UK
The Textile Services Association (TSA) spring conference kicked off at St George’s Park, Burton-on-Trent, with acknowledgment of some great goals scored, according to Chair Charlie Betteridge and CEO David Stevens. Moving centre field to welcome delegates, of which there was a sell-out crowd, Betteridge summed up the performance of team textile care industry over the past seven months since the Autumn conference in 2022.
Betteridge spoke about the problems the industry has encountered. “ Before Covid everything was chugging along quite nicely but that turned everything upside down. Then, when we though we were heading out of that in 2022, we had more problems including Ukraine, the Liz Truss effect, everybody wanting more money as inflation hit and the cost of living rose savagely.” He also alluded to strikes, naming the rail strikes in particular as a big challenge for the hospitality sector over Christmas, with the obvious knock-on effect for laundries . However, he said things have improved and reckons this year the industry is better prepared to cope with the checks and balances of the wayward economy and global strife.
“All the disruption meant budgets flew out of the window but now we know what to expect. OK, this year we saw the end of the energy subsidy – but we are prepared for change now.
“Inflation is now the big enemy. We used to negotiate 1-2% increases, no problem, but last year we had to keep driving up prices, putting strain on good customer relationships. Prices will have to go up again. But ee are moving in the right direction. That the industry is better prepared is due in many ways to the efforts of the TSA.”
Betteridge continued with some cautionary words, saying that mental health in the workplace is a big issue since Covid. Fire insurance is also an area of concern to many laundries. And he mentioned a recent TSA webinar on the subject. Fire is a big worry because, as Betteridge said: “No insurance company will insure an new laundry unless they can charge draconian premiums.
“We will also need to look at bad debt. If your customer’s biggest customer’s biggest customer goes down, you have a problem.
Cyber security also needs to be talen very seriously , said Betteridge. “Two large German laundry groups have been hacked recenlty with devastating effect. We are so dependent on IT. Have you got. a plan B if the worst happens? We need It to get laundry in and out of the door. Could you cope if it went down?
“Because we are prepared for unexpected change now, I am hopeful we will be singing and dancing by the Autumn conference,” concluded Betteridge.
It seems there is truth in the oft-quoted aphorism, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’, an affirmation of resilience coined by 19th century German philoshoper Friedrich Nietzsche.
• Full report of conferene to come.
