ATM Family’s Next Generation Featured in Family Business Magazine
Greg Shames, the Vice President of Operations at American Textile Maintenance, was recently featured in Family Business Magazine.
Greg graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2014 with a degree in business administration. He worked in finance at Walt Disney Studio before joining the family business in 2016.
“Greg is a very astute and dedicated young professional who grew up in the business. He spent many summers in the plants, learning production operations, engineering and sales, and worked closely with the service teams delivering our products throughout Los Angeles,” says Renee Mendoza, human resources director at American Textile.
Greg’s first full-time position at the company was operations director for American Textile’s newest division, which focuses on providing textile rental and laundry services to hospitals. He oversaw day-to-day operations and expansion of the customer base.
“Greg came in with an understanding of the business fundamentals and was able to grow into the position and became an innovative contributor,” Mendoza says.
“When I started, we serviced the laundry needs for approximately 10 hospitals. Today, we service over 60 hospitals, with more joining,” Greg says. “Aside from having a great team, we attribute some of our success to the fact that we are one of the last remaining family-owned and operated providers in our service territory. This gives us a unique advantage, as we have not lost the roots of our service-first approach.”
Today, Greg is vice president of operations at the company’s Medico Healthcare Linen Service and Republic Master Chefs units, which together have about 900 employees at nine locations, serving more than 7,500 customers in Southern California.
“Greg touches all aspects of the business and recognizes the value and talent of employees,” Mendoza says. “Greg is also an advocate for organizational development.”
“Working for the family business brings me a sense of pride to the work I do each day, which I did not necessarily feel when working for a large corporation,” Greg says. “Some of my most fond memories from childhood were from the days that my dad would take me to work and let me work in the factory. Today, I still work with many of the same people.
“I am excited to see our family take this company into the fifth generation.”
