Lindstrรถm stakeholder magazine
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At car repair shops, appropriate workwear is a must
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Lindstrรถm Award introduces students to workwear design
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2 2014
Sanna Forssell of Diacor is happy with her red outfit
Lindström Award is under way 8
Lindström stakeholder magazine
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2 2014 Veho employees have neat uniforms conforming to the brand Washing workwear at home may weaken protective properties
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In brief
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Recycling textile waste has international potential
Lindström is a family business providing textile services for corporate customers.
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Lindström operates in countries in Europe and Asia. We have about 2,900 employees at more than 80 sites. Lindström provides workwear services in all of its operating countries, mat rental services in 14 European countries, personal protective equipment services in Finland and Hungary, shop towel services in Finland and Estonia, and restaurant textile and hygiene services in Finland.
Lindström workwear is worn by more than
1, 000,000
users.
2 2014
Editorial
Light ahead 2014 was an active year for Lindström. We expanded geographically both in Europe and Asia, and developed our services and the skills of our employees.
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Clear is Lindström’s stakeholder magazine. It is published in Finnish, Russian and English. Publisher: Lindström Oy Hermannin rantatie 8 FI-00580 Helsinki www.lindstrom.fi Chief editor: Tarja Hämäläinen Editorial board: Tarja Hämäläinen, Leena Kähkönen, Mari Saarinen Layout: Zeeland Printed by: SP-Paino Oy Print run: 3 000 ISSN 2342-3218 (printed) ISSN 2342-3226 (online) Clear is issued twice a year.
e launched operations in Kazakhstan, which is the 23rd Lindström country. We also opened two new service centres in Russia and India, and one in Serbia. We are well on our way to achieving our vision of operating in 25 countries by the end of 2016. The outlook for the textile services industry is bright in general. According to a market sizing study carried out by Deloitte for the European Textile Services Association (ETSA), the potential size of the industry in Europe is €46 billion. That is four times the current annual turnover in Europe, €11 billion (2012). In addition to growth, Lindström invests in corporate responsibility, which guides everything we do. For example, we are constantly looking for new ways of recycling discarded textiles. We aim to raise the reuse rate of waste textiles to 90 per cent by 2016. The Explore Others’ Work exchange programme, launched in 2013 with a view to developing our service culture, will also be introduced in Lindström’s subsidiaries next year. As the name suggests, the idea is to learn about other people’s work. In this issue, we talk about material efficiency as well as the employee exchange programme. In line with Lindström’s service culture, we aim to turn our business relationships into partnerships. We take excellent care of our customers by, for example, adapting our services to meet their needs in changing situations. This is proved by high customer satisfaction and our long-term customer relationships. Among this issue’s topics is the wellfunctioning partnership between Lindström and Veho. I hope you enjoy the read!
Juha Laurio President & CEO, Lindström Group
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text Tarja Hämäläinen | photos Heikki Räisänen
veho group
Workwear is a must Workwear provides protection for mechanics and creates a consistent image.
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he importance of our partnership can be summarised by saying that without Lindström, no one would come to work,” says Kenneth Strömsholm, Managing Director of Veho. “Service and repair workers work diligently every day. They must have their workwear and PPE on them, or else it is not safe for them to work. If work cannot be performed, the company is not productive,” Strömsholm says. Veho operates in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries, where it sells, services and rents passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Consistent, neat, tidy and functional workwear is an important part of the customer experience at Veho. Professionalism and the company image are conveyed by means of tidy workwear and premises conforming to the Veho brand.
within the company ensures that cooperation is smooth and customer promises are fulfilled. Everyone should keep to the same pace, direction and intensity. The principles of openness and cooperation are applied internally as well as with partners. One of the key themes in Lindström and Veho’s collaboration is safety at work. Both companies share their expertise and experience – Lindström regarding the opportunities provided by workwear and PPE and Veho regarding the industry’s needs. This is beneficial for both parties. “Procurement involves a close dialogue between partners. You must be able to tell what you do and need,” explains
Customer experience is a top priority
It is important to Veho that no one ever bails out from buying a car or having it serviced because of a poor service experience. The aim is to offer something more than customers expect. A good, open dialogue
Neat, tidy and functional workwear and premises conforming to the brand convey an image of Veho employees’ professionalism.
