Investing in tomorrow

Barely two and a half years after the opening of the new Healthcare laundry by King Willem-Alexander, Stef and Luuk de Win are already making plans for the next step. This time, the Nedlin Hospitality laundry is on the agenda. The plans are inextricably linked to their vision for the company and the ambition to do better every day.

Staying the cours

 A year ago, Stef and Luuk de Win, owners and directors of Nedlin, looked ahead to a stable year. 2025 was to be the year in which the processes on the work floor and in the office would be optimally safe guarded, so that the company would be ready for its next step. Now, at the beginning of 2026, they once again sit down at the table with fresh ambitions and a keen eye for what is happening in the world. 

A climate crisis, geopolitical tensions, social stability under pressure: the world has, as Stef puts it, ‘somewhat lost its compass’. “The question then is: do you wait for what others say, or do you make your own choices as a company? We believe we need to set out our own vision on how to drive our business forward in these times, without losing sight of developments.” 

European perspective 

He points to Mario Draghi, who present ed his report on Europe’s competitive position in September 2024: ‘The Future of European Competitiveness’. The report emphasises that Europe can no longer rely on the factors that enabled previous growth. Declining productivity, demographic challenges, rising energy costs and increasingly fierce global competition are putting Europe’s prosperity under pressure. At the same time, climate change and digitisation require substantial investments. Europe must find answers to these challenges.

The same applies to Nedlin, because the challenges at European level translate well to the laundry industry. “Due to the changing population structure, the labour market is becoming increasingly tight and the costs of labour are rising, as are energy costs,” says Luuk. “These two components, labour and energy, are also of great importance in our sector. This is reflected in our long-term vision, which focuses on investments in these areas.” 

Nedlin is fully committed to the energy transition: not only through the use of alternative energy sources, but above all through the lowest possible energy consumption. In addition, the focus is on productivity within the organisation by utilising all technical possibilities, partly to be able to address the labour question in the future as well. 

AI and robotisation  

New developments make it possible to put those ambitions into practice, says Stef. “AI is also entering our industry, in production and in the office. Robotisation is gaining momentum. And the combination of these two makes it possible to further automate processes that are still largely done by hand. We continue to invest in that.”

As a result, the position of the laundry in the labour market is also changing. Currently, many colleagues are still very much hands-on with the product. With these new technologies, the roles in some departments are already shifting more towards an operator role, and that trend will continue. Stef: “Because the world is changing, the company is changing too. At all levels, we have teams that are capable of going through that development with us, people with the ambition to make that journey together”. 

Moreover, because Nedlin continues to invest, there is always a future for colleagues within the company, Luuk emphasises. “As the scale of the laundry also increases, many colleagues make a long journey in their development and in their career. People who fit in at Nedlin therefore also stay for a long time.”

Sphere of influence 

With clients, Stef and Luuk see the same challenges as in the laundry. “The extent to which they are affected varies by segment”, says Luuk. “But they too face high energy costs and difficulty finding people. Because we constantly innovate, we keep our cost trends under control. This allows us to remain competitive compared to other providers.”

“Developments often take place far beyond our sphere of influence”, Stef observes. “In that case, it is essential to at least organise our internal processes as efficiently as possible.” This limits the risks, for the laundry and for the client. Because in an energy-efficient company, the dependence on energy is smaller and costs are less determined by it. 

The same applies to labour. If you need less labour per kilogram of laundry, that reduces the dependence on factors such as absenteeism and wage cost trends. And if the service is safeguarded in the process through technology, it becomes possible to continue growing whilst maintaining the highest quality. 

Stability  

Major steps have been taken in this regard over the past year, says Luuk. “After the new construction for Nedlin Healthcare and the rapid growth during that same period, we needed some time to find a new balance. We have invested heavilyin software development, such as the Smart Workwear Tool® with which we will proactively manage clothing packages. That is a major step forward for our clients.” Chipping flatwork has also yielded many insights. “We have developed all sorts of tools to show exactly what happens with the linen. This allows us to proactively manage linen procurement, so that the client is always served at the maximum service level.”

The same applies to logistics, where digital systems increase insight into goods movements and driver perfor mance. “These systems allow drivers to coordinate their work better. If help is needed somewhere, they arrange it among themselves. All of this contributes to better service.” 

Top three 

That excellent service, sustainability and innovation are the very reasons why clients choose Nedlin. Luuk: “Ideally, we want organisations to think of us immediately when they are looking for a laundry service provider. These aspects are crucial in that regard. Do you want to handle workwear or flatwork differently, more cleverly and better? Then you need to come to us”. 

In tenders in healthcare, hospitality or industry, the laundry is virtually always in the top three, says Stef. As a result, Nedlin has continued to grow. Not through acquisitions, but on its own strength. Luuk: “Some clients choose us because of sustainability, others simply want a cost-efficient service. And yet other clients appreciate that we can organise the process the way they want. Whatever the reason: when clients con sciously choose our system, we can enter into a partnership for the longer term. That contributes to the stability of our company”

New plans 

Now it is time to continue the path that was set with the new building for Nedlin Healthcare at other locations as well. The two are not giving themselves much time to rest. Stef: “Immediately after such a new building, you think you can look ten years ahead. But you are constantly looking for how you can improve processes again, to offer clients even more stability”. 

The latest techniques from the new building are now also being implemented at Nedlin Hospitality. This starts with expanding the capacity of the former Healthcare laundry, which is now in use as the second Hospitality line. “By replacing and further automating the machinery on the finishing side, we are converting that line into a fully-fledged Hospitality line. This creates the capacity needed to take on the original Hospitality laundry.”

Within two years, both Hospitality lines should be just as far ahead in terms of technology and automation as Nedlin Industry, which was completely renewed in 2018 and 2019, and Nedlin Healthcare, whose new building was opened in 2023. Stef: “We translate the innovative strength of our other laundries to Nedlin Hospitality. Such as chipping flatwork – we will also set up the infrastructure for that here. This allows us to better safeguard those processes at Nedlin Hospitality as well and create room for new growth”. 

Sustanability  

Naturally, steps are again being taken in making the washing process more sustainable in the development of the Hospitality lines. As a B Corp, Nedlin owes that to itself, Stef and Luuk believe. And it is also necessary to be future-proof, Stef thinks. “The art is to build an energy system that makes smart choices. So that we do not lose the energy we generate ourselves, reuse waste streams and purchase smartly, aligned with the moments when we need energy for our laundries or our vehicle fleet – because that is being electrified too.” 

A great deal of technology and software is needed to align the total energy demand with generation capacity and procurement. Luuk: “Ultimately, we no longer want to feed energy back to the grid, but use all our energy in our process, or store it for later”. A concrete step is the reduction of the washing temperature, made possible by new enzymatic processes. This way, laundry is hygienically clean with less energy. Or the coupling of the water flows of Nedlin Healthcare and Nedlin Hospitality, so that all water is purified in the company’s own water purification plant. 

Investing in the future 

Ultimately, it is very simple, says Luuk: “Whoever can produce at the lowest production cost retains the room to invest in tomorrow. That is only possible if you are willing to do so. That is the great advantage of a family business: other companies tend to be more at the mercy of shareholders or the owner”. Clients value this attitude, because they know that Nedlin is therefore a stable and long-term partner for them. Because that, too, is excellent service.

Luuk: “Internally, we translate that excellent service into the right product, in the right quantity, of the right quality, at the right time and in the right place”. But however simple that may sound, in the laundry it turns out to be quite complex. “If you then manage to deliver that every day, you ultimately have a satisfied client. And that is what we do it for.”