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/ Magazine / Industrial laundries at a crossroads, addressing workforce shortages is a challenging factor, what are the possible solutions?
by
Marzio Nava
In recent years, Italy’s labor market has undergone a period of profound transformation, marked by a growing gap between labor demand and supply. In many sectors, a lot of companies struggle to find qualified personnel, despite the unemployment levels that might suggest the opposite. The causes are complex: demographic shifts, an aging workforce, evolving skill requirements, declining appeal of certain professions, and changing expectations, particularly among younger generations. The industrial laundry sector exemplifies these challenges. A strategic link in multiple supply chains, including healthcare, hospitality, catering, industry, and services, it faces persistent difficulties in recruiting both operational and specialized technical staff. The result is a clear and ongoing skills shortage. Industrial laundry work is often perceived as physically demanding, performed in shifts, and carried out in environments that require precision, attention to detail, and strict compliance to procedures. In addition to these factors is the limited publ ic awareness of the sector, which makes it less attractive compared with professions seen as more modern or flexible. The consequences are tangible: staff shortages disrupt work organization, increase costs, and reduce the sector’s responsiveness to customer needs. Addressing these labor challenges requires a broader reflection on labor market dynamics, targeted skills development, and initiatives to make these roles more recognized, appealing, and sustainable over the long term
In this reportage, we turn our attention to the issue of labor, focusing specifically on the industrial laundry sector. To explore these topics in greater depth, we interviewed Alessandro Rolli, Managing Director of KANNEGIESSER ITALIA.
One of the sector’s most pressing challenges is the shortage of qualified personnel, particularly maintenance technicians, specialized staff, and operators responsible for machinery management and control. This skills gap is placing significant pressure on many industrial laundries. What are the underlying causes of this shortage?
“The challenge is twofold. On one hand, there is a persistent difficulty in matching supply and demand for highly specialized roles. On the other, our sector often struggles to compete with others in terms of attractiveness. The reputational value of industrial laundries is hard to convey, particularly because the significant evolution the sector has undergone in recent years, through innovation, automation, and process traceability, remains largely underappreciated”.
What is the state of workplace safety in the industrial laundry sector?
“In recent years, the sector has made significant strides, mainly thanks to technological advancements in machinery. Modern equipment is inherently safe, provided that safety devices are not tampered with or disabled. Many facilities still operate older machines that lack the latest safety innovations, and risks can increase when personnel are not adequately trained or qualified. Language barriers, for example, can pose a hazard if foreign workers do not fully understand instructions or safety protocols. Overall, however, the sector has reached a mature level of awareness, with safety increasingly recognized as a central priority in production processes”.
Another key issue for industrial laundries is the use of flexible or temporary labor. How do you address it?
“Flexibility is essential, particularly for companies serving the hospitality and catering sectors, which are highly seasonal. Both the law and collective labor agreements offer contractual tools to manage peak periods. The real challenge, however, lies in stabilizing and motivating the workforce. Operational continuity is critical: occasional or temporary workers are often less familiar with production processes and machinery, which can affect efficiency. The complexity is even greater in companies where workloads fluctuate drastically, from working two days a week in winter to double shifts in summer. Managing this effectively is a major organizational challenge”.
What is your opinion on the Tourism Minister’s proposal to revise the school calendar?
“It could be a positive measure, especially if school holidays were spread more evenly throughout the year rather than concentrated in the summer. A distribution similar to that in many Central and Northern European countries would enable our companies to plan more stable, full-time hires, thanks to a more balanced workflow. Seasonality will always affect laundries serving hotels and restaurants, and it cannot be completely eliminated. However, structural reforms like the one proposed by the Minister could have a meaningful impact on work organization, making human resource management more sustainable”.
“At ZUCCHETTI CENTRO SISTEMI (ZCS), we do not operate solely as system manufacturers; we are also service providers, working side by side with industrial laundries to support and optimize their production processes”, explains Francesco Raffagnato, Project Manager of the Automation Division.
“The industrial laundry sector, is characterized by pronounced volatility, with sudden and often unpredictable fluctuations in both demand and supply. This instability is complicated by operational challenges linked to the strong ethnic and cultural diversity of the workforce, which frequently requires complex and timeconsuming adaptation processes in the workplace. Adding to these difficulties is a persistently high employee turnover rate, a problem shared with the hospitality industry and significantly intensified during the pandemic years.
