National Clothesline

The Tailwind System “Manager of the Year” award is Dave Sharp, manager of Peerless Cleaners in Fort Wayne, IN.

“The Tailwind System is sometimes thought of as a system for larger operators. This is completely untrue,” said Don Desrosiers, owner of Tailwind. More than half of the drycleaners using the Tailwind Shirt System and the Tailwind System for Drycleaning are operators doing well under $1,000,000 per year. However, this year, the Tailwind Manager of the Year goes to the manager of one of the largest Tailwind users in the world.”

The owner of Peerless Cleaners in Fort Wayne, IN, Steve Grashoff, originally decided to use the Tailwind System for his restoration work. Grashoff was recognized last year by the Certified Restoration Drycleaners Network as the largest volume restoration drycleaner among those serving mid-size markets. Now, he not only uses Tailwind for restoration, but also has converted every one of his 20 stores and his routes to the Tailwind System.

“When I visited Steve’s store last spring, I met the man that would become the 2007 Tailwind Systems Manager of the Year. That man is Dave Sharp,” Desrosiers said. “Dave is one sharp guy!

Sharp has been the plant manager at Peerless Cleaners for four years. He also has experience as a manager of a small drycleaning plant and several years as a Wal-Mart manager.

“Often, managers just have to do what the boss wants, no matter what it takes,” Desrosiers continued. “Sometimes, those wants are easy. Sometimes, they are not. Sometimes, they are immensely challenging. Conversion to the Tailwind System in a plant that processes many thousands of pieces per day will fall into the ‘immensely challenging’ group. To administer a change such as this, for the purpose of reducing labor costs, drastically improving efficiency and greatly improving service takes a special manager. It takes a manager dedicated to the goals of the company. That man is Dave Sharp.”

Grashoff said that in April of 2006 Peerless Cleaners introduced the Tailwind System to its drycleaning operation to assist only with the restoration portion of the business.

“After a brief meeting, it was decided that the benefits of the Tailwind system would be to incorporate the entire drycleaning department on the program,” Grashoff recounted.

Peerless Cleaners was cleaning all garments in one main plant for its 15 Peerless Cleaners locations, five Kirt’s cleaners, four routes and CRDN. All of the assembly and packaging was being done at the drop stores.

Grashsoff knew that due to the multiple operations and varying delivery schedules, this would be no easy task. The plan was to bring the restoration, routes and a few stores on to the program during the training week, then slowly add a few stores at a time to the program.

“Once all of the stores were on the program, Dave quickly realized how important that lot integrity would be for the success of this program,” Grashoff continued. “After several weeks of changes, challenges and several long days, Dave with the assistance of Don Desrosiers, was able to reorganize the production and store procedures to ensure lot integrity. The operation was able to better utilize the use of a steam tunnel to assist in production. Moving the assembly and bagging to the plant has reduced lost garments and greatly improved service levels.

“Dave is a very organized manager who takes pride in communication with his 50+ employees,” Grashoff said. “Dave is always clear of his expectations and standards required by each employee. He is goal-oriented and uses it to achieve both quality and production.

“He has created a company culture that sets the standards for all employees and assists new employees to quickly achieve top production and quality. Dave believes that it is very important to have written company policies and be consistent and prompt in dealing with issues. He enjoys conducting biweekly plant meetings and celebrating accomplishments with his employees.”

“I attended one of those meetings and was completed taken in by Dave’s magnetic personality and ‘sharp’ business sense,” Desrosiers said. “It was then that I knew Dave Sharp would be the Tailwind Systems Manager of the Year for 2007.”

Sharp received a framed certificate of achievement and a custom-made wrist watch to to commemorate the award. He can be reached at dsharp@peerless-cleaners.com.