MARTINSBURG — HandCraft Linen & Uniform celebrated the official grand opening of its new Martinsburg branch on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The business began in 1969 as a small dry-cleaning service that was dedicated to offering excellent service and high-quality linen and apparel. It was started by John Nichols and has continued to be a family-run business. Over the years, the vision for the business began to grow. HandCraft Linen now serves hospitals, providing fresh and clean healthcare linen including sheets and scrubs.
Keith Nichols, president and co-owner alongside his brothers Jay and Jeff, explained that they chose to open a new branch in Martinsburg because they began to outgrow their facility in Richmond, Virginia. As they continue to offer services further north, HandCraft wanted to find a place where they continue to grow and improve their services.
“It’s all about family,” Nichols said. “We come from a service background where we’re all about service. I think that’s what really sets us apart. We focus on both service and quality, and we’re dedicated to bringing that to our customers.”
This new branch is HandCraft Linen’s fifth facility and will bring over 150 new jobs to the community. Between all their facilities, they process 105 million pounds of laundry, working with 140 hospitals throughout the area. With the new West Virginia plants, they will increase to 180 million pounds of laundry, and they now employ around 750 with plans to grow even more.
During the grand opening ceremony, several HandCraft Linen members spoke, including Keith Nichols, CXO Will Anderson, CEO Curtis Nichols and COO Joe McKeown. They all thanked the many people who played important roles in bringing the new facility to life. McKeown described some of the challenges they faced as they built the new facility, including one of their tunnel washers being damaged in delivery twice and then accidentally being dropped a third time as it was being installed. Despite the setback, the facility has been up and running for four weeks now, providing clean linen to customers.
McKeown also explained that the facility is home to some of the most advanced washing, drying and folding systems, with a state-of-the-art heat reclamation system. Not only that, but they are already in the planning stages for HandCraft Linens’ next facility which will be just on the other side of the new plant.
“Moving forward, our mission is to continue to provide the excellent customer service that we have been to our customers,” Curtis said during his speech. “And doing so allows us to continue to grow and continue to build plants like the one you’re standing in today.”