COVID-19 marked a decisive turning point: the prolonged shutdown of tourism and hospitality severely impacted laundries serving hotels, restaurants, and accommodation facilities, abruptly interrupting demand. The effects of this disruption remain evident today, particularly in terms of workforce stability. “Restoring stable employment relationships has become increasingly challenging, especially when it comes to qualified and reliable personnel willing to perform the typical tasks required in an industrial laundry”, observes. Raffagnato. “These challenges affect not only laundries but also companies like ours. Against this backdrop, the need for concrete solutions to the growing difficulty of recruiting staff has become increasingly urgent. Automation represents the most effective response”, he concludes. “Beginning with order management, data is collected, processed, and reorganized to enable more standardized, efficient, and resilient production workflows”.
What does this mean in concrete terms?
“The system eliminates the risk of order errors and determines the optimal timing for activating production, preventing overloads along the production line. It also regulates workforce capacity in relation to incoming orders, avoiding excessive overtime that would place additional strain on employees. The algorithms optimize the entire process, from order intake to delivery, reducing errors and, above all, standardizing workflows. We have implemented these systems in industrial laundries and recorded a 30% reduction in overtime demand”.
What are the key elements of the system?
“The solution combines application logic with advanced hardware systems. Its added value lies in the analysis and in-depth understanding of historical production data, including customer profiles, order volumes, and operational trends. This data-driven approach enables effective management of the entire workflow. A high level of automation complements the system, contributing not only to increased efficiency but also to improved job quality. In contexts such as industrial laundries, often characterized by fast-paced operations and fragmented skill sets, automation helps reduce operational pressure. The benefits extend beyond business performance to employee well-being and motivation, reducing workloads and supporting corporate welfare objectives”.
Do you use AI systems in the laundry sector?
“Our approach relies on a high level of intelligence and just a little use of artificiality. The intelligence is integrated in the system’s algorithms. We are currently testing and gradually introducing artificial intelligence into our solutions. At the moment, it is the combination of professional intelligence and artificial intelligence that contributes to improving system efficiency”.
“The workforce today represents one of the most critical issues for the industrial laundry sector. The problems are many: from staff availability, which varies depending on geographical areas, to the low attractiveness of this type of job”, explains Matteo Gerosa, General Manager of JENSEN ITALIA.
“Operating conditions,often characterized by dust, physical strain, and stress, make the work unappealing, especially for younger generations, further exacerbating a structural shortage of human resources. In this context, technological innovation emerges as a strategic lever. At the international level, leading players in the sector are focusing on circularity, automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence to rethink production processes. Abroad, these dynamics are already well established, while in Italy the transition still appears incomplete”, observes Gerosa. “Nonetheless, incentives linked to 4.0 Industry, and more recently to 5.0 Industry, have supported the adoption of automated solutions, such as suspended bag-handling systems and robotic lines, providing tangible support to companies in addressing labour shortages.
At the same time, industrial laundries are investing in improved working conditions by upgrading climate control systems, automating the most repetitive and physically demanding tasks, and placing greater emphasis on machine ergonomics to reduce physical strain and improper postures. One particularly critical area is sorting, traditionally among the most demanding phases of the production process. In response, Jensen, through technological partnerships, has developed fully robotic solutions that eliminate the need for operators at this stage. More recently, the company has also introduced the “dark factory” concept: an operational model in which sorting is carried out automatically during night-time hours with minimal staff presence, optimizing production times and workflow efficiency”.
How would you assess the current ergonomic conditions in industrial laundry workplaces?
“The issue of ergonomics and the quality of working environments remains central, but in Italy it is hindered by the absence of large industrial groups with a strong cultural awareness of these aspects. In sectors such as healthcare, attention to ergonomics is higher, thanks to stricter regulations and contractual requirements. In the hotel laundry sector, however, the adaptation process is still ongoing”.
How can AI support operations in industrial laundries?
“In this context, artificial intelligence emerges as a key enabler. AI is a tool whose value depends on the quality of the questions asked and the analyses conducted. When applied correctly, it can optimize operational procedures and improve workforce efficiency. In particular, AI integrated into machinery enhances quality control through computer vision and machine learning systems capable of automatically recognizing garment types, shapes, orientation, and fabric condition. Intelligent scanners can detect dirty, torn, or stained linen, converting visual data into actionable information that guides robots and machines during sorting, folding, and ironing. The system continuously learns from the data collected, increasing precision, automation, and overall process traceability”.
