News & Innovations

A Visit to White Plains Linen, USA

White Plains Linen is a family-owned company, founded by Louis Botchman in 1939. Originally dealing in uniform rentals, the company transformed in 1978 when Botchman’s grandson Bruce acquired a laundry in Peekskill. From that time on, White Plains Linen has laundered, processed and delivered clean linens and uniforms to customers throughout the five boroughs and the greater New York area. 
In addition to the restaurant business and a thriving catering division, Bruce Botchman recently launched an online business, WholesaleChefStore.com, which sells a wide range of both front-of-house and back-of-house goods to chefs nationwide.  

Meet Bruce Botchman and his Winning Team
“The thriving company that we are today really took off some fifteen years ago, when I gained total control of the business and took the risk of investing in automation,” Bruce explains. “We have been growing exponentially ever since.”
Today, the company processes up to a million washed-weight pounds (500 tons) per week, running two shifts each day, five days a week. In the table linen segment alone, White Plains Linen processes some 200,000 tablecloths and 1.75 million napkins weekly.   

From the beginning, Bruce and his fellow executives chose to work with JENSEN.

“JENSEN was and remains the most innovative in the industry, with product quality and cost savings that are second to none,” says Bruce.

He also values JENSEN’s creative solutions and commitment to their customers, telling a story about the time when his company faced the difficult task of finding a new wide ironer that could fit into a tight factory corner. JENSEN’s designers were the only ones who went the extra mile to customize the perfect solution for White Plain Linen’s unique needs.

The JENSEN Apron Folding System “with savings so high it’s not even funny”
The cost of labor has always been the biggest obstacle to growth, Bruce says, explaining that he’s chosen JENSEN machines for the cost savings in operations and, just as importantly, for the quality of the finished product.

“Take the apron folder,” Bruce says, for example. “The savings in labor costs are so high it’s not even funny.”
He goes on to explain that prior to purchasing the JENSEN Olympic, he typically had four or five people working on folding aprons, with an additional two employees inspecting the quality of the output. With the JENSEN Olympic’s optimized Napkin & Bottom-Up System, just one person can handle three lanes of perfectly stacked and folded aprons, at a solid rate of 400 aprons per lane. 

Len Labonia, vice president of operations at White Plains Linen, adds an enthusiastic and heartfelt message of his own:

“You should have seen the aprons of the competition. Strings were hanging all over the place, while our aprons come out perfectly folded and stacked like tight little sugar cubes!”

Unbelievable Production Numbers – JENSEN’s High Speed, Top-Quality Finishing
Len – or Lenny, as he’s known around White Plains – goes on to share his experience with JENSEN machines’ signature combination of high speed and precise execution. Two Jenroll EXP 1200 ironers and Jenstack Drape & Store machines with Jenscan MPS quality control system were placed back to back in White Plains Linen’s plant, so that one single operator could receive not just five lanes of perfectly folded and stacked napkins arriving from one system, but a grand total of ten lanes when receiving the napkins from both. With volumes of 1,350 polyester napkins per lane per hour, one operator receives 6,750 napkins per station. That’s more than 13,500 napkins per hour when handling the two systems simultaneously.

Lenny noted that these high-performance numbers were made possible by the sophisticated Jenscan MPS, a line scanner that automates quality control by examining all pieces for holes and stains, as well as deformed pieces that are detected according to specific customer settings.

“I looked at a couple of other scanners, and decided that JENSEN by far had the better handling of the scanning.”

At White Plains Linen’s Jenstack Olympic Napkin&BottomUp, one single operator handles the five-lane stacking of cotton and patterned napkins at a rate of 500 napkins per lane, with enough time on her hands to bundle the work with another machine. 

The Icing on the Cake: Feeding Round Tablecloths on JENSEN Logic Plus
The JENSEN Logic Plus feeder is a busy place thanks to the versatility and flexibility of the machine. With 25% of its revenue coming from the laundering and finishing of tablecloths, White Plains Linen recently acquired this sophisticated feeder to accommodate large rectangular tablecloths up to 156 inches in length, as well as tablecloths in several rectangular sizes.
In addition to their restaurant customer base, a significant segment of White Plains Linen’s customers is in the catering and special events business.  To their pleasant surprise, Lenny and his staff discovered they were able to also use the JENSEN Logic Plus feeder to accommodate their large inventory of round, special events-style tablecloths, ranging from 96 to 132 inches in diameter. Thanks to the flexible design and ergonomic features of JENSEN Logic Plus, skilled operators learned to feed the round table linen by attaching each corner to the feeder clamps in such way that the round edge folds over the top of the tablecloth. Jack Ferrara, assistant VP of operations, explains that he likes to cross-train his operators, but tends to keep the same people at this station because of the expertise and skill set of the operators. He adds as a matter of fact that White Plains Linen enjoys a low employee turn-over rate.

JENSEN’s Leadership in Ergonomics: The Secret Ingredient for Speed
JENSEN engineers know that unparalleled production speed is achieved only by meticulous commitment to a number of key features. One that is often overlooked by others is machine ergonomics. JENSEN knows it is essential to create the optimum working conditions for operators by minimizing the strain on the body, thereby enabling operators to work at a high and steady production rate while enacting quality-of-life improvements for all involved.
The Logic Plus feeder provides a fine example of how JENSEN machines minimize operator stress: its feeding height position can be individually adjusted to the operator, and the patented EasyClamp system further reduces strain thanks to its pivoting “Soft Touch” spreader clamps. Vacuum support and spreader plates alleviate operator strain and fatigue by helping to lift heavy linens.

JENSEN’s built-in ergonomic design doesn’t just contribute to employee health, safety and speed.  Easing the strain on employees, JENSEN ergonomics also play a part in employee retention, giving staff the time needed to gain experience and develop an optimal skill-set.
 
JENSEN in Step with its Customers’ Needs – the White Plains Linen Success Story
Having visited this thriving plant, it is clear as day that White Plains Linen’s success story is still unfolding.  As their handsome fleet of trucks continue to line the lanes of the Hudson, Bruce and his capable workforce will continue along their journey of explosive growth, with only the blue sky above as their limit. Mr. Botchman will continue to come to JENSEN with unique needs for new machines, and JENSEN in turn will have plenty more pleasant surprises in store for him.