Today American Laundry News announced their 2020 Panel of Experts, and our own David Bernstein makes his second appearance as an “Expert,” representing the Consulting Services sector. Read David’s introduction below, but you can also read what the other Experts had to say on the American Laundry News website.
As president and chief propellerhead of Propeller Solutions Group, I am honored to have been chosen as a panelist for the 2020 American Laundry News Panel of Experts. This will be my second time contributing to this column, and I am looking forward to another year of stimulating questions and the interchange of ideas with all of you.
Propeller Solutions Group is a premier provider of engineering, training and consulting services for the laundry industry. We help clients increase revenue, maximize throughput and improve efficiencies by developing the most cost-effective solutions to common and not-so-common operational, sales, service and IT issues.
We came up with the name for our company not only because we like to say that we help our clients reach new heights, but also because of our reputation for taking an analytical, data-driven and some might say, nerdy, approach to solutions. That should also help explain the propeller beanie in our company logo.
All of us came to this industry via different paths, and my path started at the front door of the house in which I grew up. That’s because my father and grandfather both manufactured and sold laundry machinery, which meant that many of my summers and school holidays were spent working at Consolidated Laundry Machinery (CLM), visiting laundries, participating in industry events and getting to know several generations of industry operators and vendors.
My professional career in the industry began nearly 30 years ago when I joined Consolidated Laundry Machinery, first doing the company’s marketing, then as vice president, and eventually as president. During my tenure there I was involved in all aspects of the company’s operation, including manufacturing, R&D, sales and more, and I also helped our customers specify machinery, layout their new and upgraded facilities, and make improvements to their plants and their operations.
Following my tenure at CLM, I continued my work in the industry as a director of the Uniform and Textile Services Association, chief operating officer of F-MATIC, senior vice president of Turn-Key Industrial Engineering, and most recently as president of Lapauw USA.
My experience and specialties include plant operations, production management, process improvement, sales and marketing, customer service, equipment specification, plant layout, technology, and route sales enhancement.
I am Lean Six Sigma certified, and I apply the concepts of Lean in all aspects of my professional life, especially in helping find ways to improve my clients’ operations, throughput, revenue and profits.
Throughout my career it has been important to me to give back to this industry that has taken care of my family for several generations. I am a current member of the board of directors of the Association for Linen Management (ALM), and I am a past board member of TRSA, the association for linen, uniform and facility services, and the Western Textile Services Association.
I instruct each year at ALM’s Laundry and Linen College and at TRSA’s Production Management Institute (PMI) and Executive Management Institute (EMI). I am a proud member of the UTSA Plant Operations Hall of Fame, and I have earned multiple TRSA Volunteer Leadership Awards through my work on the Education Committee and as chair of the Production Summit Task Force.
I have a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego, and I live in Park City, Utah, where my wife and I enjoy skiing and cycling, as well as hiking with our yellow Labrador retriever.
Propeller Solutions Group opened its doors in 2019, and our first year has been a busy one. Starting a new business and finding capable talent to support it is always challenging, but even more so in this booming economy.
I am honored to be working with the team that is being assembled and am blessed to be working with amazing clients for whom we have already done various projects that include facility planning, process improvement, RFP development and more.
I am looking forward to helping ALN’s readers address challenges that are facing the industry in general as well as particular market segments. There are a number of challenges facing our industry, not the least of which is the need to attract, train and retain talented associates in all aspects of operations, but most significantly in the areas of engineering and maintenance.
Beyond that particular field, we are also challenged by the rise in minimum wage across the United States, which is driving operators to reduce headcount through a variety of means, including automation, robotics and process improvement.
I look forward to helping address these and other issues with you, ALN’s readers, in the year to come. In the meantime, I hope 2020 is a year filled with happiness, health, prosperity and good times with friends and family.
The above article originally appeared in American Laundry News.