Magic Moves – SoCal Plant Expansion to ‘San Berdoo’
Despite the recent downturn in hotel traffic related to COVID-19, Magic Laundry Services (MLS) recently announced plans for the latest expansion of its hotel linen operations in Southern California. Specifically, MLS is growing beyond its three-plant base in the same Los Angeles (Montebello) neighborhood with the purchase of a new location in the “Inland Empire,” the metro area east of Los Angeles. MLS’s fourth production facility will encompass 60,000 square feet on 2.5 acres in San Bernardino.
The new plant, located roughly 60 miles from LA, will be home to two elevated sort decks, three jumbo-tunnel-wash systems, eight ironer lines, eight towel folders and a dry-cleaning department for processing uniforms and specialty items. With an unprecedented level of systems integration, this combination of equipment is expected to comprise the most automated laundry on the West Coast, capable of processing 280,000-plus lbs. (127,005 kg.) of linen each day.
Establishing this operation away from central Los Angeles gives MLS easier access to hotel properties in the San Diego, Riverside, and Desert Resort areas.
MLS plans to phase into the building starting in January 2021, beginning with a loading dock expansion to accommodate multiple-truck access to a very large check-in and check-out area – completely enclosed. Other key features include:
- Solar-energy panels, foreseeably powering the entire operation
- Water-resource processing intended to make the plant the greenest laundry facility in the United States
Located at the tip of Interstates 10 and 215, “We can jump on and be in our Desert Resort properties within 35 minutes and head south to San Diego properties in one hour,” said owner/CFO Harry Kertenian. Work will be shifted from the Los Angeles locations to the new facility here, opening those plants to new customers and expanded services to existing ones.
“MLS has been working with the city of San Bernardino directly, which has shown amazing support and encouragement to our organization,” says Cory Acton, VP of operations. “The area needs an employer like us to create new jobs in a region that has been hit hard with the pandemic.”
MLS views the decision to grow in uncertain times as a commitment to the hospitality industry of Southern California for years to come. The company’s management is confident that tourism and hospitality will return to the area sooner, rather than later, and it’s determined to be a leader in ensuring that its current customers and other hotels can access the service and quality they need to meet guest demands.
