Lindström continues strong international growth driven by digitization of services and sustainable innovations
In 2018, textile services company Lindström grew in all its market areas, most strongly in Asia. The company continues the strong digitalisation of its services and creates new circular economy-based solutions that promote the sustainability of its customers’ business operations.
In 2018, the turnover of the Lindström Group increased by 8 percent since the previous year and amounted to EUR 386.8 million (EUR 358.3 million in 2017). The most significant investments were targeted at developing digital solutions and expanding operations in Finland, India and Russia, among other countries. Lindström’s Sustainability Report 2018 and annual results were published today on the company’s website.
“Our company is growing strongly, and as a 170-year-old family company, we understand that sustainable, profitable growth, committed personnel and our capacity to reform are the keys to our success. We are forcefully digitalising our services, having also modernised our production in several countries, such as Latvia and Russia,” says Juha Laurio, President and CEO of the Lindström Group.
In 2018, international business operations covered 45.6 percent of the company’s turnover (44 percent in 2017). The group’s net profit was at a good level at EUR 28.3 million (EUR 18.0 million in 2017).
“In India and China, our growth was boosted by the opening of the clean room service to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical and electronics industry customers. We also expanded our own clothing manufacturing. In addition to Latvia, we now have our own unique workwear factory in India, where we manufacture workwear directly to the needs of our customers and with fast delivery. In 2019, we expand our garment-manufacturing network to Hungary too. Manufacture only for a real need is one way of reducing environmental impact, because then the products are not produced unnecessarily for the warehouse,” says Laurio.
The digitalisation of services to increase towards the year 2020
The most significant investments by Lindström in 2018 were made to develop the company’s digital solutions, which is an important part of the company’s growth strategy. The benefits of digitalised services are already visible to the customers as the use of workwear, washroom, hotel and restaurant textile services can be monitored and managed digitally.
“In Finland, we are investing in the construction of an IoT network that covers 100,000 roll towel dispensers. We are also introducing smart technology into our workwear worldwide. Acting sustainably is increasingly important for our customers, so we are constantly developing new circular economy-based solutions to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals. In order to meet our customers’ needs and in collaboration with our customers in the trading section, we developed a deposit-based, washable shopping bag that helps retailers reduce the consumption of plastic bags and provide a responsible alternative for consumers,” Laurio says.
For further information, please contact:
Juha Laurio, President & CEO, Lindström Oy, tel. +358 40 501 6299, juha.laurio(at)old.lindstromgroup.com
Lindström Oy
At Lindström, we take care of people at their work. Our flexible textile services are designed to improve the safety, hygiene and public image of our customers each day. We are a responsible employer and take care of our employees. Lindström employs over 4,300 personnel in Europe and Asia. In 2018, the Group had a turnover of EUR 387 million. Our vision is a company with a turnover of half a billion euros, good financial standing and an excellent customer experience created by committed employees. www.old.lindstromgroup.com