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Thanks to Lindström’s workwear service, Veho employees have clean clothes and appropriate PPE every day.
Anssi Räsänen, CFO of Veho. Veho selects professional partners that support the company’s core processes. “Earning power improves when the process is improved. Partners have honed their core processes and will surely be better at them than us. When we acquire those processes as a service, we have more time to focus on our own business,” Räsänen points out. Indispensable workwear
At a car repair shop, no one can work without a proper outfit. “Daily work is easier when the mechanics always have clean clothes and the required protective equipment without any contribution from me,” says Ari Aaltonen, Service Manager at Veho Raisio. “When our cooperation began, we showed everyone what to do with their workwear. Now that everyone does as agreed, things seem to happen automatically from our perspective.” “Although our work is dirty, it’s important to us to change into clean clothes every day. We want to look neat and tidy in front of our customers. It’s also nice that our work clothes are unified and we all look like Veho employees. Uniform clothing creates an image of high quality,” says Aaltonen.
Although our work is dirty, it’s important to us to change into clean clothes every day. – Ari Aaltonen, Veho Raisio
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Veho Group A leading car industry player in Finland. A Finnish family business. Operates in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Core business activities: import, sale, servicing and rental of passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
www.veho.fi
DEVELOP M ENT text Tarja Hämäläinen | photo Lindström
Rapid advances in high-visibility clothing
Reflectors and high-visibility colours seen in workwear have also become common in sports and recreational clothing.
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eople wearing reflective vests are a common sight on roadsides, along hiking trails and in ski slopes. Visibility in the dark has always been emphasised in northern countries, but now the benefits of highvisibility clothing (HVC) have also been noticed elsewhere. Besides visibility, all outerwear is expected to provide thermal insulation, breathability and materials that dry quickly. It must also feel comfortable. Sound familiar? The expectations towards HVC and technical sportswear are very similar. The increased demand and tighter requirements for HVC have led to major improvements in their quality and properties. The same expectations, only with stricter specifications, also apply to workwear. Good visibility is essential in many jobs, but
workers also know to appreciate good ergonomics and materials during a hard working day. No accidents allowed at work
Protective work clothing is regulated by legislation in EU countries, and product liability is specified by an ISO standard. Protective garments have many properties and details for which the employer is responsible both at the time of purchase and during use. HVC that conforms to standards is divided into three classes. Class 3 garments are used at roadwork sites by busy highways, for example. Visible clothing provides protection from traffic. Class 2 garments are often used by construction workers and class 1 garments when working in areas such as car parks. Similar classification is not yet required for high-visibility clothing sold to consumers. Users involved in product development
Lindström is currently preparing for the changes brought about by the updated European standard. The product development of a new collection of high-visibility clothing is under way. The summer collection will be available in the summer of 2015, and the winter collection will be completed in the autumn. “As is usual in product development, we began by looking at the standard’s requirements and customer expectations,” says Anna-Kaisa Huttunen, who is in charge of the development of the collections. “When the reform of the standard for highvisibility clothing was initiated, we established a pilot group of customers who wear these clothes and started to think about the details together.” Lindström will test the garments in accordance with the standard as well as in customer use. “We will develop a garment that is fit for its intended purpose and comfortable to wear,” Huttunen says.
”The demand for high-visibility clothing has increased, so the revision of the standard came at a perfect time.” – Anna-Kaisa Huttunen, Lindström
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text Tarja Hämäläinen
A career in workwe design Demands for the properties of workwear are constantly increasing.
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ell-designed workwear is comfortable to wear, allows workers to move freely, fits a variety of body types and withstands wear and repeated washing. “Clothes are always made for the user,” emphasises Katja Vaahtera, who has built her career in underwear and workwear design. “Clothing designers find out what the users expect and need. For example, workwear designers examine the users’ work environment and determine their body movements, working positions and the challenges posed by the environment. Workwear must be fit for its purpose and please the eye.” Ready-to-wear collections are designed for certain industries and occupations. Examples include protective clothing for welders and garments that meet the hygiene requirements of the food sector.
