The European Textile Services Association (ETSA) recently elected Andreas Holzer as its new president for the next three years. Holzer, a member of the business management team of the Bardusch Group, is taking over the role from Thomas Krautschneider, CEO of the Austrian company Salesianer.

Holzer said the COVID crisis has highlighted the importance of industrial laundries as local suppliers of vitally important products and services. “Clients such as hospitals and foodservice companies have become aware of how resiliently and reliably our industry works,” Holzer said. “We are on the spot and able to supply them with hygienically clean textiles – quickly and flexibly at all times. It’s true that this is what we have always done; it’s just that in the past less public attention was paid to the services and skills of textile service providers.”

Holzer wants to take advantage of increased public awareness of the benefits of using linen, uniform and facility services providers during the COVID crisis to increase the industry’s reputation in the long term. “Client proximity, delivery security, speed and high standards of hygiene are the defining features of textile service firms,” Holzer said. “We will also be launching a series of new campaigns. Our business model is sustainable and matches the current mindset in society with its shift away from disposables to reusables and a circular economy. Our industry is fully committed to sustainability. This means durable textiles, energy efficiency, optimization of water use, environmentally-friendly detergents, short local supply chains, and the acceptance of social responsibility in respect of employees and within the supply chain.”

With annual revenues of around 13 billion euros and some 140,000 jobs in the European Union, the linen, uniform and facility services industry is an important part of the European economy. In recent years, the market has grown in nearly every segment, and according to one study it could expand over the next few years to revenues of nearly 46 billion euros.