Fishers is reversing its decision to withdraw from Perth by reopening its laundry plant, creating 80 jobs.
Scotland’s largest commercial laundry and textile rental firm closed its Perth site in May 2020.
Relying heavily on the tourism and hospitality industries which closed over lockdown and losing a contract with the operators of Premier Inn and Hub hotels made running the site ‘unviable‘.
It resulted in 84 job losses at the Inveralmond Industrial Estate plant.
With the hospitality sector reopening, Fisher anticipates washing, drying and ironing more than two million items a week by mid-summer.
This resurgence in demand has made the re-opening of its Perth laundry economically viable.
Fishers general manager David Emslie said: “This is the right decision for our customers and the business.
“We look forward to seeing the facility operating at full capacity once again.
“It was heart-breaking when we had to close our Perth laundry in 2020.
“That strength of feeling is matched only by our delight at reopening Fishers Perth now.”
Fishers Perth hiring 80 staff
The laundry plant has undergone a brief period of recommissioning and is now recruiting to build its workforce over the summer.
The company expects to return to its pre-Covid headcount of 80 people by September.
While the Perth laundry plant was forced to close, the Cupar-headquartered firm kept its Fife, Coatbridge and Newcastle plants open. It now also operates a Livingston site.
Fishers’ client base includes hotel chains such as Travelodge and Jury’s, as well as Malmaison, the Caledonian Waldorf Astoria and Hotel du Vin chains.
Managing director Michael Jones said it’s been a hard road out of Covid for the firm.
“But we view the reopening of our Perth facility as a major milestone, both for the Scottish hospitality sector and for Fishers,” he continued.
“Like the rest of the commercial world, we are currently facing a global supply chain crisis, sky-high energy costs and staff recruitment and retention challenges.
“But we remain committed to supporting the hospitality sector as we recover from the impact of the last two years.”
Conversation