives an update on the latest news from Washington, DC, including the potential for additional stimulus funding, as well as state-level initiatives impacting linen, uniform and facility services businesses. For more information on TRSA's government relations initiatives, contact Kevin Schwalb at kschwalb@trsa.org .

A panel of linen, uniform and facility services operators discuss the industry's response to COVID-19, lessons learned from the crisis and how the industry can move forward. Panelists include Jim Buik, the current TRSA chairman and president of Roscoe Co.; Jim Cashman, president and CEO of ImageFIRST; P.J. Dempsey, president of Dempsey Uniform and Linen Supply; and Cory Acton, vice president of op...

Anna Walker, the marketing manager at Cosgrove Partners in Indianapolis, discusses the importance of retaining your customer base in the post-COVID sales and marketing environment. Walker talks about the critical pivot your marketing and sales teams must make, how to develop marketing messages that resonate with your customers in this climate and why adding new product lines may be a smart move fo...

Charles Crowell, the vice president of Milliken Table Linens, and Ben Fox, the director of sales and marketing at Alsco, discuss the state of the food-and-beverage market, as well as the importance of hygienically clean linens and uniforms as restaurants reopen across the United States and worldwide. For more COVID-19 news, information and resources for your linen, uniform and facility services co...

Karen Griffiths, the human resources and safety director at Loop Linen Service in the New Orleans area, and Angela Howard, the vice president of people development and human experience at Spindle in the Chicago area, discuss the policies their respective companies are putting in place as they move toward ramping up operations. For more COVID-19 news, information and resources for your linen, unifo...

Catalina Dongo, the director of human resources at UniFirst Corp., shares tips on communicating with your employees during the COVID-19 crisis, and outlines best practices and policies to implement at your organization. For more COVID-19 news, information and resources for your linen, uniform and facility services company, visit www.trsa.org/covid19 .

A discussion about the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential impacts on the linen, uniform and facility services industry with Dr. Murray Cohen, a retired U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist; and Joseph Ricci, the president and CEO of TRSA. For more information and communication tools for your company's customers, employees and leadership teams,...

An overview of TRSA's Hygienically Clean certification program with Audrey Carmichael, a client coach with Six Disciplines Consulting Services. Carmichael shares her thoughts on the benefits of getting Hygienically Clean certification for your commercial laundry, preparing for the certification with Hygienically Clean consulting services, and more. For more information on Hygienically Clean consul...

Eric Kurjan, the president of Six Disciplines Consulting Services, a firm that has worked with several leading organizations in the linen, uniform and facility services industry, joins us to discuss identifying and developing leaders in the commercial laundry industry, as well as the benefits of TRSA's Leadership Development Workshops. For more information on these workshops, contact TRSA's Manage...

An overview of the energy and natural gas markets, as well as projects that your laundry can undertake to save on energy and utility costs in the future. Sharing their thoughts on these topics and more are Michael Payne and Dan Flaherty of TRSA Business Solutions Partner APPI Energy, and Chad Burden of THG Energy Solutions. For more information on TRSA's Business Solutions, visit www.trsa.org .

We take a look at plant productivity, and how to improve your laundry's throughput through better hiring practices for production staff, new technologies and more. A panel of savvy laundry operators and consultants, including Johanna Ames, president of Ames Linen Service; Tyler Burke, executive vice president of Loop Linen Service; Mike Chambers, production specialist at Alsco Inc.; and Don Maida,...

A rundown of the economy, recent mergers and acquisitions, and key financial metrics for the linen, uniform and facility services industry based on numbers from publicly traded uniform companies and survey data gathered from commercial laundry operators. This episode was recorded live at TRSA's 106th Annual Conference in September and features Andrew Wittmann, a senior research analyst at Robert W...

Rick Gerlach, the former senior director of safety and health at Cintas, who is currently a consultant for safety and health processes with RG Consulting LLC, gives an overview of TRSA's new Safety and Health Certification. He details the process for getting certified, why it's important to gain recognition for your company's safety and health programs, and how this certification program can enhan...

