American Laundry News has selected its Panel of Experts for 2006. The esteemed group was chosen to represent the many segments of the textile care industry in answering questions in the pages of American Laundry News this year. This year’s Panel will include:
* Hotel/Motel Laundering and Linen Supply: Bill Kartsonis, chairman, Superior Linen Supply Co., Kansas City, Mo. Kartsonis’ family runs the “longest continuously operating laundry west of the Mississippi.” He’s certified as a Master Hotel Supplier by the Educational Foundation of the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. His company warehouses and distributes linens in addition to washing and renting them.
* Healthcare Laundering: Sue Klein, marketing manager, Shared Service Systems, Omaha, Neb. The central healthcare laundry processes more than 12 million pounds annually for customers ranging from large urban health systems to small rural hospitals. She’s involved with the International Assn. of Healthcare Textile Managers (IAHTM) and has worked to compete with and legislatively defeat the use of prison laundries.
* Long-Term Care Laundering: Vicki Elliott, environmental services manager, Kendal at Ithaca, Ithaca, N.Y. Elliott has managed laundry and other services at the continuing care retirement community housing 300 residents (at all three levels of care: independent living, adult home/assisted living and skilled care) since 1996. She owned and operated Vicki’s Cleaning Co. in 1989-2000.
* Commercial Laundering: Richard Warren, general manager, Institutional Services Corp., Conway, Ark. A returning Panel member, Warren manages a plant serving healthcare and other accounts that processes 6.5 million pounds annually.
* Chemicals Manufacturing: Steve Tinker, director of research and development, Gurtler Industries, South Holland, Ill. Also a returning Panel member, Tinker has overseen Gurtler’s research and development in the manufacture of specialty laundry detergents since 2001. Prior to that, he spent more than 30 years in various research, marketing and management positions with Ecolab.
* Technical Support: Jim Mitchell, principal technical support specialist, Ecolab, Eagan, Minn. Mitchell is a 25-year company veteran and is currently Ecolab’s OPL lead in providing technical support to its field associates. He has a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin and edits Ecolab’s Institutional Technical Digest.
* Equipment Manufacturing: Ed Kirejczyk III, president, EDRO Corp., East Berlin, Conn. Kirejczyk has been employed by EDRO in various sales and marketing positions since 1990. He’s traveled extensively throughout EDRO’s worldwide customer base and been involved in designing its modular shipboard washer-extractors, water reuse systems and washer control technology.
* Consulting: Francis “Chip” Malbouef Jr., vice president of operations, Turn-Key Industrial Engineering Services, Charlottesville, Va. Turn-Key provides facility planning and process improvement services for companies in the laundry industry. Malbouef’s experience includes both process engineering and plant design.
* Equipment/Supplies Distribution: Jeffrey Barman, co-president, PWS-The Laundry Company, Los Angeles.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].