Collections can also be designed to match the company’s visual identity in order to create a sense of unity and make it easier to identify employees and various occupational groups.
for users of different sizes and body types. “Designers always rely on the most recent information, such as sizing in various markets. Europeans have different body dimensions than Asians, and Indians are different from Chinese,” Vaahtera notes.
Workwear design is a process
A garment’s production process involves professionals from a variety of fields. A designer comes up with an idea and creates a sketch. A product development assistant draws up work instructions, a pattern designer and patternmaker create a pattern, and a sewer sews a prototype. After the product development phase, all information is sent to a factory, where the clothes are sewn in mass production. Various departments and companies work together to ensure that the garment meets the user’s needs and is fit for its purpose. Clothing design is challenging, since the design must look good and work
Introducing workwear design
Lindström has been investing in future workwear designers since the beginning of the century by holding a competition for European and Asian fashion design students every second year. In the competition, students design a collection for a real company. They create the sketches and technical specifications, and an external patternmaker and sewer make the clothes. The competition also provides students with an opportunity for practical training. “There are many steps in clothing design that students can complete
Competition timeline
2014
Online lectures
September Sign up before 20 Sep
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Return sketches before 20 Oct
October Finalists chosen on 7 Nov
2015
November–January Virtual fittings and production in cooperation with students
ear alongside studies and thereby learn about the field and the jobs on offer,” says jury member AnnaKaisa Huttunen of Lindström. She herself started her career by entering design competitions and is well aware of the challenges faced by students. Preparing students for the world of work
Heikki Haldre, head of the jury of the ongoing competition, also thinks that competitions are highly useful to students. “During the competition, students see how well another professional – a patternmaker or sewer – can understand their designs and make the kind of garments that they had in mind. Today’s industrial production is an effective mechanism with no room for cancellations and interpretations, and this is the world that most students will enter when they graduate. Experience gained in a competition such as this one is extremely valuable.” Haldre is a co-founder of Fits.me, a virtual fitting room, and its current Head of Business Development.
Lindström Award in 2014 • Workwear design competition for fashion and textile design students • Designing a collection for Kaubamaja, a traditional Estonian department store • 250 students participated in the competition • Five finalists were chosen in early November • Patterns will be made and prototypes sewn during the rest of the year • The clothes will be presented at a closing event in Tallinn, where the jury will announce the winner • At the end of the competition, Lindström will offer students an opportunity for a trainee period The jury
• Heikki Haldre, head of jury, Head of Business Development of Fits.me, a virtual fitting room • Reet Aus, Estonian fashion designer • Piret Suitsu, Customer Service and Human
Resources Director, Kaubamaja Group • Juha Laurio, President & CEO, Lindström
Group • Anna-Kaisa Huttunen, Vice President,
Workshop and evening event in Tallinn, Estonia
12. February
Design & Brand Management, Lindström Group
During the competition, students see how well another professional – a patternmaker or sewer – can understand their designs.
– Heikki Haldre, head of jury
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Home washing a risk to protective clothing Industrial textile care provides peace of mind for employers.
key requirement for workwear is that it must protect the employee. Workwear makes employees more visible and better protected from occupational dangers, such as heat and sparks. The employer’s responsibility, often specified in legislation, is to secure
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employees’ health and safety at work. The employer must provide the necessary PPE and ensure that it is in working order. If employees take their workwear home for washing, the condition of garments classified as PPE may be endangered. After home washing, the employer cannot be sure that the
text Tarja Hämäläinen | photos Lindström
Textile service companies
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• Comply with international textile care standards • Use the best available technology and the latest methods • Maintain expertise that allows them to ensure that the protective properties of textiles do not suffer and that they conform to legislation • Use technology to monitor the circulation and washes of individual garments The survey ‘Consumer behaviour while washing workwear at home’ was commissioned by the European Textile Services Association (ETSA). Read the full results at www.textile-services.eu
garments will protect the employees from occupational risks in compliance with legislation and international standards. This conclusion was drawn by the European Textile Services Association (ETSA) from a study on how consumers wash their work clothes. The study was conducted in four European countries,
half of them receive new clothes when the old ones are visibly damaged. Industrial washing provides safety
Proper care requires expertise in washing technology
After home washing, the employer cannot be sure that the garments will protect the employees from occupational risks. where 1,600 people described their laundry washing habits. The study shows that employees’ washing habits may weaken the protective properties of workwear, such as their antistatic properties, visibility or protection against heat, sparks and chemicals.
