Category Archives: Uncategorized
7 Habits of a Successful Sales Team
A successful, motivated, and engaged sales team is GOLD to almost any organization. But success in the sales world doesn’t just happen by chance. Like anything, it’s a skill that gets better with practice and knowing exactly what to focus on for great results. Here at Plymate, we believe we’ve cultivated a sales team of […]
Sarah Plymate Joins Our Family Company
There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing a family legacy carry on through many generations. The dream that kicked off in 1930 is still alive and well, in part because it was built on principles that last: providing quality service and prioritizing relationships. It’s a testament to the success and draw of this model when future […]
Co-Worker of the Quarter: Meet Greg Walker
One of our favorite traditions each quarter is recognizing an outstanding coworker for their efforts. This quarter, Plymate is happy to present this award to Greg Walker! A little bit about Greg: He’s held the position of Maintenance Technician since January 2018. Greg is intelligent and highly skilled, with vast knowledge in a number of […]
Indiana Originals: The Perks of Being Local
We’ve always been proud to be a family owned business, established right here in Indiana in 1930. Being local is our story, and it’s shaped our values as a company, how we treat customers, and our communities. Larger companies are often burdened by hierarchy, with only a few key voices and decision-makers at the top. […]
Stepping Up Your Cleaning Game? Plymate Can Help.
As businesses throughout the state continue to reopen after stay-at-home orders, many are walking back into a reality much different from the one they left in March. Social distancing, protective gear, and rigorous cleaning procedures are now the norm in our everyday lives. As we all transition and adapt to our current challenges, businesses are […]
This Year’s James T. Plymate Scholarship Recipient
One of our favorite annual traditions is to award a student with the James T. Plymate Scholarship in memory of our company’s second generation president and owner. The scholarship is awarded to a child, stepchild, or grandchild of a current Plymate co-worker who puts forth outstanding effort and exemplifies leadership among their peers. We are […]
Adapting to COVID-19: Benefits of a Uniform Rental Program
If we’ve learned anything from living through the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the importance of cleanliness and disinfection. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, humans are more than ever before thinking about contamination, sterilization, and optimization. As business owners and managers, we’ve been consumed with learning and adapting to an ever-changing world as the pandemic unfolds. We’re doing […]
Going the Extra Mile to Stay Healthy and Safe
As a provider to healthcare facilities, agriculture, critical manufacturing, trucking companies, and public utilities, Plymate has remained open as an essential business during the COVID-19 pandemic. We embrace our responsibility as a provider to so many other critical and essential businesses. We supply them with products they rely on to deliver safe and quality services […]
Not Our First Rodeo: A History of Adaptability and Resilience
After 90 years doing business, we’ve seen a lot. More than a lifetime’s worth of events have occurred in the nine decades we’ve been servicing Hoosiers. With each life changing event, Plymate has persevered and come out on the other side stronger than before. Remembering our past challenges serves as an excellent reminder of Plymate’s […]
We’re Here, Indiana
We might not be the first industry you think about We might not be the ones who make the news We might not be the most glamorous You might not even know we exist But we’re here Working every day Washing every day Driving every day Delivering every day Servicing every day Helping every day […]
Plymate & COVID-19
Covid 19 Response As you are aware, the Covid-19 Virus has caused all of us to take a close look at how we manage our daily affairs as this major outbreak continues to develop. It is believed that the normal laundry process will effectively remove and/or degrade the virus, and there is no evidence that […]
You Asked, We Answered!
We often receive questions by prospective customers and curious inquirers, which we’re always happy to answer. Whether it’s a question about our services and programs (we have more than you might realize!), our technology, our philosophy, or just the way we do things around here, we love to talk about Plymate and what makes us […]
Plymate Attends TRSA Indiana Legislative Conference
Plymate is a member of TRSA, a group representing companies that supply, launder, and maintain linens and uniforms. Recently, TRSA sponsored an event at the Indiana Statehouse—the inaugural Indiana Legislative Conference. Todd Plymate, Ben Warnecke, and Tim Uhlmansiek all attended the event as part of a joint effort to advocate on behalf of the industry […]
Co-Worker of the Quarter: Meet Jessica Palmer
At Plymate, we love holding our quarterly meetings. It’s a gathering we always look forward to, for a couple of different reasons. First, it gives us a chance to exercise our core value of communication, which we find to be invaluable to our ongoing health as a company. And second, it’s an opportunity to celebrate […]
Plymate Celebrates 90 Years!
