Sun and Moon Co Ltd – best known for its chain of high-end hotels – is set to enter the commercial laundry sector by the second quarter of this year.

With eight industrial scale washers, each able to handle up to 100kg loads, Sun and Moon Commercial Laundry will provide comprehensive laundering services to various sectors across the Kingdom, beginning with hospitality.

Rath Dararoth, Sun and Moon Group managing director, told The Post that the company is to use the rapidly growing hotel industry as a launch pad to extend its services to supply a wide variety of sectors across the Kingdom.

Managing director Rath Dararoth said Sun and Moon Commercial Laundry will target hotels before expanding its reach to other industries.

“Given that our core business rose from the hospitality industry, our first target market is hotels. Based on Knight Frank’s 2019 Cambodia Real Estate Highlights report, there are currently around 11,120 hotel rooms in Phnom Penh, reflecting a 7.5 per cent year-on-year increase.

“Each room added to the market will require linens to be cleaned, so the outlook for commercial laundry in the hotel sector alone is growing. Also, we know best what the customer wants because we are coming from the hospitality industry ourselves,” Dararoth said.

To helm Sun and Moon Commercial Laundry’s operations, the group has brought on board Ker Kamsan as general manager.

Sun and Moon is one of the Kingdom’s premier hotels with dozens of awards under its belt.

Kamsan, who has previously led laundry operations at some of the Kingdom’s most prestigious hotels, enthusiastically shared his vision for the 4,900sqm operation in the capital’s Chbar Ampov district.

He said the company is eventually looking to service the food and beverage sector, spas, fitness centres, corporate uniforms and, most crucially, “bio-wash” – so that laundry cleaned for hospitals complies with international standards.

Currently, commercial laundering services do not separate garments and linens for their clients, so everything is processed together, according to Kamsan.

“Currently, the project is 70 per cent complete. Time will be allocated for testing and running simulations, so the project intends to have a soft launch by the first month of the second quarter, with full-scale operations beginning sometime in the third quarter,” Kamsan said.

General manager Ker Kamsan.

End-to-end washing, dry cleaning and laundry folding will be done on an industrial scale, he added.

The firm aims to employ around 30 people during the first phase of operations, with this expected to grow significantly as it broadens its reach in the domestic and international markets.

Dararoth said the company plans to join in global efforts to reduce environmental impacts.

Adding to the lifespan of garments will be a part of that, he said, but the group is also working with suppliers and chemical manufacturers to develop a more environmentally friendly system.

“Sun and Moon Commercial Laundry is to provide full laundry services across all industries. Our mission is to provide immaculate cleaning of all items, while ensuring they last longer,” Dararoth said.