Processing plant
HLS Linen Services processing facility is designed to accommodate the needs of its customers now and well into the next few decades by processing a projected 40,000,000 pounds of linen a year. Our new facility, which opened on April 9, 2007 is 185,000 square feet equipped with the most advanced equipment in the industry and the world.
- 5 soiled linen receiving docks for offloading and 5 clean shipping docks.
- 48 soiled linen sorting hoppers which have a productivity of 1,200 pounds per operator, per hour.
- Soiled side post-sorted capacity to store over 450 bags or 75,000 pounds of soiled linen.
- Soiled linen carts are received and put through a dual cart wash that handles up to 200 carts per hour. This system cleans and sanitizes the carts, delivering them to the clean linen area.
- 5 highly automated Kannegiesser 165 pound, 16 compartment continuous batch washers called “tunnels” which have the ability of calculating variable wash load sizes using “ratio metrics”. We also have capability of adding more tunnels to allow for future growth.
- Wash cycle times of 120 seconds for healthcare, and 180 seconds for surgical with wash temperatures averaging 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
- An emergency storage tank has been built into the foundation of the building in the chemical inventory room in the event of a spill. This is a significant safety feature of modern laundries.
- Automated below grade trough systems of chemical delivery which include over five kilometres of flexible tubing.
- 5 Kannegiesser 45 bar presses that produce up to 3,600 psi of pressure used to extract excess water from washed laundry.
- E-Tech material handling systems and related software management for routing of laundry via 3 kilometers of monorail which use gravity and lifts. The laundry moves from the soiled linen area automatically through the wash and drying process and then onto the clean side to be distributed to the appropriate department.
- The capacity of the E-Tech monorail system is 324 bags (also known as “slings”) or the equivalent of 75,000 lbs on the soiled side of the plant and capability to hold 566 slings or 99,000 lbs on the clean area.
- 10 high-speed flatwork ironers for processing flat bed sheets, table linen, napkins, draw sheets, flannel blankets and pillow cases.
- 14 small piece folders and one blanket folder used for precision folding of bath towels, under pads, infant and thermal blankets.
- 12 lift tables deployed strategically throughout the facility for dedicated hand folding of various items.
- Operating Room surgical pack room capable of producing and sterilizing 17,000 packs per week.
- Operating Room Pack room equipped with two Getinge Castle sterilizers with expansion space equipped with piping and wiring for two additional units.
- 24 skylights are strategically located throughout the production areas of the plant to provide as much natural light for the employees as possible resulting in the reduction of lighting requirements by 35%.
