Having spent 30 years as a teacher and coach at both the high school and collegiate levels, Coach Steve Leib understands the challenges facing athletic programs. As a college football coach, he has witnessed the struggles of processing athletic laundry, and since then has worked with teams at the high school, collegiate and pro sports levels to help streamline laundry practices. As national sales manager for Sports Laundry Systems®, Leib shares his thoughts on laundry processing at the professional sports level.
The Wisconsin Herd Extends Uniform Life With Sports Laundry Systems
Sports Laundry Systems extract more water, shortening dry time and extending uniform life.
Q: How can professional sports team process more laundry in less time?
A: Equipment managers for pro sports teams have to complete hundreds of pounds of laundry per week to keep players, coaches and trainers properly outfitted for practices, rehabbing, games and workouts. Oftentimes they are also responsible for visiting teams’ laundry. So, they absolutely require a high-speed washer (300-450 G-force extract speeds), or several of them, to get through laundry quickly. High-speed washers generate higher extract speeds to remove more water and moisture from laundry loads. Loads coming out of high-speed washers, like our Sports Laundry Systems soft-mount washers, will dry in half the time when compared with loads from lower-speed machines. This means equipment managers complete more laundry per day in considerably less time! Additionally, washers and dryers come in a wide array of capacities. Your local equipment distributor can calculate the size and number of washers and dryers your organization needs to achieve production goals.
Q: You consult with many professional teams as part of your job. Who are some of those teams and why is washer programmability so important in their day-to-day?
A: Yes, we work with lots of teams – the Pittsburgh Pirates, Anaheim Ducks, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Kansas City Chiefs and the Wisconsin Herd – among others. All of them rely on highly programmable SLS Washers that allow for complete control over every variable of the wash process. The washers are programmed by item type to automatically inject chemicals (detergents, brighteners, sanitizers and softeners) in combination with the right cycle times, water temperature and levels, number of baths, soaks and rinses, mechanical action and extract speed. It makes it very simple. Operators just load, enter the program number that coincides with what’s in the machine (loops, towels, warmups, white pants, uniforms, etc.), and press start. Basically, dryers work the same way. This ensures that all items are washed perfectly every time without any human error or over-dosing.
Q: If you were choosing new laundry equipment at a pro team’s stadium, what would you install?
A: That answer depends on a lot of things, including available space and utilities, foundation type and laundry pounds processed per week. So, every installation and laundry configuration is unique to each team’s specific needs and goals. The first place to start is with your local SLS equipment distributor, who will assess and design your laundry, install the equipment, and provide ongoing service after the sale. If you aren’t sure who your local distributor is, email me at sleib@sportslaundry.com.
To learn more, visit www.sportslaundry.com or call 800-256-1073.