Property prices, utility costs, wages and consumables are all on the rise, so it makes sense to stop and review whether an onsite laundry is a good use of valuable space, time and money especially when there is an alternative available with Linenmaster.
Linenmaster’s core business is in linen rental, we purchase the products and rent them back to you at a price which includes pick up, laundering and return delivery. We understand there is often hesitation to change the status quo, and the laundry aspect of aged care facilities is often a small cog in the much larger machine, but see below how one facility benefited from jumping on board with Linenmaster.
Outsourcing your laundry: A case study
In early 2021 when John Hudson was appointed CEO of Tainui Village aged care facilities in New Plymouth, he was well equipped to tackle one of the areas of the business that often never changes, the laundry.
As a chartered accountant and with several years’ experience working in the commercial laundry space, John knew that it’s nearly impossible for a small onsite laundry to compete with the efficiencies and automation that external laundry businesses enjoy today.
John also knew that if he could get the right laundry on board, one that has the expertise to handle the intricacies of aged care but with the quality standards of high-end hospitality, he could really lift the resident experience in the facility.
John is a numbers man and when he started digging into things it soon became apparent the current system needed to change. The quality of the linen in the facility was substandard and while all still in working order, the existing laundry equipment was old, and consideration would soon need to be given to its replacement.
Another problem was the location of the existing laundry. It was right in the centre of the facility and given the large fire risks associated with laundries, its proximity to residents was cause for concern.
As the concept was further explored John had another idea; convert the old laundry room into a resident’s room and replace the floor space that was a cost, to floor space that is income generating.
The plan was coming together, however, the biggest hurdle was yet to come. Tainui Village is a charitable trust that has a board of directors. John reports directly to the board and it was up to him to sell the idea to them.
So, John gave his pitch; it will save money, reduce the fire risk, improve resident experience, and will have a positive environmental impact. There were questions and John had all the spreadsheets and data to support the decision process.
The board agreed and on 1 November 2021 the external deliveries were commenced by La Nuova, the locally-owned Taranaki operators of the national Linenmaster brand.
Linenmaster is a collection of like-minded, 100% kiwi owned and operated laundries across New Zealand, providing services to aged care, hospitals, hotels and motels.
Linenmaster has the most technologically advanced laundries in New Zealand with owners investing in equipment that not only provides the highest quality laundering result in the industry but also employs the latest innovations in water and energy saving technology to minimise the impact on our environment.
