Leadership Voice
Representing textile services leaders serving industrial, uniform, F & B, healthcare and hotel / lodging markets.
Officers / Executive Committee
Randy Bartsch, Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service Corp., Chair
P. J. Dempsey, Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply Inc., Vice Chair
Roger Harris, Metro Linen, Treasurer
James Kearns, Alsco Uniforms, Immediate Past Chair
Brian Herington, PureStar Rick Kelly, Pellerin Milnor Corp.
President & CEO Joseph Ricci, CAE
Directors
Scott Burke, Loop Linen Service Theresa Garcia, Division Laundry & Cleaners Bob Hager, Miller’ s Textile Services Rich Kramer, City Uniforms and Linen Xavier Martiré, Elis Ed Orzetti, ImageFirst Liz Remillong, CORE Linen Services Jim Rozakis, Cintas Corp. Anwer Shakoor, Unitex International Inc. Steve Sintros, UniFirst Corp. John Thomas, M & B Hangers Kelsey Van Miert, Northwest Health Care Linen Josh Wildman, Wildman Uniform and Linen
Committees & Chairs
Diversity: Kortney Overzet, Spindle; Molly Ruiz, ImageFirst
Environmental: Ed Darnell, Clean Uniform Co.
F & B / Hospitality: Phoebe Ellis and Richard Marzo, Lace House Linen Supply
Government Affairs: Ryan Swartz, PureStar Group
Healthcare: Nancy Tree, Alsco Uniforms; Scott Delin, Fashion Seal Healthcare / Div. of Superior Group of Companies
Human Resources: Renee Mendoza, American Textile Maintenance
Information Technology: Zachary McCook, Nixon Medical
Industrial / Uniform / Workwear: John Auriemma, American Wear
Marketing, Sales, & Service: Will Hacker, ADI; Ashley Carroll, Prudential Overall Supply
Next Generation Executives Network: Kalli Sohn-Spehar, Sohn Linen Service; Jake Gurtler, Gurtler Industries Inc
Safety: Charles Edelman, Unitex Healthcare Laundry Services
Strategic Planning: P. J. Dempsey, Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply
Supplier Partner Council: Rick Kelly, Pellerin Milnor Corp.
www. textileservices. org • www. trsa. org
Voice of Joseph Ricci, TRSA President and CEO
Workforce Pressures and Technology Investment Dominate Industry Outlook
Workforce shortages, rising costs and a growing need for technology investment emerged as the most pressing concerns for linen, uniform and facility services companies, according to a survey conducted during the United Kingdom’ s( UK) Textile Services Association( TSA) Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Similar views emerged from feedback gathered through peer-to-peer discussions with North American CEOs, representing more than 300 senior executives. Comparisons of the two groups revealed strong global alignment between executive sentiment and broader industry experience in both the UK and North America.
During the TSA Congress on March 17, staffing and cost pressures dominated the polling, which asked executives to identify their most pressing issues. Responses clustered around“ staffing,”“ rising costs,”“ labor,”“ energy” and“ inflation.” These concerns underscored the near-term operational strain felt at the leadership level. The polling also highlighted recruitment / retention challenges, particularly for skilled technicians and engineers— as a direct threat to productivity and returns on technology investments.
Workforce Factors Most Likely to Impact Companies Over the Next Three Years
48 %
salary and benefits cost
45 %
leadership succession planning
44 %
employee retention
These concerns are echoed in the North American survey data and CEO discussions, but with clearer prioritization. When asked which workforce factors would most impact their companies over the next three years, 48 % of respondents cited salary and benefits costs( see chart above). These were closely followed by leadership-succession planning( 45 %) and employee retention( 44 %). While the CEOs emphasized immediate staffing shortages in live feedback, the national results suggest that companies increasingly are focused on longer-term leadership pipelines and organizational stability.
The need to adopt advanced technology also cut across both sets of survey findings. In the live polling, investing in new technology to lower costs and
8 Textile Services • May 2026