LEDO – workwear for seasonal workers

LEDO adds outfits for seasonal workers to investment in professional workwear 

Industries with high production peaks are in need of seasonal workers – as is the case with Croatia´s leading frozen food producer, Ledo. And seasonal workers need clothing to make it to production facilities every morning. Ledo found a solution for demanding food industry clothing with seasonal fluctuation with Lindström. 

Ljudevit Komušar is the chief production technologist at Ledo, Croatia’s largest industrial producer of ice cream and frozen foods. He has built up his professional experience there for a full 24 years, during which time he has grown into a good team leader who is concerned about the conditions of work of his production team. Until a few years ago, before the firm started working with Finnish Lindström, the production workers wore standard white overalls. As head technologist, Komušar started bringing in workwear from Lindström gradually to test out the opinion of his production labour force, aware that their satisfaction has an impact on productivity. Very soon, they had a positive view of the benefits of using the new workwear, which, among other things, had inside pockets so that items placed inside them would not accidentally fall out of them and into the production line. Additionally, the buttons were not plastic but metal and attached more securely to the cloth. Furthermore, to add to the popularity of the new outfits, there were the Lindström lockers where the workers would put their used clothing at the end of the shift, and where, when they arrived at work again, there was a new, perfectly clean set waiting for them to start the new workday with. 

“The old outfits had pretty wide sleeves that were so bulky that they hindered movement of the arms. The first time I put on the Lindström clothing, I saw at once that the sleeves were narrower, and the whole cut was much more functional, making it easier for me to move about in my work,” shares Katarina Petraš, Chief Operator in ice cream production. 

The food industry has high demands for workwear 

Lindström’s workwear for Ledo consists of trousers and a short jacket, designed in such a way as to meet the international standards HAACP, IFS and BRC, which Ledo, as part of the food industry, has to maintain. For example, during the production of ice cream, the clothing gets fairly dirty, because it is a semi-liquid mixture, which means the clothing has to be regularly changed and kept immaculately clean. “At the beginning, we had a phase of adjustment with Lindström to do with particularly heavy chocolate staining on our work clothes, because of which Lindström had to find a different cleaning method. We were pleased when they pretty soon got rid of those stains, and since then our clothing has come back faultlessly washed,” notes Komušar with an air of satisfaction. 

Service reflects seasonal changes 

Seasonal production determines how many workers there are, and the numbers and quantities of workwear outfits change dynamically, even on a weekly basis. “For this reason, we started working with Lindström carefully and gradually because we were not sure whether they could keep up with our needs in a season when we would have up to a hundred employed in production. But we arrived at what, for us, was an important agreement: that alongside the lockers for the permanent staff, there would also be lockers for the seasonal workers, to which Lindström brings models of men’s and women’s clothes in various sizes that are distributed to the seasonal workers according to need. This collaboration turned out to be satisfactory because, in addition to excellent service, we also experienced Lindström’s flexibility and their willingness to adapt rapidly to the characteristic requirements of our production. In our line of work, we absolutely need partners who can keep up with us. As my workers in production confirm, Lindström’s workwear and the additional services of laundry and the personalised use of lockers does not only make everyday operations in production much easier from a functional point of view, but also contributes to intangible values, such as our care for our workers and responsibility for preservation of the environment. So in the upcoming period, we are probably going to step up the scope of our collaboration with Lindström,” explains Ledo Production Manager Darko Trkulja. 

Ledo – leading ice cream and frozen food producer in Croatia

During the 1950s, Ledo developed into the biggest producer of industrial ice cream and frozen food in Croatia – including fruit, vegetables, fish, pastry and ready-made meals. The 500 refrigeration trucks in the Ledo fleet make sure that products reach sales outlets in the shortest possible time. It is no wonder, then, that its products are part and parcel of everyday life in Croatian households. Ledo maintains its competitive position thanks to continuous control of all raw materials and procedures in the production process, as well as of services provided by partners. Investing in new technologies and advanced operational processes, human resources and customer satisfaction, Ledo is a much sought-after employer and is the brand leader in its market segment.