Workwear should not be washed at home, since employees rarely know how to preserve the protective properties of clothes. According to the study, 93 per cent of respondents felt that a garment was clean after washing. However, a garment that looks clean may contain residues of substances that weaken the protective properties. For example, residues of mineral oil may affect a garment’s flame resistance. Softeners were regularly used by 68 per cent of respondents and stain removers by 58 per cent. These chemicals, which were designed for non-work clothing, may affect a garment’s flame resistance or antistatic properties. In professional textile care, washing chemicals and processes are selected so that they will not damage the appearance or protective properties of the textiles. Under half of respondents said that their employer checks the condition of workwear at least occasionally. Inspections concern the visible properties of garments. Four out of ten respondents mend their own workwear, and about
The maintenance of protective clothing requires knowledge of textiles and their protective properties. In industrial textile care, the right wash temperature is always used and dirt and stains are removed safely using appropriate chemicals. Clothes are also inspected after washing. When repairs are made, it is ensured that protective properties do not suffer. When a garment is stained or damaged beyond repair, it is disposed of. The washes of individuals garments are also monitored, so that materials whose properties decline every time they are washed can be removed from circulation. Industrial textile care is more reliable than employees: professional processes ensure that protective clothing will not fail to protect them. Industrial textile care provides peace of mind for employers. It ensures that they will not knowingly risk their employees’ health and safety as a result of negligent textile care.
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Workwear service is flexible and adapts to the customer’s needs
Essi Wallin explains how and why to optimise Lindström’s workwear service.
What is workwear service optimisation?
Lindström wants to provide optimal workwear services for all customers. This means that the service should be used effectively and that it should meet
the customer’s needs. If a customer is not making full use of the service, we take action and adapt the service to make it more appropriate.
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How is optimisation done?
By comparing the current status and actual needs. After assessing the situation, we provide a recommendation for measures that will help to achieve the best possible solution for the customer. Optimisation is usually done by changing the quantity of garments,
changing or renewing workwear models, and checking unnecessary workwear that has not been returned. Regardless of whether quotas are increased or decreased, the main thing is to modify the service to meet the customer’s needs and ensure effective use.
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Why is the service not always optimal? Essi Wallin Global Key Account Manager, Lindström
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How can I keep the workwear service at an optimal level?
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What workwear service?
It is natural that organisations change: the number of employees increases or decreases, job roles evolve, the operations develop. Sometimes no attention is paid to the workwear service and the service concept is not updated to meet the new needs. In this case, the concept must be modified together with the customer to make it better suited to the current situation and future needs.
It’s a good idea to go through organisational changes and their impact on the workwear service (e.g. additional orders, returns, changes of models) frequently enough. One of the benefits of the workwear service is flexibility: the quantity of garments in circulation and the product selection can always
be customised as needed and changed easily. The workwear service content can be managed and monitored via the eLindström service. In addition, we at Lindström are happy to help in small matters as well as in larger service concept changes. It’s our job to make your daily work easier!
Covers all workwear needs. The collection is chosen together with the customer. Lindström purchases the clothes, organises personal fittings for users and makes the required changes. The process ensures that everyone has workwear that is the right size and fits well. Once a week, a Lindström service representative picks up used workwear for washing and replaces it with clean garments.
