March 28, 2005
Stories
TRSA Tells Government, POTWs
Companies Shouldn’t Be Penalized for Saving Water
Textile rental companies doing the right thing by installing
systems to reduce water use are being told by some
municipalities they are not meeting local limits. The problem
arises because as textile rental companies reduce the
amount of water they use, their concentration of discharge
increases—even though total discharge may be the same
or less than before the new systems.
“The textile rental industry has taken significant steps to
help the environment and save water,” said TRSA Director
of Environmental Affairs Robert Schaffer. “EPA and the
environmental community should be with us on this.”
TRSA is working with members facing this dilemma, as well
as raising the issue with EPA and local POTWs. The
association also can arm members with the information
they need to educate their POTWs.
Schaffer will be meeting with EPA April 11. Though EPA
has no direct authority over local POTWs, the agency does
provide those local authorities with guidelines. TRSA will
also point out that the industry, through the LaundryESP
program, already has proven its commitment to reducing
water—lowering water use by 12.6% in the past six years
—and that current local limit practices jeopardize that
progress.
TRSA also has a valuable publication, Working with Your
POTW (71961), which provides operators comprehensive
instruction on how to deal effectively with their POTW. The
124-page publication, produced in conjunction with the
Association of Metropolitan Sewage Agencies, is available
for $100. You can order it by calling TRSA at 877/770-9274
or clicking to TRSA Online.
If your company is facing this issue with your POTW or if
you would like further information on how to address issues
with your POTW, contact Schaffer at 877/770-9274 or
rschaffer@trsa.org.
Manzullo Asks Justice To Suspend FPI Bid To Prisons
U.S. House of Representative Small Business Committee
Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) was one of several
members of Congress who signed a March 18th letter to the
Department of Justice asking that Federal Prison Industries
suspend solicitation of FPI-furnished uniforms to the 20,000
uniformed staff of the Bureau of Prisons. A uniform
purchased by an individual BOP employee is a private
transaction, Manzullo said, and thus violates FPI’s statutory
charter that prevents the sale of inmate products in the
commercial marketplace.
In addition, the proposed contract appears to not have
Right Column
TRSA Calendar of Events
April 1-7
TRSA/UTSA Production Management Institute
Denton, TX
Contact: Bill Mann, bmann@trsa.org
April 25-27
TRSA Tech Summit
Cleveland, OH
Contact: George Ferencz, gferencz@trsa.org
June 22
TRSA Annual Meeting and Clean Reception
Orlando, FL
Contact: George Ferencz, gferencz@trsa.org
June 23
TRSA HR Seminar: Legal Rights of Employees and
the Importance of the Employment Paper Trail
Orlando, FL
Contact: Chuck Tomlinson, ctomlinson@trsa.org
June 24
TRSA Tech Seminar: The Revolution of Technology: How
Textile Rental Companies Remain Profitable Through
Innovation
Orlando, FL
Contact George Ferencz, gferencz@trsa.org
June 25
TRSA Marketing Seminar: Marketing to Facility Managers
Contact Bill Mann, bmann@trsa.org
August 8-10
TRSA Summer Joint Committee Meetings
Denver, CO
Contact George Ferencz, gferencz@trsa.org
October 10-13
Production Management Institute
College Park, MD
Contact Bill Mann, bmann@trsa.org
Fed Business Opportunities
Federal Business Opportunities:
Solicitation Notices: Dept. of the Army, 13 locations in AL,
AR, LA, MO, MS and TN; Dept. of the Interior, Boise, ID;
Dept. of the Air Force, Aviano Air Base, Italy; Dept. of the
Army, Ft. Benning, GA. Sources Sought Notice: Dept. of
the Air Force, Francis E. Warren AFB, WY. Presolicitation
Notice: Dept. of the Air Force, Mountain Home AFB, ID.
Special Notice: National Interagency Fire Center, Boise,
been approved by the Board of Directors of FPI, Manzullo
said. He urged the FPI Board to review the proposed
arrangement so as not to disadvantage potential private
sector bidders. Click here for a copy of the letter.
ID.
TRSA government affairs staff continues to work with
Congress and various government agencies to defend
private sector business from FPI competition. Legislation
(similar to S. 346 in the 108th Congress) is scheduled to be
introduced by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) when the Senate
returns from its Easter recess April 4.
