38 | Taranaki: La Nuova T T Kim Newth Leading the way on laundry automation At the 2023 TSB Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards, La Nuova came out tops. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT In Taranaki, the small service town of Inglewood is home to one of New Zealand’s most remarkable family businesses, La Nuova, which runs the country’s most technologically advanced laundry service. Brad Craig, La Nuova’s managing director, is the third generation in his family to take up the reins of this business that started out providing dry cleaning in the late 1950s. Moving with changing times, the family business has progressively switched focus to commercial laundry and today leads the way on automation in this area. They still offer dry cleaning at their Whanganui, New Plymouth and Hawera sites, but La Nuova’s leading edge is their state of the art commercial laundry plant in Inglewood. At the 2023 TSB Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards, La Nuova came out tops to win the Supreme Business Excellence Awards, along with four other awards for Technology Excellence, Business Continuity, Large Business Excellence and Innovation Excellence. La Nuova dedicated their supreme award to Bev Stewart, a long-time staff member who had lost her battle with cancer only days earlier. “Bev had been with us for around 24 years and was such a lovely lady,” says Brad. “We were very proud to honour her at the awards. Our success would not be possible without our loyal team. We set a high bar and this is great acknowledgement for all our team and their effort.” La Nuova is a key local employer, with some 85 staff working across four sites in a mix of full-time, part-time and casual roles. Investment in technology and automation means La Nuova can accurately and efficiently process high volumes to meet commercial laundry needs at scale. La Nuova offers a complete workwear service, along with tailored linen and towel rental, and full laundry solutions. “Through our main plant in Inglewood, we’re processing between 10 and 12 tonnes a day, or 50 to 60 tonnes a week. We cater to all industries across the board. Many people don’t realise what an essential role we play. Freezing works cannot operate their plant without clean uniforms for their team. Hotels can’t sell rooms without freshly laundered sheets and towels for their guests. The local hospital can’t function without clean surgical scrubs and patient gowns.” Age care is another growing market for La Nuova, catering to the personal clothing needs of residents as well as staff uniform requirements. La Nuova shifted their main operation from Hawera to Inglewood in 2007. It is an ideal location for servicing their Taranaki clientele, being only 15 minutes from New Plymouth, Bell Block and Waitara and 35 minutes from Hawera. A multi-million dollar upgrade in 2015 drove up efficiencies and saw capacity double. Another multi-million transformation was completed last year, including upgrades to the linen processing area, introduction of barcodes and smart hangers, and phasing in of Danish automated sorting equipment. The Inglewood plant operates an efficient, continuous batch wash process and, after washing, items are automatically transferred to an extractor or press before drying. Sorting, ironing and folding is all done automatically. The entire operation is supported by a fleet of efficient, well-presented vehicles. Volumes processed through the plant every week are substantial: 20,000 to 25,000 garments, 30,000 towels, and 15,000 to 20,000 sheets. Email adam@ritex.co.nz Phone 0800 10 8382 www.ritex.co.nz Congratulations to Brad & his amazing team with the new setup. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds. Proud suppliers of commercial grade linen and towelling products to La Nuova. 12323 02-22 Proud to support La Nuova Andy Potter: 021 229 7109 | andy_potter@bnz.co.nz
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