Cloth Encounters: Commercial Laundries Keep Alaska Businesses Springtime Fresh

Woodland’s spinoff The Laundry Group specializes in supporting healthcare providers statewide. This separate facility is geared toward meeting the standards and regulations set for medical laundry by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council. The Laundry Group services clinics of every size, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and dental offices. It also provides consulting services to help design an on-premise facility from the ground up or optimize an existing one. The Laundry Group walks customers through assessment, equipment selection and installation, and staff training and then follows up with ongoing support. Onsite laundry departments can also purchase supplies and chemicals, including detergents, bleaches, stain removers, and fabric softeners.

Big and Small

“When I tell people I’m in the commercial laundry business, they often will look at the brochure and say, ‘It’s just laundry. How hard can that be?’” says Woodland.

Providing routine uniforms and linens to businesses around the state requires a fleet of trucks operating consistently. Woodland says delivery trucks drop off clean items at the same time they collect linens for laundering. Since many items are fitted for individual employees or personalized for their customers, Snow White Linen and The Laundry Group use a fully digitized system to track every garment throughout its lifecycle. Woodland says that letting businesses know where garments are in the process helps them avoid unnecessary downtime. Likewise, his companies use a paperless system to notify customers if a garment is missing or needs repair or replacement.

In addition to commercial-scale washers and dryers, Woodland also owns a laundry that fits somewhere between a laundromat and an industrial facility. Dondees Laundry in Anchorage offers laundry service pickup and delivery within the city. Woodland says many smaller businesses like chiropractors, massage therapists, or cafes use Dondees’ washing and folding services at a more attainable price point than Snow White Linen or The Laundry Group.

“If smaller businesses calculate the amount of time it takes to do the laundry themselves or the difficulty to meet sanitation standards, they’ll find it’s better to outsource,” he says.

Trade Secrets

Woodland admits that he is hesitant to reveal too many details of how his company works. He says the laundry and linen supply business is highly competitive, despite what people might think.

Only a handful of laundry facilities like Dondees exist within the state, leaving only Snow White Linen, The Laundry Group, and Alsco to serve larger B2B markets. In recent years, Woodland has increasingly seen people attempt to enter the commercial laundering market by stealing ideas rather than innovating. He says many entering this niche market don’t understand the costs associated with constructing and operating an industrial laundry.

“We’ve been doing this a long time and worked hard to differentiate ourselves in Alaska,” says Woodland. “Over the years, I feel like we’ve changed the game.”

Woodland did disclose that commercial laundries are efficient due to advancing technology in washers, dryers, and customer service portal technologies. Compared to when he entered the business twenty-two years ago, he says machines have increased in size, with the capacity to handle heavy loads and clean heavily soiled items. Portal technologies have allowed Snow White Linen and The Laundry Group to achieve paperless invoicing, making it easier for their customers to schedule services and order products.

Woodland says the cost of services his companies provide varies due to differing customer needs. How those services are priced individually is another trade secret, which Woodland says is best revealed when a potential customer submits a request for a quote.

A Tight Market

A competitive market is only one challenge faced by larger commercial laundry services. The widespread labor shortage in Alaska has made filling positions with qualified workers harder. Woodland says this is his biggest challenge since his companies are moving products around the state. This led to a tighter logistic process to avoid running an empty truck.

Increasing operating costs are reflected in the price charged to customers. Woodland says labor and equipment costs have doubled within the last five years, and utilities are up by 60 percent, making operations more expensive.

“We have done everything to avoid passing these costs on to our customers,” he says. “It eventually reached a point where we couldn’t do that, and we were forced to raise prices.”

As for his current employees, Woodland has a great appreciation for all that they do. He says their efforts keep so many Alaska businesses and industries moving. He says Alaska companies like Snow White Linen and The Laundry Group are essential to the overall state economy, not just because they’re Alaska businesses but because they support Alaska companies.

“I wish people understood just how hard they are all working. There isn’t anybody working here that isn’t earning their wages,” says Woodland. “Without our services, many businesses would have a harder time operating.”