Steve DiFillippo, the owner of Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse and author of It's All About the Guest , discusses his brief experience working in the linen, uniform and facility services industry, as well as his deep family ties to the commercial laundry business. DiFillippo also previews his upcoming talk at TRSA's 106th Annual Conference in Boston, shares his customer service philosophy and...

How do you plan your business for a successful transition to the next generation? Learn how several industry leaders have dealt with this transition in the past and are preparing their business for the future. In this panel presentation from TRSA's Second Annual Leadership Summit in New Orleans, Jim Buik, president and owner of Roscoe Co.; James Gutheim, president of James Gutheim & Associates; an...

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that negativity in the workplace costs businesses a whopping $3 billion per year due to its harmful effects. How do you counteract negativity and its effects on your company's productivity? In this presentation from TRSA's Production Summit & Plant Tours in Dallas, The DISC Wizard Nancy Roberts, a leading consultant to the linen, uniform...

Kevin Schwalb, TRSA's vice president of government relations and certifications, and Bill Spencer, TRSA's federal legislative counsel, discuss legislation and regulations that impact the linen, uniform and facility services industry and what TRSA is doing to advocate on behalf of the industry. For more information on policy issues at the federal and state levels, contact Schwalb at kschwalb@trsa.o...

Eric Kurjan, the president of Six Disciplines Consulting Services, a firm that has worked with several leading organizations in the linen, uniform and facility services industry, joins us to discuss developing leaders in the commercial laundry industry, as well as TRSA's new Leadership Development Workshops. For more information on these workshops, contact TRSA's Manager of Education Kristin Mudd...

A recap of TRSA's Ninth Annual Legislative Conference, held on March 27-28 in Washington, DC. The two-day conference featured an industry awards dinner, meetings with high-ranking members of Congress and a keynote address by Chris Stirewalt of Fox News. Stirewalt gave an update on the latest news impacting the nation's capital, with a look ahead to the 2020 presidential election and potential stra...

An overview of Lean Six Sigma with Audrey Carmichael, a client coach with Six Disciplines and a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and American Society for Quality (ASQ) Quality Auditor. Carmichael shares her thoughts on the benefits of running Lean in a commercial laundry operation, how Lean Six Sigma can improve safety as well as production, and more.

A deep dive into the hospitality market, with a focus on the latest trends in this sector and potential areas for growth for linen, uniform and facility services operators focused on serving the hotel space. Based on a presentation given by Greg Eubanks of Standard Textile and Chris Kane of the PureStar Group at TRSA's inaugural Hospitality Conference in Orlando, FL.

Marketing and sales leaders from many of the linen, uniform and facility services industry's largest companies, including Jim Divers, director of sales and marketing at Alsco; Ryan Flaherty, vice president of sales, marketing and business development at Aramark Uniform Services; Dave Katz, senior vice president of sales and marketing at UniFirst; and Bob Mitchell, senior vice president and chief m...

A look at TRSA's government relations strategy on a federal level, as well as specific issues of concern to the linen, uniform and facility services industry in states such as California, Indiana, New York, Texas and more. TRSA's Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Schwalb, TRSA's Federal Legislative Counsel Bill Spencer and TRSA's California Legislative Counsel RJ Cervantes take a deep d...

Several commercial laundry operators discuss how they survived disaster, while reflecting on the effectiveness of their company's emergency preparedness plans and lessons learned for the future. The panel featured Mark Carter, the president of Up To Date Laundry in Baltimore; Mike Lang, a process analyst at Unitex in Elmsford, NY; Michael Shulevitz, the president of Cadillac Uniform and Linen Supp...

A rundown of the economy, recent mergers and acquisitions, and key financial metrics for the linen, uniform and facility services industry based on numbers from publicly traded uniform companies and survey data gathered from commercial laundry operators. This episode was recorded live at TRSA's 105th Annual Conference & Exchange in October and features Andrew Wittmann, a senior research analyst at...