Retaining skilled workers remains one of the sector’s greatest challenges in the workplace…
“The difficulty in finding personnel affects both managerial and executive roles, those capable of interpreting data, overseeing automated processes, and integrating AI into production models, as well as, more broadly, the technical staff responsible for machinery. Industrial laundry is a complex system requiring cross-disciplinary expertise, from logistics to textile knowledge, from washing chemistry to wastewater treatment, and personnel management. Even training maintenance staff remains a critical challenge, compounded by the loss of skills following the pandemic. Without adequate investment in human capital and innovation, adopting new technologies becomes significantly more difficult”, concludes Matteo Gerosa. •
We visited NEPROMA SERVICE, located in the heart of the Brescia region, to explore the inner workings of an industrial laundry and spoke with the company’s sole Managing Director, Gianbattista Bonardi.
What is the biggest challenge currently facing the industrial laundry sector?
“Staff recruitment varies significantly by region. Here in the Brescia area, fortunately, we do not face major difficulties. Most of our collaborators come from India and Pakistan; they are skilled in operating machinery and possess strong IT competencies. The company employs over 200 people across four main departments. The real challenge lies in integrating individuals from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It is not an easy task, but ultimately, it is the individual who makes the difference”, explains Bonardi.
What are your company’s core activities and areas of specialization?
“We operate multiple specialized laundries. One is dedicated to linens for nursing home residents and is managed by a type B social cooperative. Another handles flat linen and uniforms for healthcare staff. We also run a laundry for the hotel and catering sector, maintaining a stable workforce supplemented by seasonal workers during peak periods. A fourth facility focuses on bedding: blankets, duvets, pillows, curtains, and catering linens. Currently, we are setting up a fifth laundry to manage seasonal surpluses”.
What is your approach to maintaining loyal staff, especially while facing competition from other sectors?
“In our region, we face competition from the metalworking industry, which offers higher average salaries and more flexible vacation policies. To remain competitive, we provide bonuses and additional compensation. Many of our foreign employees initially join with the goal of achieving economic stability; over time, however, new priorities can emerge, and sectors less affected by seasonal fluctuations may become more attractive”.
What impact do hard work and ergonomic factors have on employees in the industrial laundry sector?
“The attractiveness of a job is closely linked to the level of physical strain involved. We invest heavily in ergonomics and automation. For example, we reduce the weight of dirty linen bags, divide loads into smaller parcels, and simplify the handling of clean materials. These measures enhance both employee well-being and overall production efficiency”.
How do you handle the integration of new seasonal workers?
“At the start of the touristic season, we may bring in up to 80 new employees. The initial training lasts a few hours and includes rotations across different workstations so they can become familiar with all aspects of the job. Only after this process do we evaluate each worker’s suitability for the role”.
Which strategies do you use for staff recruitment?
“We rely on several employment agencies, which also serve as a form of trial period. It is a job that requires significant manual skill, despite the aid of technology”.
What factors make the industrial laundry sector perceived as an unattractive field?
“The working conditions are demanding. In summer, internal temperatures can become very high. Air conditioning is not feasible, as it would interfere with the heat generated by the machinery. Additionally, during peak periods, it is not possible to offer holiday schedules comparable to those in other sectors”.
Which aspects of working in the industrial laundry sector are most often underestimated?
“The care of linen and materials is essential, yet often overlooked. Drivers and client staff do not always handle the trolleys and linen carefully. We invest in both equipment and training, but raising awareness among all parties remains a challenge. Not everything that arrives can be perfectly laundered, sometimes linen has been stepped on or improperly used before it reaches us”.
How does your company handle the recruitment and integration of workers with disabilities or from underprivileged backgrounds?
“It is a real challenge. At present, the number of employees with disabilities is limited, and their abilities are compatible with the tasks at hand. Physical or motor limitations would make the work significantly more difficult, particularly in a hands-on environment like ours”.
In conclusion, industrial laundry is a complex sector where success relies on integrating individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, balancing technology with manual labor, managing seasonal peaks, and prioritizing worker well-being. Neproma Service, with its five laundries and approximately 200 employees, illustrates how expertise, organization, and attention to detail can transform a seemingly invisible industry into a vital component of healthcare, tourism, and catering.
DETERGO MAGAZINE # FEBRUARY 2026
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In 1990 was founded the Association ASSOFORNITORI. In 2022 the name has been changed to ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIANA FORNITORI LAVANDERIE (ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF LAUNDRY SUPPLIERS), with the acronym AIFL.
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