Scotland region: January 2019 meeting review

The Scotland region held their January 2018 meeting at Borthwick Castle and what an amazing venue it was.

Guests were welcomed into the Great Hall by Michelle Ramage, executive housekeeper, and her team and treated to a delicious afternoon tea, whilst feeling like they were at a medieval banquet. Ramage and her Borthwick Castle team had won the Springboard Awards for Excellence, Best Housekeeping Team Initiative in the Autumn but hadn’t been able to travel to London to collect it, so Liz Smith-Mills collected it and Jo was able to present it to the whole team.

Kyle Grant from Oxwash was unable to make the journey to tell attendees about his incredible company so Stephen Broadhurst from Star Linen UK gave the group an overview before he moved on to his own presentation. Kyle Grant co-founded Oxwash in 2017 with the current chairman Dr Aron Ping D’Souza as CEO.

With a background as a research scientist at NASA and a DPhil in Synthetic Biology from the University of Oxford, Grant is leading the team with an engineering rationale. By combining the latest in renewable energy generation and storage, with innovative new microfibre removal technology, they have created a truly sustainable and environmentally friendly laundry service. They use electric cargo delivery bikes, fully biodegradable packaging and detergents and are shaping the future for commercial laundries. Stephen Broadhurst is a well known figure to those who attend national events and the Scotland region were delighted to invite him to speak at this regional meeting.

He has a wealth of knowledge about the textiles industry but decided that, as it was the beginning of the new year, he would take a motivational slant to the meeting – it certainly resonated with many people in the room and made people think. He talked about the Human Tree – how there is a section on display but there is also the roots which are hidden – those days when we put on a smile and get to work whilst what is really happening with us is hidden below the surface.

To round off the meeting the group were given a tour of the Castle and an insight into its historical importance, especially apt given that Mary Queen of Scots stayed twice, and the premier of the film was held in Edinburgh the night before. The regional organisers would like to thank the team at Borthwick castle for their hospitality and help, as well to Johan Bosman from Cleanbrands and Stephen Broadhurst who donated a star prize to the raffle – a Platinum mattress encasement with topper, brand new to the UK market. There will be a chance to win another two at the next Scotland region meeting.

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