Linen
Topsy-Turvy Napery Trends
Wash Formula Fit For Royals
All-Star Linen Roundup
Dyeing for Something Different
Flatware Recovery Innovation
Exhibits, Education, Events
Make Clean Show Memorable
In three months, the industry will converge on Orlando for
Clean Show 2005. What you’ll find are the latest
innovations, top-notch educational sessions and some of
the best social events on the industry’s calendar.
The exhibition hall opens the morning of June 23 at the
Orange County Convention Center. Attendees will be able
to see what’s new in the areas of plant equipment, linen
goods, apparel, technology, ancillary products and much
more. The exhibit hall is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on June 23,
from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on June 24 and 25, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
on June 26. Register for the show by clicking to
www.cleanshow.com.
When you make your plans to come to Clean Show, arrive
early so you can join your colleagues for TRSA’s Clean
Show Reception June 22 at 6 p.m. This is one of the largest
social gatherings during Clean Show, with expected
attendance of more than 500. Invitations are in the mail, or
you can call TRSA at 877/770-9274 to have one faxed to
you.
In addition to what you’ll learn while visiting the show’s
exhibits, you’ll also have the opportunity to attend three
TRSA seminars. On Thursday, June 23, hear Jennifer
McBennett, Seay Management Consultants, highlight HR
areas in which operators should focus their attention to
avoid fines, legal costs and lost productivity. Her
presentation is titled Legal Rights of Employees and the
Importance of the Employment Paper Trail (TRSA).
On Friday, June 24, TRSA’s Technology Committee
sponsors a session on how innovations are changing the
way the industry works in The Revolution of Technology.
Finally, on Saturday, June 25th, TRSA presents Notre
Dame University’s Alan Bigger, who will speak on
Marketing to Facility Managers.
The best part? All these seminars are free to attendees at
Clean and you don’t have to register ahead of time for any
seminar. For more information on TRSA’s Clean Show
events, click to www.trsa.org or call 877/770-9274.
James R. Hunt Passes On
James R. Hunt, 58, passed away recently. Hunt was a
Coming in April’s Textile Rental magazine ...
TRSA New Members
TR International Member Executive Mat Service Ltd.,
Calgary, Canada
Associate Member Forge Capital LLC, Atlanta, GA.
Compliance Corner
The Department of Labor requires you to post certain
information for all employees. If you have fewer than 50
employees required postings include information about the
Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage), the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act, the Employee Polygraph
Protection Act, Job Safety & Health Protection, and the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act. If you have 50 or more employees, you also
must post information about the Family and Medical Leave
Act. Download posters that will meet your requirements for
no charge at www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/main.htm.
member and executive director of the International
Association of Healthcare Textile Management and an
active member of the American Reusable Textile
Association. He began his career at the age of 10,
sweeping floors at Queen City Laundry in Cincinnati. Today
the company is known as Superior Linen. While attending
high school, Hunt worked second shift as production
manager at Woodlawn Laundry. After graduation, he took a
position in healthcare as plant manager of Cincinnati
General Hospital. In 1972 he moved to Richmond, IN, to
start a small co-op laundry serving 10 hospitals and 7
nursing homes. He was appointed president of United
Hospital Services in Indianapolis in 1977. His was one of
the first laundry operations to make reusable packs for
hospitals. In 1994, he moved United Hospital Services to its
present location and built the business to more than 30
million pounds per year. He leaves his wife Kristen, four
children, seven grandchildren, his mother and father and
seven brothers and sisters.
Wilson Meets with Fair Competition Coalition
Last Thursday, TRSA Director of Government Affairs
Michel Wilson participated in a strategy session of the Fair
Competition Coalition (FCC)—of which TRSA is an active
participant—to discuss possible strategies to achieve the
coalition’s objective of both protecting and advocating the
Bush administration's competitive sourcing initiatives.
Specifically, the Coalition's members are working to strip
any language in any legislation that hinders the ability of
the private sector to bid on federal government contracts.
The coalition also continues to assist TRSA in its ongoing
campaign to open the Department of Veteran's Affairs' (VA)
57 remaining on premise laundries (OPLs) to competitive
sourcing.
G&K and Angelica Score Acquisitions
G&K has acquired two locations from Coyne Textile
Services, G&K announced March 21. The acquisition will
add approximately $19-$21 million of annual revenue. The
two locations serve customers in Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Certain customer assets in
Maryland and Florida also have been acquired, G&K said.
