Gary Tomlinson has been involved in the laundry business most of his life. In his early 20’s, he became a General Manager of New Richmond Laundries and, when his father sold the business in 1973, Gary set out to purchase his own facility.
Troy Laundry, a local family laundry, put their facility up for sale and, by 1985, Gary and Tim Tomlinson were the owners with Gary becoming President and CEO, making him a third-generation owner/operator.
In 1994, Gary was appointed Chairman, President, & CEO of the real estate company, Tomlinson Inc. Since Gary took over, he transitioned the real estate from low-end properties to all well-located Class A properties. We recently developed a 50 unit apartment.
By 1999, offers started to come in about purchasing the New Richmond building. Though it was in a good location, it had outgrown its productive capacity and Gary had to decide between either building a new laundry facility or selling the business. He decided to sell the location to Overall in March of 2000.
In early 2005, Gary and Tim negotiated the purchase of Peerless Laundry in Tacoma and closed the deal on July 1, 2005. After changing the name to Tomlinson Linen Service and upgrading the computer and production systems, Tomlinson began to set its own course. Since then, Tomlinson has successfully reduced utility and energy use while growing the business by over 300%.
Gary was Board President of the Village Theatre in Issaquah, Washington.
Gary is also on the board as Treasurer of a nonprofit school in Seattle called New Discover School.
Tim Tomlinson has spent many years in the laundry business, most recently as Co-Owner and Vice President of Tomlinson Linen Service, and earlier as Co-Owner and Chairman of New Richmond Linen Service. Before that, he was Human Resources Director of Universal Services International, General Manager of Vandekamps Bakery, and General Manager of Prim/New Richmond. For several years in the late 1970s, he managed a 400-head cattle ranch in Sonoita, Arizona.
When Joel McAllister was invited to be general manager of Tomlinson Linen Service, he was excited. This was an opportunity he was fully prepared to engage with. It was a chance to put 10 years of proven management experience to work for a fast-growing company in Seattle with a reputation for quality products and great customer relationships. It was a match made in hospitality heaven.
“When it comes down to it, it’s about customer service and building relationships that last a long time,” Joel says. “That’s who we are.”
Since 2006, Joel has lent his management expertise to overseeing the sales, service, and production facets that continue to make Tomlinson Linen Service a success.
“I believe I have the best team,” Joel asserts. Joel believes in the integrity of Tomlinson Linen Service’s business practices and is proud of his company’s ability to build solid partnerships with customers.
Our Team
Our Core Values: For over twenty years Tomlinson Linen Service has remained true to its founding core values of integrity, service, and quality. These Core Values are fundamental to establishing our corporate culture, building a strong sense of teamwork, and delivering quality products to our very satisfied customers.
Production Supervisors
Mike Cortez
Rafael Ojeda
Contact our production supervisors here:
Janiene Douglas
Administrative Assistant
Although her title reads Administrative Assistant, Janiene Douglas could be called Tomlinson’s unofficial goodwill ambassador, since her voice is often the first one hears when calling. “I know clients by name and they know me.”
Reach Janiene here:
Mandy Murphy
Administrative Assistant
Office (253) 627-1177
To contact Mandy, click on the Contact Us tab or click on this email address to send an email
Tom Andersen
Office Manager and Human Resources
“I had been looking for an opportunity to do a job like this,” Tom says. “This company is in a rapid growth mode, which keeps things exciting and presents some challenges.”
To contact Tom, click on the Contact Us tab or click on this email address to send an email
Kyle Templin
Chief Engineer
Kyle is in charge of making sure everything is running properly and you receive good quality linen from the machinery. He started at Tomlinson Linen in May of 2016 and has been in the industry since 2001.
To contact Kyle, click on the Contact Us tab or click on this email address to send an email
Patrick Gorman
District Manager
Bio coming soon.
To contact Patrick, click on the Contact Us tab or click on this email address to send an email
Scott Okabayashi
Service Manager
Scott says, “I’ve had a unique opportunity to learn from the best laundry companies and apply what I’ve learned here” at Tomlinson Linen. He also enjoys working with former colleagues again and sharing a vision for how to manage a laundry company.
To contact Scott, click on the Contact Us tab or click on this email address to send an email