As product lines and stock increased, the company expanded to take over 3 units at its Harpenden location, eventually outgrowing the site. In December 2013 Exclusive Linens moved to its current location in Luton with larger offices and purpose built warehousing, the company is set to continue moving forward and servicing the needs of its clients well into the future.
Charles took over the full running of the company in 2009. Focussing strongly on quality control and technical expertise, the company continued to increase turnover year on year.
Roger’s son, Charles Waistell, joined the company with a view to expanding the customer base. He worked to develop relationships with the high volume linen rental companies and simultaneously started developing the supply base with mills worldwide. Coming from an engineering background Charles had a keen sense for accuracy and quality, he used this knowledge to develop close business relationships with the mills with a view to improving all aspects of the products and supply chain. As the business expanded, the company out-grew its old offices and moved to a new location with larger offices and warehousing in Southdown, Harpenden. Roger and Charles continued to develop the business, building a team to take on Sales, Purchasing, Warehousing and Technical Development / QC as the company saw a steady growth.
Having started to develop the linen side of the business, it became apparent that this was where the market was. In 1989 Roger formed a sister company to complement the existing business. Exclusive Linens Ltd focused on supplying the UK 4 and 5 star hotel market with high end linen and towels, sourced mainly in Europe.
Over the following years Roger built an enviable reputation for service and quality. He loved to provide that ‘personal touch’ and became a well-known and popular figure in the industry both at home and abroad having secured accounts with many of the more prestigious hotels in London and throughout.
The company was founded by Roger Waistell to supply a wide range of hotel products and linen, pricipally to the Carribean. Having been made redundant, Roger saw this as an opportunity to utilise his skills and knowledge of the market to continue working in a sector he loved, he called this company Hotel-E-Quip.
Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa is part of the Elite Hotels group. Exclusive Linens has had the honour of being part of the renovation… Read More
Exclusive Linens have been the supplier of towelling and robes to The Hilton Park Lane for some 20 years.. Read More..
Sanderson originally opened in 1958 and was bought by the Morgans Group and re-launched in 2000. Read more..
We have a strong, long standing relationship with Exclusive Linens that is vital to the overall delivery of exceptional experiences for our guests. Read more..
1. THE HARVEST
Cotton has to be harvested as soon as it is fully ripened, if left too long weather conditions will adversely affect the quality and yield of the crop. The harvest can be done by hand or machine and the picked seed cotton is then baled ready for Ginning.
2. GINNING
This is the process of separating the lint from the seed. The cotton first goes through dryers and then cleaning equipment to remove foreign matter. It is then pulled through closely spaced ribs that remove the seeds before being baled. Each bale will then be inspected and graded ready for delivery to the mill.
3. THE SPINNING MILL
At the mill the lint is cleaned further before going on to be carded, a process which separates and aligns the fibres into a thin web. The higher quality fibres can then go on to be combed giving a smoother, finer yarn.The carded or combed yarn is then drawn through a funnel-shaped device, providing a soft rope-like strand. Up to eight of these strands can be gradually drawn and twisted together to create spun yarn.
4. THE WEAVING PROCESS
The modern weaving machine typically produces around 200m of fabric a day. On the loom, strengthened (sized) lengthwise yarns (warp) form the skeleton of the fabric, these are interlaced with a filling yarn (weft). The main weaves for our sector are Plain Weave, in which the weft yarn is passed alternately over one warp yarn and under the next, and Satin Weave where there are fewer interlacings allowing the yarns from one direction to dominate the ‘face’ of the cloth.
5. BLEACHING AND PROCESSING
The woven cloth must first be de-sized to remove the products used to strengthen the warp yarns, it can then be carefully bleached white before being stretched, straightened and heat set into finished fabric. Other processes can include Sanforising (a process of mechanically pre-shrinking the fabric) and mercerising (a process of swelling and aligning the fibres to give more lustre to the cloth)
6. CUTTING AND HEMMING
After final quality inspection, the fabric is ready to be turned into product. Each product has a detailed specification showing dimensions, stitching details, such as coloured ID hems, and embellishments of embroidered logos etc. Finished products are packed in cartons ready for shipment.
7. QUALITY CONTROL
All goods arriving in our warehouse are subjected to quality inspection. Representative samples are inspected for colour, dimensions, stitching/hemming and fabric quality. In-house tests can be performed to assess the starch levels, tensile/tear strength, bias/bow, thread count and gsm.
8. HOTEL
Our UK Warehouse has a capacity of over 750 pallets and holds over 300 product lines. Our logistics can handle deliveries worldwide from one small carton to full container loads. Each order, large or small, is packed and delivered to our customers with care and precision.
Our office hours are Monday to Friday 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Exclusive Linens Limited, Unit 7, Finway, Dallow Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. LU1 1TR. England.
Registered in England and Wales : 2383895
Telephone: +44 (0)1582 721686
Fax: +44 (0)1582 877124
Email: sales@exclusive-linens.co.uk
