2023 was another productive and successful year for laundry operators and linen cleaning services. While the outset of the year looked grim, with the state of the economy still recovering from a “COVID-induced” hangover and inflation on the rise, laundry operators rated their performance in 2023 as above average, per a survey conducted by American Laundry News.
Chart Provided by the American Laundry News Website
However, even with an overall positive year, laundry operators face the same challenges of 2023 that will likely continue into 2024 and beyond. One such challenge is ensuring that the productivity of laundry operations continues to grow. Again, per the survey conducted by American Laundry News, over half of respondents ranked “increase productivity” as their number one priority for 2024.
Graph Provided by the American Laundry News Website
The remainder of American Laundry News’s article on their survey is an informative read (we highly recommend reading for yourself). It further breaks down the expected goals of laundry operators in 2023 and what they were and weren’t able to accomplish. However, the biggest takeaway from the article was some of the problems laundry operators had throughout the year. Chief among those concerns was machine operation, hiring new employees, and increasing facility volume and output, again tying everything back to productivity.
So, for 2024, it seems the direction of most businesses and facilities across the laundry industry is to continue focusing on increased productivity. And with help from Yamamoto, reaching your ideal productivity targets is possible!
For most commercial linen cleaning operations, processing multiple large loads simultaneously ensures you get through work faster and increases your volume and output of clean linen. However, volume and output are limited by the equipment you use. Less reliable commercial washers might be rated for larger loads, but they can struggle to keep up and wear down faster than other, higher-quality equipment.
Conversely, Yamamoto washers can manage large loads and still enable high-speed extractions. Our combination of oversized bearings and dual soft-mount suspension system helps our machines run harder and last longer. In turn, you can continuously process large loads quickly and have to worry little about downtime due to washer maintenance or repairs.
As hiring has remained difficult for laundry operators across America, finding machines that are easy to understand and operate has become a goal of most laundry facilities. Unfortunately, every time an employee leaves, it requires a business to look for a replacement or determine whether that position is necessary. And if it is necessary, it takes time to find, vet and train individuals for the job. By investing in Yamamoto equipment, laundry facilities make the employee training part more straightforward.
Yamamoto washers have intuitive, easy-to-navigate digital controls that any operator, new or experienced, can quickly grasp. Not to mention, much of the machine operation of a Yamamoto washer can be automated through precise digital controls and program features. With Yamamoto equipment, laundry facilities can keep productivity levels high but don’t require the same number of employees to operate machines.
Speaking of automation, there are ways to streamline your linen cleaning process without relying on additional labor. As mentioned, Yamamoto washers have advanced digital features that allow operators to create custom wash cycles tailored to your linen cleaning needs. Not only does this make machine operation simple, but it cuts back the need for more operators. Additionally, it’s not only Yamamoto’s washers changing the automation game.
Last year, Yamamoto released our new Towel Folder for purchase. This incredible machinery further allows laundry operators to streamline linen cleaning, managing otherwise time-consuming folding. As an example of the FUT10BT Towel Folder’s capabilities, it can complete folding for up to 650 individual linen pieces in an hour. Compared to the 120 pieces per hour averaged by human folders, the power of our automatic towel folders comes to light!
Whether you’re interested in increasing your laundry facility’s productivity or just looking for affordable, quality and long-lasting equipment to replace your old machines, Yamamoto North America has you covered! Reach out to Yamamoto NA today and prepare for the year ahead with our incredible industrial laundry equipment. Learn more by calling 866-204-0519.