Today marks 90 years since Plymate was founded, and we’re celebrating! As a family business that’s stood the test of time, we’re proud of hitting this huge milestone. Did you know that around 30% of family businesses make the transition to the second generation? From there, 12% make it to the third, and only 3% […]
Customer-Friendly Contract? Yes, It’s a Real Thing at Plymate.
Uniform and floor mat rental services historically require a legal agreement between company and customer. The contract, in theory, is a two-way agreement to the benefit of both parties. But what we normally discover throughout the industry is the unfortunate truth: most providers don’t offer a customer-friendly contract. In fact, far from it. Common Contract […]
Plymate’s Uniform Program: Designed to Save You Time
Nobody wants to spend massive amounts of time absorbed in the details of their company’s uniforms. And they shouldn’t have to, especially when it can be easily managed by a knowledgeable provider! At Plymate, we rely on time-tested systems and a unique way of doing business that make our uniform program a well-oiled machine. Our […]
Co-Worker of the Quarter: Meet Lori Burnett
One of our longstanding traditions here at Plymate is to recognize a co-worker for their service at each of our quarterly meetings. At our most recent gathering, Lori Burnett received our newest Co-Worker of the Quarter award. The honor is so well-deserved! Lori is one of our wonderful Service Coordinators, working at Plymate since 2015. […]
Help! How Do I Change Uniform or Mat Providers?
Not all uniform and mat providers are created equal, and businesses often find themselves working with a vendor that isn’t quite meeting their needs. But the situation can be complicated—maybe they’re still operating under a contract with the vendor and can’t go elsewhere just yet. Or maybe the process of changing vendors feels daunting and […]
Customer Experience: Endangered Species Chocolate
Our commitment to a great customer experience hasn’t wavered since our founding in 1930. Since then, we’ve been fortunate to provide our uniform and mat rental services to countless customers who take as much pride in their business as we do in ours here at Plymate. Our technology and processes have improved quite a bit […]
Build a Better Team: Job Shadowing at Plymate
Here at Plymate, we’ve found that our team works better when we all understand each of the roles within the company. More than understanding, experiencing each of the roles helps us to know exactly what it’s like to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. That’s why at Plymate, part of our onboarding process is […]
Never Stop Learning: CSCNetwork Training
For over 30 years Plymate has been an active member of CSC Network. The network’s membership comprises 175 independent laundries that provide uniform, floor mat, and linen rental services across the country. CSCNetwork is an invaluable partner to us, as they offer advanced industry training and wonderful opportunities to improve as a company! We receive supplier […]
Plymate’s New Partnership: Nine13sports
One of the best parts of being a local, family-owned uniform and mat rental company is the joy we get from our relationships within the community. From the very beginning, Plymate has been proud to call Central Indiana home. Working with other organizations that care deeply about strengthening this community will continue to be a […]
Co-worker of the Quarter: Meet Eric Fisher
Eric Fisher is Plymate’s Q2 outstanding co-worker, and we’re thrilled to present him with this honor! Eric’s been with us since 2014 and embodies our belief that co-workers make the difference in our company each and every day. A team player, Eric frequently helps others by showing up to help other Service Representatives with tasks […]
Plymate’s Net Promoter Score Revealed!
