Girbau North America recently recognized several distributors for outstanding sales and service in 2020.
Fowler Laundry Solutions, based in Union, N.J., received the Vended Laundry and Multi-Housing Distributor of the Year awards; Sunshine Sales, headquartered in Glendale, Ariz., earned the On-Premises Laundry Distributor of the Year award; Lavanett, located in St. Laurent, Quebec, received the Canadian Distributor of the Year award; and Laundry Systems of Tennessee in Sevierville, Tenn., earned the Girbau Industrial Distributor of the Year Award.
Fowler was recognized for outstanding service, sales and support in both the vended and multi-housing laundry markets. The full-service company is among the largest laundry equipment distributors in the Mid-Atlantic region and serves the vended, multi-housing, on-premises and industrial markets. Led by Doug Fowler and founded in 1952, the multi-generational company employs 70 staffers.
“GNA enjoys a longstanding and historical relationship with Fowler,” said Joel Jorgensen, GNA vice president of sales. “During the challenging year of 2020, the Fowler team exhibited its dominance as an outstanding vended and multi-housing partner. We thank them for their years of excellent representation of GNA products.”
Sunshine Sales was recognized for excellent service, sales and support in the on-premises laundry market. Owned and operated by Bob Ropp since 1972, Sunshine Sales is a full-service vended and on-premises laundry equipment distributor serving Arizona and New Mexico. The company works to design and equip on-premises laundries for greater productivity and lower labor and utility costs – regularly serving everything from hotels and resorts to vet clinics, fire departments, colleges, healthcare facilities, commercial laundries and correctional facilities.
“Sunshine Sales is one of our longest standing distributors, having represented GNA brands since 1995,” Jorgensen noted. “That partnership has always resulted in amazing results, especially in the difficult year of 2020. We thank the Sunshine Sales team for its customer-first approach and outstanding efforts.”
Lavanett, led by Earl Eichen, received the Canadian Distributor of the Year award for exemplary performance in on-premises, vended, textile care and industrial laundry markets within the province of Quebec. Established in 1996, Lavanett employs 20 team members and provides laundry and textile care solutions, parts and service to customers throughout Canada.
“Earl and the Lavanett team are well-known for their expertise in both laundry and textile care,” Jorgensen said. “They delivered outstanding sales in 2020, which is a reflection of their team approach and customer care within these industries. GNA greatly appreciates their efforts.”
Laundry Systems, led by President Jeff Large, received its third Girbau Industrial Distributor of the Year award for outstanding sales and service performance within the industrial laundry market. Laundry Systems – offering parts, service and sales to the vended, industrial and on-premises laundry markets – specializes in outfitting laundries within the hospitality market of cabin rentals and hotel/motels.
“We began representing the GI brand 11 years ago, which allowed us to enter new markets and transfer from small on-premises laundries to the next level of automation,” Large explained. “It was a perfect fit.”
Since then, the Laundry Systems team has not only worked to understand and capitalize on the GI brand, according to Jorgensen, but has offered unmatched customer service along the way.
“Because of that effort, they’ve capitalized on an amazing volume of opportunities within the industrial market with GI automated laundry solutions. We are very thankful for their partnership.”
