March 2014
| Business World Magazine | 129
T
here may be those who discount
the importance of a linen and
laundry service provider to the
customers with which it works, but rest as-
sured that Rocco Romeo is not one of them.
Instead, the chief executive officer of Ot-
tawa, Ontario’s HLS Linen Services – which
counts acute-care hospitals, long-term care
providers, rehabilitation centers and mental
health facilities among its roster of clients
– considers the work his company does as
nothing short of vital to its business part-
ners, and has helped tailor an in-house ser-
vice mindset that corresponds to the magni-
tude of the function.
“There’s no such thing as tomorrow. Ev-
erything’s today,” he says. “When it comes
to our major customers, linen to them is like
water and electricity, it’s the lifeline of their
organization. A hospital without linens,
sheets, bath towels and pillowcases simply
can’t operate. OR (operating room) proce-
dures could be canceled if we don’t deliver.”
And, to him, recognition of the role has
