How is it to work in a tech-enhanced industrial laundry?
Imagine working in an industrial laundry. You probably envision tens of people working side by side, stacking and emptying big washing machines that take up as much laundry as your home washer runs in a month. If you wore glasses, those would be foggy due to the sweaty conditions at the laundry.
As they pull out wet and heavy laundry, they take turns to stand up and stretch their aching backs. You wonder how long it might take to end on permanent sick leave with a sore body.
Maybe this is true somewhere, but not at Lindström’s modern industrial laundry facilities.
Quite the opposite!
Lindström is a forerunner in offering sustainable rental textile services, including washing and maintaining textiles — and the facilities for handling these are also state-of-the-art. Even with a history as long as 175 years in the industry, we use modern technology to support us. We care for our textiles in a manner that benefits our customers and employees alike — not to forget the environment.
But what is it like working in an industrial laundry nowadays? Let’s find out!
Reimagine working in an industrial laundry
The most digitally advanced industrial laundry is found in Vantaa, Finland. This modern laundry is dedicated to hotel laundry and sits comfortably opposite our other industrial laundry facility in Koivuhaka, Vantaa.
When you walk into our industrial laundry, you are welcomed by all the colours of a rainbow. There is also a gorgeous showroom imitating a hotel room. It showcases all the possible items a hospitality client can have us wash for them without a sweat at this modern laundry.
Our smiley production manager, Maria, welcomes you and hands you a pearly white lab-like coat and a fresh hair net. This gesture indicates we are about to step inside a facility where ultimate care for cleanliness is key.
At Lindström’s modern industrial laundry, the atmosphere oozes pride, warmth, and camaraderie. It reflects Maria’s exceptional leadership and commitment to fostering a friendly and respectful workplace for her employees. Unlike traditional laundries, where physical labour and monotony may dominate, Lindström’s modern laundry facility stands out for its cutting-edge technology, streamlining every aspect of the laundry process.
Soon, you are welcomed by equally energetic and warm-hearted Albina. She is a bubbly Albanian who proved to us she was fit for a team leader position within the first six months of employment here.
This is Albina’s first job in Finland after she immigrated to the country. Despite being new to Finland, Albina quickly adapted to her role, finding fulfilment in tasks that, for an outsider, can appear daunting until you see how smoothly everything works here. With our state-of-the-art equipment and a supportive work culture, Albina’s job feels more like a fulfilling endeavour than a mere occupation.
“I never want to work anywhere else again”, she says and you believe her. Albina takes pride in this facility and is eager to show off the premises.
Modern industrial laundry is clean, safe, fresh – and automated
Imagine a workplace where handling laundry, from sorting to washing, ironing, folding, and stacking, is seamlessly automated, reducing the need for heavy manual labour and ensuring a clean, safe, and joyful environment. This is it. Freshly washed and folded towels, duvet covers, pillowcases, and bathrobes disappear into the depths of a stacking machine and appear again in orderly piles.
If you enjoy seeing neat and well-organised piles of apparel, you have come to the right place. Seeing this will delight you, and you’ll find yourself dreaming of such a machine for your washing at home, too! Our modern industrial laundry is a technologically advanced industrial laundry, far away from laundries where work is laborious and physically draining.
Who is this work for, then? Does one need a technical background to manage work in such a high-tech environment? Not at all. This is an ideal workplace for people looking for an honest job that does not require an education, prior work experience or even fluency in the local language.
Our laundries employ people from various backgrounds. Hearing several different languages and dialects mixed into wonderful, collaborative, fun bundles is not unusual. We will teach you any words you should know for work in the local language.
Environmentally responsible modern laundry recycles and reuses water and heat
Carl, a textile care worker, works in our facility in a way that is similar to Albina and Maria’s workplace, but in Bradford, UK.
Like Albina, Carl was initially still determining what to expect from this work. He was pleasantly surprised by the sophisticated processes and supportive atmosphere he encountered during his induction to Lindström’s modern laundry.
“I did think I would be washing by hand here”, Carl laughs. “But it’s not like that at all. Manual handling has been replaced with technology everywhere possible. There are control panels, timer settings, chemical settings, monorails up at the roof with all connected to a computer controlled by the supervisor”, he explains.
At this particular UK laundry, Carl and his colleagues wash industrial wipers. We are talking about oily, greasy and filthy cloths and rags used at garages and for various engineering tasks. Sustainability is key at all Lindström laundries, especially here, because getting these oily textiles clean and reusable requires lots of work.
“We recycle everything possible here”, Carl explains. “Everything from dirty water to heat and cardboard boxes”, he adds.
Being environmentally friendly is a core value in all of our operations. We want to demonstrate our dedication to environmental responsibility through innovative practices like recycling water and harnessing machine heat to warm the washing water.
High commitment to laundry workers’ development
What sets Lindström apart, according to Carl, is the commitment to employee development.
Employees can expand their skills and advance their careers within the company through a structured training matrix. The more you learn and adopt additional skills to work in different roles, the more you can earn on top of your basic salary.
Similarly, career opportunities to grow professionally are available for Albina and her colleagues in Vantaa. The team leader role was the first career advancement for Albina. From here, she can progress to a service team leader and a service supervisor if she wants to.
Technology and automation make work very efficient and fun
Let’s take ourselves back to our modern industrial laundry in Vantaa. You have now taken the tour from sorting to tunnel washer, dryer, ironing, folding and stacking. As you follow the items move on monorails and conveyor belts, you can all but wonder what technology enables.
The old laundry is still next door and used for smaller hotel customers. Albina works here about 14 hours a month, but with a grin, she says: “I don’t like this side.” No wonder. You must do so much more manually, even if this side is also heavily computerised.
What makes this side “old” as opposed to the new side is the level of effectiveness the high-tech side workers enjoy. Technology is advancing all the time, including in the field of industrial washing. The new side utilizes cutting-edge technology to handle bigger loads, resulting in significant time reductions for a business where we take care of as many textiles as we do.
We could reveal so many exciting details about working in our modern laundry, but we trust you want to come and experience it by yourself one day.
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