The importance of laundry industry in Sri Lanka cannot be overlooked

Back around the turn of the century, the great industrial revolution changed the way we all look and live. We recall, in the old days in Sri Lanka, laundry operation was predominantly done in shops and separate areas by family members and thus, creating a mythical misconception among Sri Lanka society that laundry work is a cast-related profession.

Work in a laundry plant is often regarded as less attractive for it is not recognized in society and young people tend to avoid such jobs. The industry is thus left with older workers who are largely unskilled or only semi-skilled, hence training and retraining the workforce are critical. 

The service offered was unsophisticated with only simple facilities. There were no big washing machines, dryers, extractors, electrical irons and it progressed to a cottage-type industry.

In the 60s and early 70s, when Sri Lanka began its industrialization and expanded its tourism industry and fortunately with the opening of the first five-star hotel – Ceylon Intercontinental – in 1973, they introduced new technological advances and sophistication in the laundry industry in Sri Lanka. They recruited foreign laundry managers within their hotel chain to train Sri Lanka staff to ensure that the textile care and laundering techniques in the processing of laundry and dry cleaning work are met.

A highly skilled workforce is required to match the growing sophistication of the laundry industry and drive industry development and restructuring through continual skills upgrading and we have to ensure that there will be an adequate supply of skilled workers to meet the ever changing need in the laundry industry. By 2018, there will be more than four new five-star hotels opening in the city and they will require around 250 skilled laundry staff for their operations. In addition, there will be more commercial laundries opening and they too will require skilled laundry staff for their operations.

Today, we see many large multimillion-rupee industry plants equipped with automated equipment. Washing machines and dry cleaning machines now come with increased ease and efficiency. There are also new developments and technological advances in detergents, textile fibres and blends as well as improvements in laundering techniques that everyone in the laundry industry needs to be familiar with, to stay relevant.

Amaranath Cumaraswamy 
A pioneer and the most senior figure is this industry, Amaranath Cumaraswamy, is completing 43 years of continuous service in the laundry and dry cleaning service field in Sri Lanka. He started his career 43 years ago (1973) in the laundry department at the first five-star hotel in Sri Lanka – Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel – where he had the opportunity to work in the first fully-automated professional laundry and dry cleaning plant in Sri Lanka. He was trained under Xavire Salhani, an Italian, who was the Director for Laundry and Dry Cleaning for the Asia Pacific region for the Intercontinental Hotel chain.

In 1976, he was transferred to the newly opened Riydh InterContinental in Saudi Arabia and in 1978 he joined the Ramada hotel chain as Laundry Manager and served for 12 years in Abu-Dhabi, Jabel Dhana and Dubai. In 1988, he returned to Sri Lanka and joined the then Ramada Renaissance Hotel Colombo (present Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel) as Laundry Manager. There he was responsible in opening the drive-in laundry counter – The Creases and Pleats – and today it’s in the best professional laundry and dry cleaning service outlet in town with an average turnover at Rs.8 million a month.   

After a long stint in the industry, at both local and international hotels, he retired in 2008. In 2009, he joined SriLankan Catering as Management Consultant for Laundry and Dry Cleaning. This was an opportunity for him to share his vast knowledge and experience in opening the laundry and dry cleaning facility at SriLankan Catering in Katunayake. The laundry service, named Aero Clean, was equipped with the best state-of the-art and branded laundry and dry cleaning equipment in the world to provide laundry and dry cleaned linen and garments at their best and processed approximately 10,000 kilogrammes of linen per day.  This facility provided direct employment for 85 people – most of them school leavers – who were trained by him in this field. The 24-hour operation provided its services to SriLankan Airlines and other international airlines. 

After completing his consultancy agreement with SriLankan Catering in 2012, he joined the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLIHM), formerly known as Ceylon Hotel School, as Laundry Manager/Lecturer, with the opening of the well-equipped and fully-automated laundry and dry cleaning facility at SLIHM. For the first time in Sri Lanka, the SLITHM has introduced a three-month craft level theory and practical course in professional laundry and dry clearing operations. 

Cumaraswamy specializes in laundry skill training such as fibres and fabrics, stain removal fundamentals of laundry management, dry cleaning fundamentals and customer service in dry cleaning pressing and finishing procedures. He is also a laundry consultant on laundry design and planning. He is a member of the international Fabricare Institute of the USA.

Among other achievements is his book titled ‘Basic Principles in Laundry, Laundry Chemistry And Dry Cleaning’. The book could be used as a text for laundry operators and the trainee laundry operators in the industry and as a reference book for easy use by those who are looking for answers and solutions for the issues they face in the industry. 

Potential for growth   
The future prospects of the laundry industry in Sri Lanka look bright and this sector has reached a formal role in providing a professional service for individuals as well as cooperates. There is a huge potential for growth in the laundry industry in Sri Lanka and the boom in the tourism industry has fuelled growth further.

The first batch of students who successfully completed the three-month fulltime craft level course in laundry operations at the SLITHM has already found employment in five-star hotels in Colombo. The main aim of the course is to train more youngsters to take up jobs in this field. Since there are lot of job opportunities in Sri Lanka and abroad and by 2019 there will be five more five-star hotels opening in Sri Lanka, the SLITHM will be able to provide professionally-trained laundry personnel to take up positions in these new hotels and commercial laundries.

This specialized course is only conducted by the SLITHM and it is envisaged to provide at least 250 trained personnel to work in five-star hotels, catering services, hospital and commercial laundry and dry cleaning plants in Sri Lanka and abroad.

Cumaraswamy is very optimistic about the future of laundry operations in the country and would like to see more youngsters taking up jobs in this field. He has trained over 400 staff in this field. Some of them are working as laundry managers in Sri Lanka, the Middle East and the Maldives for five-star interactional hotel chains and commercial laundries.  

Those who wish to follow a career path in this field now have an excellent opportunity to make use of the specialized course provided by the SLITHM in laundry and dry cleaning operations and be sure of a job in this booming industry in Sri Lanka and abroad.