Local relationships help keep Monarch strong

Tag : textile wash

Tribune Correspondent

Monarch Textile Rental, started as a coin-operated laundry andfamily service in the days when many people did not have washersand dryers, now offers its royal local service mostly to medicalfacilities and upscale eateries.

Owner Robert Shultzs father Thomas started Monarch in 1956.

We were doing family laundry in those days, Shultz recalls. Alot of people didnt have washers and dryers. We did a lot ofexecutive shirts. People started buying washers and dryers. Then wegot into hospital linens.

Linen supply and uniform rentals dominated by the mid-1960s.

It just grew from there, Shultz says. Weve always been strongin the linens. Were very strong in the table linens business andthe towels and aprons, which account for about 60 percent of thebusiness.

Monarch once did a substantial amount of work for hotels andmotels, but many of those started doing their own laundry.

We dont do the sheets and towels business as much as we used to,he says. Weve lost a lot of business to on-premise laundries.They wash, dry and fold. They dont press.

Dust-catching floor mats, which didnt show up in the businessuntil the mid-1980s, now account for 15 percent. Monarch haswalk-off mats, quality and safety mats, super scraper mats, airflex anti-fatigue mats and others, including those with companylogos.

We do a lot of logo mats, says general manager Robert Burt. Thisis a great way for our customers to show off their company logosright at the front door.

Mats once made of latex and cotton are now made of rubber andnylon, Shultz says. Now those mats last a long time, and theyrewashable. Theres hardly a building without them.

The textile rental industry earns $13 billion in the United States,but four large companies control 60 to 70 percent of that.

It has been very acquisition-based over the last 12 years, Shultzsays.

Monarch remains strong by focusing on local connections.

In this business, a shirts a shirt, a pants a pant, a towels atowel, Shultz says.
You build relationships. Everybody should do business with locallyowned and operated companies. We take great pride in our qualityand our r