As the garments are in for washing, Lindström’s textile care workers also mend them as needed or replace items that no longer comply with the customer’s quality standards. Lindström also takes care of the storage and final disposal of the clothes as required by waste regulations and sustainability principles.
text Helka Herlevi | photo Heikki Räisänen
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In line with Lindström’s values, our partnerships are based on close cooperation with the customer and continuous improvement of our services. Our aim is a satisfied customer and a long-term customer relationship. If Lindström notices that a customer is not making full use of the service, we take action and adapt the service to meet the customer’s needs.
text Terhi Paavola | photo Junnu Lusa
Red is the colour Nurses always wear white – wait a minute, no they don’t. At least at Diacor medical centres, nurses have fashionable red-and-white outfits. hat is important in health-care personnel’s workwear? “Hygiene is the key thing,” says Ulla Raunama, Development Manager at Diacor terveyspalvelut Oy, without hesitation. After that come comfort, elasticity, breathability and, in operations, level of protection. “Quite tough demands,” she sums up. Reading the list of requirements, you would think that the clothes are dull and hospital-like – but they are not. Diacor’s nurses, radiographers and bioanalysts work in sprightly red-and-white tunics and trousers. There are also options. When a nurse comes to work, she can decide whether to wear a jacket or a V-neck tunic. The choice depends on the nurse’s duties and preferences. Raunama says that fashion and the sporty appearance of clothes are also important. “This is a service job, so we must look neat and tidy. And it’s nicer to work in clothes that look good. Nurses no longer want to wear baggy dresses.” In health care, the usability of clothes is important. What that means in practice is easy to list. “The clothes must also be comfortable when performing operations. They should not be too hot, and you should not feel cold in them either. You must be able to move freely in them.” Every now and then something happens during a procedure, so it must be possible to change clothes. “Health-care employees always have spare clothes in a locker. This means that logistics must work without a hitch.” Clothes also help in identification. Diacor’s customers know that the people wearing red-and-white outfits are nurses. Compared to the old dress, the outfit promotes equality. Both men and women can wear similar clothes. “I believe that clothes branded to match our colours create a consistent image for outsiders and increase unity among employees,” Raunama says.
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Nurse Sanna Forssell is happy with her work outfit.
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I haven’t seen such seamless cooperation, commitment and respect for work, the employer and colleagues anywhere else! – Anu Torop, who participated in the Explore Others’ Work programme in Tallinn.
Learning something new The Explore
Others’ Work programme aims to further improve Lindström’s service culture and cooperation.
text Mari Saarinen
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s many as 80 Lindström employees have already participated in the exchange programme, launched in 2013 in Finland. Next year, the programme will be extended to Lindström subsidiaries. The first countries will be India, China and Russia as well as a few other European countries. “The programme has been a hit in Finland, so the concept will be largely the same in other countries,” says Ville Karhuviita, HR and Quality Coordinator at Lindström. The programme is open to all permanent Lindström employees. The exchange normally lasts three to five working days. The employee agrees on the exchange with their supervisor and sets the goals for it. A learning diary is used to support the employee’s learning.
Exchange in a subsidiary piloted in the autumn
In September, Anu Torop, Key Account Manager in South-Eastern Finland, spent five days at Lindström Estonia in Tallinn. “I wanted to see what customer service is like in our first subsidiary,” Torop says. “I noticed that there are quite large differences between the countries, although the concept is the same. I learned to respect the contribution of other countries. For example, employees in Tallinn talk with customers much more openly and directly. We could learn from this in Finland.” Management also involved
The Explore Others’ Work programme has the senior executives’ full support. They also change jobs for a while at least once a year. The idea is to continue this practice in subsidiaries.
“Whatever your position, you can always learn new things. The exchange programme’s influence on job satisfaction and new inspiration is undeniable,” Karhuviita says.
Benefits to participants New perspectives, ideas and skills – new ways of working Help in career development Understanding of the company’s processes
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Juha Laurio appointed as Chairman of ETSA The European Textile Services Association (ETSA) has appointed Lindström CEO Juha Laurio as its Chairman for the next three-year term 2014–2017. Laurio will take over the post from Christina Ritzer of Bardusch GmbH, who was the Chairman in the previous term. The purpose of the association is to monitor industry regulation and raise awareness of textile services. The textile services industry has a major impact on the European economy. The sector’s annual turnover is €11 billion, and it employs approximately 135,000 people within the EU.