Many companies work hard to earn customer loyalty, and Plymate is no exception. We created our business in 1930 to be customer-focused and provide the highest level of service possible, and that’s been our goal ever since. Customers have choices when it comes to their uniform and mat rental services. We want to be their […]
Customer Spotlight: Avon Community Schools
90 years in business has taught us several invaluable lessons on customer relationships within the variety of markets we service: manufacturing, auto, municipalities, government, healthcare, and education to name a few. As Central Indiana’s premiere uniform and floor mat provider, we’ve learned what industries are a good fit for not only Plymate, but for prospects […]
The Secrets to Exceptional Customer Retention
Earning new customers is a good thing. Retaining those customers is even better. Some companies spend a lot of time attracting new business. But when it comes to the long game, keeping one loyal customer is better than gaining two. People build relationships on trust, and trust can break easily. At Plymate, we work extremely […]
A Better Bathroom: Our Facility Services
In addition to uniform and mat rentals, Plymate provides facility services to our customers that help their business run smoothly and efficiently. An example? Restrooms! Indeed, restrooms are a part of every facility. And proper upkeep and stocking takes time. Plymate manages convenient facility services programs for our customers that includes unique branding, reliable delivery, […]
Co-Worker of the Quarter: Meet Linda Anderson
It’s that time again! At Plymate’s recent quarterly meeting we had the opportunity to name our new Co-worker of the Quarter. This is a person we choose to honor for their attitude and work ethic, recognizing the ways they’ve contributed to our company’s success. We can’t do it without our dedicated co-workers, who make all […]
James T. Plymate Scholarship Award
The James T. Plymate Scholarship fund was created in 1997. Since its inception, Plymate has given out $40,000 in scholarship funds to the children, step children, and grandchildren of Plymate co-workers. Chosen by a third party not affiliated with Plymate, a student seeking post high school education is chosen based on grades, extracurricular’s, teacher and […]
Plymate’s Annual Awards Banquet
Every spring, Plymate holds an awards banquet to honor co-workers and recognize award recipients. It’s a wonderful annual tradition, and we got to hold another Awards Banquet last week. This year’s banquet was at the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino. The event always includes a delicious dinner, entertainment, and a relaxed backdrop to enjoy colleagues […]
The Anatomy of a Great Mat Rental Partnership
After nearly 90 years in business, we’ve learned countless lessons about what it means to build good working relationships. What we’ve realized time and time again is this: keeping customers is directly related to keeping your word. As Indiana’s premiere floor mat provider, we’re fortunate to work with so many great local customers and form […]
SCUFFY Campaign Kickoff Breakfast!
Last week, SCUFFY held their annual Campaign Kickoff Breakfast! This marks their 65th annual campaign to invest in our community, raising funds for local agencies across Shelby County. This organization is very dear to our hearts here at Plymate. Our founder, Glenn Plymate, was one of the original founders of SCUFFY 65 years ago. We feel honored […]
Open Door Policy: 3 Key Benefits
As an organization, Plymate prioritizes open lines of communication. So much so, that we’ve named it as one of the core values we keep at the center of our identity. We are a floor mat and uniform rental company, of course. But to be any good at our job, we have to be effective listeners […]
Co-Worker of the Quarter: Meet Dustin Chaney
At our most recent quarterly meeting, we had the opportunity to recognize our new Co-Worker of the Quarter. It’s a pleasure to honor our wonderful team members in this way, and reminds us all over again how special the Plymate family truly is. We’re far from just a floor mat and uniform rental company. We’re […]
There’s an App For That: Repair Requests Made Easy
Here at Plymate, we like to make things easy and efficient for our customers. Practically, this looks like using new technology to our advantage, plus continually making tweaks and improvements to operations. We always aim to do it better than yesterday, in every department and every way possible. One such way? Our new Plymate Repair App. It’s another […]
Core Values in Action: Do It Better
As the new year gets underway, it’s important to reflect on the way we serve our customers. At Plymate, one of the measures we use to determine our success in this area is found within another of our core values: do it better. When we think about the floor mat and uniform rental services we […]
Core Values in Action: Co-Workers Make the Difference
As a company, we’ve identified a handful of core values. Plymate has grown a lot since our founding in 1930. There are many day-to-day decisions we make to keep our uniform and mat rental services running efficiently. For us, having a foundation of core values—those things that matter most—helps guide all our smaller decisions and stay […]
Giving Back is Sweet: Plymate’s Community Involvement
There’s a lot beyond our doors. We’ve recognized since the beginning that Plymate is part of a larger community here in Central Indiana. On a very practical level, we exist to provide uniform and floor mat rental services. If you take a step back, our deeper goal is to help businesses and individuals get what […]
Recognizing What’s Right: Co-Worker of the Quarter
At Plymate, we provide services to customers in the form of floor mat and uniform rentals (plus a few other services!) That’s what we do. But what truly sets us apart–the momentum behind what we do–is who we are. We’re Plymate, yes; but at the heart of it, we’re individuals who commit to showing up […]
Doing It Right: Our Floor Mat Rental Program
Ever wonder about the benefits of renting commercial floor mats as opposed to purchasing them from a department store? As the premier independent floor mat provider for Central Indiana, we know a thing or two about the benefits of a floor mat rental program! Here are a few important facts to consider: No large up-front […]
5 Employee Wellness Ideas That Will Help You Attract Top Talent
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: our co-workers make all the difference when it comes to how well we’re able to operate and serve our customers! For any company, investing in the well-being of employees is always a good idea. A healthy, productive team consists of healthy, productive individuals. When a company […]
Work Hard. Play Hard. Repeat!
