Gouge Linen and Garment Services was established during the 1940s as a dry-cleaning business in Shepparton in Central Victoria.
The company has been owned by the Priestly family since the 1980s, and has developed along two aligned paths as a dry-cleaning business and as a commercial laundry.
The laundry includes services for collecting, cleaning, and delivering linen for customers in the accommodation, hospitality and healthcare industries, as well as cleaning industrial workwear for a wide range of clients.
The main laundry is located in Mooroopna, near Shepparton.
As a direct result of strong business growth over an extended period the Mooroopna facility reached a point where it was close to its capacity, and this situation drove the need to create more space in the form of a purpose-built, highly automated laundry plant in Geelong.
The new Geelong plant is twice the size of the Mooroopna facility and has sufficient space to expand further if required in the future in line with the company’s growth plans.
The Geelong facility currently employs 80 people, bringing the total of staff to 500 across the broader operations of the company. A dry-cleaning and uniform cleaning operation based in Niddrie, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, is also part of the business.
“We cover all of Victoria and southern New South Wales,” says John Calleja, Chief Executive Officer of Gouge Linen and Garment Services.
“We pretty much go to every town in Victoria, so we have an extensive range and footprint.”
Gouge Linen provides its services to around 1,300 customers, ranging from a 20-bed hotel up to 1,100-room premium hotels in central Melbourne.
Other clients include small aged-care homes and major hospitals in Melbourne and regionally. The uniform segment of the business launders around 55,000 garments per week.
These uniforms range from mechanics to pharmaceutical, food manufacturing and abattoirs, through to front-of-house uniforms for the hospitality sector. In addition to the three sites in Mooroopna, Niddrie and Geelong, there are satellite distribution sites in Bendigo, Ballarat and metropolitan Melbourne, which receive and distribute bulk linen from the cleaning facilities.
In order to deliver fresh linen and garments direct to customers, and then to return soiled items to the laundries, the company has its own fleet of 52 trucks which now includes two Scania prime movers (a 420 P and a 460 G) and eight Scania rigids with a mix of 280, 320 and 360horsepower engines in 4×2 and 6×2 configurations.
“The Scania trucks have been on the fleet only a short while,” says Damian Marston, General Manager of Logistics.
Damian has been in the company for two years and comes from a logistics and warehousing background and now has the responsibilities associated with operating the fleet.
“Fleet management was new to me,” Damian says. “But it has the same KPIs and cost level triggers.”
Prior to deciding upon the Scania’s, Damian oversaw a detailed tender process which included comparisons with other truck brands and models on factors such as total costs of ownership, fuel efficiency and safety features.
“The Scanias have a high level of safety spec, which also helps attract drivers,” Damian says.
“They’re living in the truck most of the day. They like the Scania in-dash driver support system that scores their driving style, and they bring it up in their toolbox meetings. They’re proud of their scores and they’ve taken photos on their phones of the dash with their performance displayed. It drives a healthy level of competition, and they are optimising their performance and driving with a positive attitude.”
Gouge Linen takes advantage of the availability of Scania Driver Training to deliver the best experience for the drivers as well as maximising safety and vehicle efficiency.
“It just rounds out the package — the drivers have a comfortable truck, a safe truck, and they get real live feedback on how they’re driving the truck,” Damian says. Gouge Linen Chief Executive Officer John Calleja likes the Scania Fleet Monitoring tools.
“We’re looking at the maintenance costs we’re incurring and comparing against the kilometres and the age of the vehicle and the fuel efficiency and that’s really what’s driven our investment in the Scania fleet,” he says.
“I’m an accountant, so it’s really simple for me. If the numbers stack up and I’ve got a truck that’s better for our drivers, and safer for our drivers, then that’s a great outcome.”
The Scanias are each subject to a five-year repair and maintenance contract.
There is a fundamentally strong focus on safety throughout the entire Gouge organisation and the features on the Scanias, such as side and turning cameras, help to set them apart.
“It is important for us for our drivers to be in good quality, safe trucks,” John says. “We want them to be comfortable and we want to provide them with a good tool of trade. Plus, as an organisation we’re really keen to drive efficiencies through the business.
When Damian told me the fuel efficiency the Scanias would be getting, I said that would be awesome but prove it.
Scania loaned us a truck for a demonstration, and they delivered what they promised. The Scanias have proven to be efficient, safe and comfortable.”
Fuel economy is a Key Performance Indicator for the Gouge fleet and driver training has been a contributing factor in obtaining improved results.
Just a few years ago the average fuel consumption across the fleet was between 2.7 and 2.8 kilometres per litre, whereas now the average is 3.99 km/litre, with the Scania rigids achieving above 4.0km/litre.
“We’re pretty proud of that. The cost saving on fuel, traveling as far as we do, is an important factor,” Damian says.
“Some of the Scanias are doing around 1,300 kilometres a day, across two shifts and both the outward and return journeys see the trucks fully loaded, so the fuel savings really add up.”
Reducing its carbon footprint is a major undertaking for the entire business and includes changes to reduce water consumption by 80 per cent compared to a conventional commercial laundry.
Solar energy systems have been installed on some of the buildings’ rooftops, and the truck fleet’s overall reduced rate of diesel consumption also plays a part.
“In concert with the fuel efficiency, there’s the environmental benefits and this is important to us as a business,” John says.
“Being a regional business, and the distances we cover, makes electric trucks a challenge. That technology’s not right for us, yet. So, having Scanias that are really fuel efficient is an important thing for us.”
Emissions, according to Damian, were a major consideration when Gouge bought the trucks.
“We’ve been speaking with Scania about electric trucks as well and what that looks like,” he says.
“There is going to be a point in time when customers push suppliers towards electric vehicles.”
As Gouge Linen and Garment Services continues to grow it retains its commitments to its customers and the communities in which it operates.
“We’ve got an unwavering focus on three key areas,” John says. “The quality of the linen and uniforms we provide, ensuring our customers receive what they order every time, and both of these complemented with great customer service.”
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