Bold expansion in Russia Lindström is investing in Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk in Russia. The expansions are part of a strong growth strategy. In Moscow, Lindström acquired Kovro Service, a competing provider of mat services. In addition to this acquisition, new service centres were opened in St Petersburg and Novosibirsk. The Novosibirsk service centre is a new opening for Lindström in South Siberia and will increase the availability of the services geographically.
Lindström employees are satisfied with their employer Lindström conducted an employer image survey in the summer of 2014. Employees feel that their employer is a growing international brand and a reliable and attractive employer that has an interesting service portfolio. They would gladly recommend Lindström as an employer, and the results show that they are proud of their work and employer.
Hungary celebrates 20 years of operation Lindström established a subsidiary in Hungary in 1994. With its 200 employees, Hungary is today one of the Group’s largest operating countries after Finland. Lindström Hungary provides workwear, PPE and mat services.
The future of the textile services industry looks bright The textile services industry could grow to four times its current size and reach a turnover of €46 billion in Europe, according to a recent market sizing study by Deloitte. The study, commissioned by the European Textile Services Association (ETSA), indicates that companies are increasingly focusing on their core business and outsourcing other functions. Textile service companies typically offer rental workwear that is sent to the service provider for washing and maintenance using the best available technology. “Successful companies do not take risks with product safety, which is why textile care must be professional and reliable. This is highly important to our customers,” says Juha Laurio, President & CEO of Lindström and Chairman of ETSA.
Overall textile rental market (annual turnover)
Potential growth
€46 bn
€11 bn Current market (2012)
Potential market
Deloitte, 2014. Quantifying the Opportunity. European Market Sizing Study for ETSA.
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text Mari Saarinen | photos Pure Waste Textiles Oy
In Finland, 60 million kilos of textile waste is recycled every year, but only six per cent of this is reused as raw material.
Pure fibres from textile waste At the beginning of 2016, a decree will enter into force in Finland that bans sending textile waste to landfills.
*National Consumer Research Centre: Finland’s Textile Waste Streams, update for 2012
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inland generates 70 million kilos of textile waste every year*, 16 million kilos of which is recycled and donated to charity. Only six per cent of this amount is reused as raw material. This figure should be raised,” says Marjo Mäntylä, Manager of Process Development and Environmental Issues at Lindström. Finland’s textile waste streams have been studied in a TEXJÄTE project of the Finnish Environment Institute, to be completed in April 2015. “The solutions proposed include various material and recycling banks that could be run in cooperation between the Nordic Countries,” says Mäntylä, who is a member of the project’s steering group. HAMK University of Applied Sciences, a funding provider for the TEXJÄTE project, has launched an initiative to build a national model for textile banks operating as workshops.
Pure Waste reuses textile waste
According to Anders Bengs, the founder of Finnish Pure Waste Textiles, the
challenges in recycling textile waste have to do with the development of recycling methods and machinery, for example. “The culture gap between producer countries and Western countries also creates challenges,” Bengs says. Pure Waste, which was founded in 2013, processes textile waste generated by the clothing and textile industry and recycles it into yarns and fabrics. Most of
the production is located in India. “Europe is ahead in the development of recycling technology and equipment. However, the majority of clothes are manufactured in growing markets, such as Asia, South America and Africa. It’s therefore logical to also recycle the waste there.” Dissolving large quantities of textiles
This has international potential.
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is studying methods for dissolving textile waste that would enable the separation of fibre materials and the processing of clean fibres into recycled materials. “This has international potential. Lindström would benefit the most from fibre separation techniques. They would enable heterogeneous waste textile masses to be recycled into raw materials,” says Mäntylä. Lindström is constantly looking for new ways of recycling discarded textiles. The goal is to raise the reuse rate of textile waste to 90 per cent by 2016.