On-premise laundry benefits for the food manufacturing industry

When visiting food processing sites to talk about the many laundry solutions we offer here at JLA, almost without exception the person we meet is keen to hear all about the alternatives to outsourcing laundry – and the majority are open to installing an on-premise laundry (OPL) in order to cut costs. However, even though the potential for savings is huge, many mistakenly assume that the move to OPL will be risky and fraught with hassle.

At face value, it’s perfectly natural to err on the side of caution and air concerns about transitioning from one way of working to another – after all, every penny counts and every minute matters in the food industry. Indeed, one or two of the common misconceptions listed here may be niggling away at you as you weigh up the possibility of laundering on-site. But by addressing your likely concerns, we hope to reassure you that on-premise laundering is, without doubt, in your best interests.

“Doing everything myself? Sounds expensive…and difficult!”

It really isn’t…especially when the alternative is to continue using a commercial laundry whose prices will continue to rise and rise over the next decade. By outsourcing you are paying thousands of pounds more than you need to each year by committing to substantial clothing stocks, hidden supplementary charges and unexpected price rises. All that disappears when you take control of your own laundry, and you’ll benefit from reduced clothing stocks, transparent pricing and lower processing costs, while escaping harsh penalties or surprise charges.

“What about the hassle of HACCP?”

We have our own technicians and chemists who can advise you on the best practices, and we work closely with experts from the industry who can help you form a plan of action and assist in the actual development of fit-for-purpose HACCP documentation. With JLA OTEX Ozone Disinfection technology you have access to immediate verification to prove that your wash has been disinfected, with either a printed receipt, helping you to complete your HACCP/ISO documentation quickly and easily.

“I don’t know what equipment I need”

Not a problem. We can specify any laundry of any size in any setting. In the main, there are two types to consider, and we have the washers, dryers, barrier systems and disinfection innovations to help you get the best out of one or both.

The ancillary laundry

An ancillary laundry will allow you to process all the items your linen provider won’t touch – items that can potentially be damaged by traditional thermal disinfection. These include specialist clothing materials, microfibre cloths and mop heads, slash guards and your drivers’ & engineers’ clothing.

The full on-premise laundry

This will give you a full laundry facility for 5 to 5,000 employees in both low risk and hi-care production units. A full laundry facility will disinfect as well as clean, and will ensure you meet strict compliance regulations in the process.

“But what if it breaks down?”

Simple, just call our emergency call-out line and one of our engineers will be with you inside 8-working hours as part of your Total Care agreement – 7 days a week. If you opt to purchase machines outright, we can provide equally quick response with a standalone service package.

“I don’t have the staff to operate a laundry.”

You do if you redeploy the employees who are currently counting in and out, collecting laundry from locker rooms, waiting for deliveries and storing all the spare sets of workwear you need. Plus, if you manage your laundry by trusting someone else to do it…can you be sure that they’ll meet your expectations? Once laundry leaves your site, it’s open to a number of risks – and the third party could fail to reach guidelines that must be adhered to in order to comply with BRC best practice. 9 out of 10 customers we’ve helped to install an OPL have needed no extra staff to run it.

“I don’t have the space.”

Strangely enough, when we explain to companies just how much we could save them, space is no longer an issue. You’ll be surprised by the amount of space needed, and in reducing the clothes stock ‘PAR’ needed you can simply use areas of your business that would otherwise be used for storing spare workwear. Our approach is to simply get the best out of the square footage you have, rather than reinventing the wheel. JLA planners and designers will gladly discuss all the options open to you, and will never over-sell or under-spec. If you need a small machine to take care of occasional ancillary laundry, that’s all we’ll recommend. Equally if you need a full high-hygiene facility, we have the expertise, machines and experience to make sure you have everything you need. For advice on bringing laundry in-house, and more details of how the ozone laundry disinfection system can help you stay HACCP-compliant, book a free consultation here.