We’ve developed a list of core values that we honor here at Plymate. One of those values is a belief that our co-workers make the difference, both to the quality of our operations as well as our customer service. We have an exceptional team, and it shows. On September 15, we had the opportunity to […]
Meet Our Branded Apparel Department
Although we started as a uniform and mat rental company, Plymate has evolved over the years—always in the direction of better serving our customers In 2000, we responded to a growing desire from customers to purchase corporate apparel. We saw the need, and we resolved to fill it. Kind of like we did back in […]
Plymate VS Our Competitors
Plymate does things a little differently than our competitors when it comes to customer service agreements. We treat our customers like people—not dollar signs. Our sales and service staff are up front in explaining the components of our service agreements. We don’t use tactics like automatic renewal without prior consent, and we don’t accept just any […]
A Day in the Life of Our Service Reps
Have you ever wondered about your Service Representatives day-to-day life here at Plymate? Have you wondered how early they have to get up, or how many stops they make in a day? Well we asked one of our District Manager’s to give us his diary entry after he spent a few days on a route […]
Guess Who’s Back?
This past weekend, our beloved MatMan returned to work. Easing him back into the world, he walked in the Morristown annual Derby Days Parade, passing out candy and high-fives to kids of all ages. For those of you who aren’t familiar with MatMan, his legend started in 2000, a product of Y2K. As Indiana’s premier […]
Check It Out!
Imagine a 4th Generation family owned textile rental service company that is focused on trustworthy, personalized care, and built on employing the latest technology to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Consider the customer service and sales professionals talking to customers and prospects and, often, directing them to the company website… a site that was perfectly fine […]
Safety Is Not Automatic– Think About It
To our customers, the face of Plymate is our Service Representatives. Their customer service skills, training, efficiency and safety are key to the success of Plymate. Due to the nature of the job, these coworkers are largely unsupervised for the bulk of the day, so in addition to extensive and on-going training, Plymate has implemented […]
Safety First!
Did you know that June is National Safety Month? At the end of last year, we celebrated 365 days without a lost-time accident. At that milestone accomplishment, we shared ways for you to be able to achieve that in the workplace too. In recognition of National Safety Month, we wanted to again extend a hand […]
Plymate’s Chamber of Commerce Award Nomination
At the beginning of this year, Plymate was honored as a nominee, by the Shelbyville Chamber of Commerce, for the Small Business Champion Award. As a nominee, the Shelbyville Chamber of Commerce brought in a fantastic video team, The Story Shop, to create a video that highlights why we think Plymate is a great place to […]
Essential Steps Towards a Greener Planet
Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! Our industry is inherently green. Professionally maintaining and recycling textile products such as uniforms, floor mats, mops, and towels on a week to week basis helps us keep these products out of landfills as long as possible. Plymate has implemented several “green” best practices in addition to our already green industry. With […]
Our Epic Formula to Success: Part 2
One of the luxuries of being an independent company is being able to make decisions internally. Apart from deciding on technological and capital investments, we also get to decide how we want to give back to the community that gives so much to us. Shelby County United Fund For You (SCUFFY) is one of our […]
Our Epic Formula to Success: Part 1
Plymate has 3 national competitors and even fewer statewide competitors. So, what have we done to stay in business for 87 years against the national suppliers? We’ve continuously invested in our company, our people, our technology, and our training. Earlier this month, we invested in two of our key managers by sending them to a […]
Quick Guide: Visibility Garments
A new year means new goals. Our last blog of 2017 talked about our accomplishments as an organization from a safety perspective. We celebrated over 100 days without a lost-time accident, which is a huge feat in our industry. We are incredibly proud of our safety program here at Plymate and hope to extend that […]
Getting Smart With: Safety
Safety First is more than just the catchy slogan we were taught when we were younger. It’s something that businesses practice when they place warning labels on their products; it’s something our teachers taught us when they told us not to run with the scissors; it’s what our parents instilled in us when they wouldn’t […]