ImageFIRST Selects Fujitsu UHF RFID Tags and Positek RFID for Comprehensive Garment Tracking Solution

Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc., a leading provider of IT-based business solutions, including advanced technology products, biometric security, and digital media solutions, today announced that ImageFIRSTTM Healthcare Laundry Specialists, the nation’s leading supplier of textile rental and laundry services to the healthcare industry, has selected the Fujitsu WT-A511 Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tags and Positek RFID to provide a comprehensive garment tracking solution at its Clearwater Florida facility. The innovative Fujitsu RFID solutions will be showcased in the company’s booth, #735, at the RFID Journal Live! show, taking place April 12-14, 2011 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

ImageFIRST is the largest and fastest-growing provider of linen and garment rental and laundry services to medical practices throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico. With 36 locations and more than 300 trained employees, ImageFIRST maintains one of the highest customer retention rates in the industry. The company’s commitment to delivering top-quality products and services led ImageFIRST to seek out solutions that would help improve garment identification and tracking, which in turn would give the company better visibility into its inventory and deliver added benefits and cost savings for customers. Positek’s solution, utilizing the Fujitsu UHF laundry tag, was the perfect choice.

“In selecting a new sorting and tracking system for our location, we looked at the significant benefits of RFID technology. We found the increased speed and read range of the Fujitsu UHF tags enables us to quickly and easily ‘scan-in’ soiled garments into our facility and ‘scan-out’ clean garments in bulk,” said J. C. Ryan, general manager of the ImageFIRST franchise in Clearwater, Fla. “The result is greater visibility of our inventory, reduced labor and merchandise costs, and an overall shorter return on our investment.”

Positek RFID is the leading supplier of RFID solutions in the North American market and has supplied numerous RFID-based solutions, including hardware, integration, as well as sorting and tracking software, to the U.S. textile maintenance industry. The company’s solutions provide more than 140 customers with processes that reduce labor, increase customer satisfaction, reduce merchandise costs, gain valuable floor space and secure new business—Positek’s systems deliver ROI in as little as six months. In April 2010, Positek partnered with Fujitsu to promote and distribute Fujitsu’s WT-A511/A611 RFID tags in North American. The collaboration has expanded use of the Fujitsu tags throughout Positek’s extensive customer and reseller network and helped organizations in the textile maintenance and garment/linen rental industries more quickly, accurately and cost-effectively process and monitor their inventory with a single solution investment.

“The UHF RFID-based solution from Positek and Fujitsu empowers our customers to implement a comprehensive sorting and tracking system faster, at lower cost and without modification to existing processes,” said Jeff Markman, president of Positek. “The ability for customers, such as ImageFIRST, to track an entire cartload of garments with a single scan enables them to process much more inventory in less time and without compromising accuracy. Other customers in healthcare, hospitality and gaming, as well as industrial laundries, can see the clear benefits of UHF technology and we look forward to new opportunities to demonstrate the power of our joint solution.”

The soft and flexible Fujitsu UHF RFID tags are extremely durable, able to withstand hundreds of washings, the harsh chemicals associated with dry cleaning, temperatures of 250 degrees Fahrenheit for drying and 400 degrees Fahrenheit for ironing, along with the pressure of uniform pressing machines. UHF RFID systems are capable of scanning hundreds of articles simultaneously in seconds with a reading range of up to six feet. The Fujitsu UHF RFID tags represent a significant cost-saving solution compared to bar codes and other RFID systems, which require single garment processing. In addition, the Fujitsu UHF RFID tag is less than two inches long—about the size of a shirt stay. When incorporated into garments, the small, flexible, unobtrusive tags are virtually unnoticeable.

“ImageFIRST is a perfect example of how the combination of the Fujitsu UHF RFID tags and Positek’s sorting and tracking software can deliver unmatched benefits to customers,” said Vic Herring, vice president of sales and business development for the Advanced Technology Group (ATG), Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. “Together, we are able to provide clear improvements in accuracy, efficiency and cost over existing market offerings and look forward to helping more organizations experience the significant advantages that ImageFIRST is already seeing at its facility.”

Provided by Fujitsu