OSHKOSH, Wis. — Laundry equipment manufacturer Girbau North America and its subsidiaries Girbau Industrial and Continental Girbau report that they recently presented 2022 awards for business partner and distributors of the year.
Ser-Clean Laundry Services, an industrial laundry in Miami, has received the 2022 Girbau North America Business Partner of the Year Award, while Lavanett in St. Laurent, Quebec, earned its Canadian Distributor of the Year Award.
AAdvantage Laundry Systems in Garland, Texas, received the 2022 Distributor of the Year Award from both Girbau Industrial and Continental Girbau.
Girbau North America says Ser-Clean Laundry Services received the 2022 Business Partner of the Year Award for superior sales and service performance within the hospitality laundry industry.
Ser-Clean provides the Miami hospitality industry with premium, customer-focused laundry services. Established in 2020, Ser-Clean is owned by Pablo Cano Ponte, Jessica Montagno, Micaela Varela, Sebastian Romero and Facundo Yebne.
“Together we decided to develop a new concept of hospitality laundry that’s customer-focused and delivers premium service,” says Varela. "We guarantee our quality and service is superior and we invest in Girbau Industrial technology for that reason.”
“Ser-Clean has enjoyed rapid growth because its owners are experienced in the laundry and hospitality industries and understand what their clients want in a laundry services provider,” says Girbau North America Vice President of Sales Joel Jorgensen.
“The Ser-Clean team goes beyond by providing a superior end-product that sets them apart. GNA is proud to work with such a successful team committed to customer service.”
Lavanett received its third consecutive Canadian Distributor of the Year award for exemplary performance in the on-premises and vended laundry markets within Quebec.
Owned by Earl Eichen, Lavanett employs 20 team members and provides laundry and textile care solutions, parts and service to customers throughout Canada.
“Lavanett once again captured GNA’s attention in Canada,” says Jorgensen. “Earl and his team work hard to provide targeted laundry solutions to a wide array of markets, as well as unrivaled service after the sale, which is a huge part of their success equation.
“GNA congratulates them on another great year representing the Continental Girbau, Girbau Industrial, LG Commercial, Econo and Poseidon brands.”
Together, GNA and Lavanett have enjoyed a 22-year partnership, according to Eichen.
“It’s hard to believe our first order with GNA dates back to May 2001,” he shares. “During this time, GNA has introduced several different series of equipment lines and constant upgrades on existing ones. These innovations have allowed us to penetrate different markets and gain a greater share of existing ones. We are selling equipment into markets now that we didn’t know of years ago.
“Due to its reliability, the reputation of Continental Girbau equipment has steadily grown and we often find that customers find their way to us as a result, whether through word-of-mouth or via our website.”
AAdvantage Laundry Systems received its second consecutive Continental Girbau On-Premise Laundry Distributor of the Year Award for outstanding sales and service performance within the on-premises laundry market.
The company also received the 2022 Girbau Industrial Distributor of the Year Award for outstanding sales and service performance within the industrial laundry market.
AAdvantage, a division of EVI Industries Inc., is led by President Ryan Smith and is among the largest volume distributors in the world, according to Jorgensen.
“In 2022, the AAdvantage team excelled at identifying opportunities for Continental, LG Commercial and Econo brands within a variety of on-premise laundry applications, including nursing homes, hotels, beauty salons and vet clinics, among many others,” he says.
“This past year, AAdvantage kicked it into high gear selling and servicing GI laundry solutions. A premier distributor, AAdvantage made the infrastructure commitment and the investment to support the growth of their customers. In 2022, it all came full circle.
“We couldn’t be happier for the AAdvantage team and their success. AAdvantage has an outstanding sales team, backed by one of the industry’s best service departments. Customers always get the support they need before, during and after the sale. They are a top-notch distributor and we are proud to work beside them.”
A full-service provider of laundry equipment parts, service and sales, AAdvantage serves the on-premises, industrial, vended and multi-housing laundry markets, providing turnkey solutions, including laundry design, financing, installation, business projections and demographic studies.
“What sets us apart is our team’s willingness to focus on our core values,” Smith says. “We call those values CARPE: communication, accountability, respect, professionalism and excellence. We believe if we strive every day to focus on those things internally and externally, it breeds success.
“Our sales team focuses on not just selling machines but providing solutions to customers. We build credibility on the front end and couple that with high-level service after sale. It gets us lots of referrals and repeat business.
Smith adds, “Thanks to the GI brand, we now have the opportunity to chase laundry projects at 200-plus room hotels and resorts. We’ve had an industrial laundry team in place for the last five years, but unlike many conventional dealers, we’ve gone to market grassroots style through a focus on our service team.
“We’re starting to see more industrial laundry opportunities because we’ve built credibility through our service team and our ability to service industrial products better than our competition. We believe if we strive every day to focus on our core values internally and externally, it will breed success.”
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