UK
Apex Facilities, the hotel-owned UK laundry, is branching out to secure new business. The facility, owned by Apex Hotels Ltd and based in Livingston, has seen £1.5million spent on the plant since its launch in 2013, allowing the hotel group to take its laundry requirements in-house.
With a further investment of £150,000 in recent months, the business now only provides quality linen to its own hotels, and is looking to take on extra business from hotels and similar clients within central Scotland and beyond.
The company, working with Ecolab and Girbau, invested in an upgrade to its boiler system and four energy efficient dryers, which were installed within the plant, allowing it to easily launder up to 10 million items per year.
Apex reports another consecutive year of growth for the business, which saw more than 3.1 million items laundered in 2017 – up 13.5% on the previous year. Its £1.5million facility has gone from strength to strength and current reject rates are around 1.5% – down from a peak of 20% with its previous linen suppliers. With such low reject rates, a key issue in the hotel linen market, and years of experience within the hotel industry, Apex Facilities believes it can diversify and clean up in other markets.
Andrew Taylor, group project director for Apex Hotels, said: “Laundry and linen is not only one of the biggest external costs for a hotel – it is also one of the riskiest. Poor quality linen can slow productivity in a hotel and at Apex, we were keen to be in full control to ensure it meets the high standards we expect for our guests at all times.
“As hoteliers we understand the value of great linen, both in terms of positive guest feedback and efficiency, so our continued investment in Apex Facilities means that we are able to launder more than three million items per year with ease and offer our services to other hotels and businesses who deal with high volumes of laundry.
“This is truly a service by hoteliers for hoteliers and our aim is to take on new, like-minded hotel clients who share our focus on quality and are keen to use our experience to ensure their linens are laundered to an exceptionally high standard.”