On March 22 Angelica Corp. also announced an
acquisition—Royal Institutional Services Inc. and its affiliate
The Surgi-Pack Corp. Angelica said Royal is the largest
healthcare linen services company in New England,
providing full linen management services to the healthcare
industry, with annual revenues of about $45 million. Royal
provides its healthcare services out of two facilities in
Somerville and Worcester, MA. Combined with Angelica’s
existing Pawtucket, RI, and Ballston Spa, NY facilities, the
acquisition will more than triple Angelica’s presence in the
region.
Angelica Employees Seek To Decertify Union
Employees at the Angelica Yorktown Street facility in Dallas
filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board
seeking to decertify the incumbent union, UNITE HERE, as
their bargaining representative, Angelica said March 23. “It
is important that this action was initiated by our employees
in one of our Dallas facilities,” said Steve O’Hara,
Angelica’s president and CEO. “As in all our plants across
the country, we support and defend the right of our
employees to determine for themselves in a secret ballot
election conducted by the NLRB whether or not they wish
to have a union.”
ARAMARK Wins Uniform Industry Awards
ARAMARK Uniform and Career Apparel Inc., a subsidiary
of ARAMARK Corp., received two awards for excellence in
the uniforms industry recently—the National Association of
Uniform Manufacturers and Dealers’ Image of the Year
award and Uniform Market News’ Univator award. The
NAUMD award was for new uniform design for Wendy’s
restaurant employees. The Univator award was for best
redesign of an existing product line, the ARAMARK Team
Casual line.
Fleet Costs Getting Too High?
Tech Summit Offers Relief
With gas and diesel fuel costs at all-time highs, textile rental
operators are looking for relief. One way to find savings is
by using technology to better manage fleet operations, and
by attending TRSA’s Tech Summit April 25-27, you can find
out how. During the Summit, you’ll hear how route
optimization programs are allowing operators to maximize
their fleet, even to the point of eliminating routes. You’ll also
hear about other technologies and programs that give
operators the ability to track and manage their fuel costs.
In addition to sessions on fleet management, there will be
seminars on other industry innovations, such as handhelds, sorting systems, automated washrooms, route
accounting, RFID and much more. Two plant tours—Paris
Healthcare’s Ravenna, OH, facility and Arrow Uniform’s
industrial laundry— also are being featured.
To register for the Summit, click to www.trsa.org or call
877/770-9274.
House Subcommittee Holds Natural Gas Price Hearings
The House Small Business Rural Enterprises, Agriculture &
Technology Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Sam Graves
(R-MO), held a hearing March 17th on the high price of
natural gas. Graves said he would be looking at legislation
to prevent market manipulation, increase transparency and
provide for accurate disclosure of storage data.
TRSA Supports PA Chamber Efforts
To Overturn Court Decision
TRSA’s general counsel wrote a letter March 21 expressing
the association’s support for Pennsylvania Chamber of
Business and Industry efforts to overturn a recent
commonwealth court decision in Harkness v.
Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, which
prohibits the use of non-attorneys to advocate for
employers before the PA Unemployment Compensation
Board.
Commerce Announces Monitoring System for Textiles
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez
announced a new system to monitor imports of textiles and
apparel products March 21. The system allows Commerce
and the public timely access to preliminary textile and
apparel data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(aggregated on a category basis), allowing decision makers
to more quickly analyze the impact of imports on the U.S.
market, Commerce said. The preliminary data will be
posted biweekly on a Web site maintained by the
department’s International Trade Administration Office of
Textiles and Apparel: http://otexa.ita.doc.gov.
Industry Not On OSHA’s List
OSHA recently published a list of the 14,000 employers
with the highest injury and illness rates. No laundry
companies were found on that list. See www.osha.gov,
DART rate. (DART stands for Days Away, Restricted, or
Transferred to another work assignment.)
Laundry Logic and NAS Forge New Business Alliance
Laundry Logic Inc. has signed a distribution agreement to
sell and support Net Application Solution’s route accounting
solution, Fulcrum, in North America.
Attention Clean Exhibitors
If you’re exhibiting at Clean ’05 and you’re a TRSA
associate member, you are invited to submit copy for our
“Who’s Showing What” feature article, which will appear in
the May and June issues of Textile Rental magazine.
Please submit no more than 50 words to Linda Thornburg,
lthornburg@trsa.org or fax your entry to 703 519-0026.
Copy must be received by April 4 to be included in the May
issue.