Clean, The Uniform Company awash with success

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One can only imagine what was going through Morris Laz-aroff's mind when he decided to move from Detroit to St. Louis so he could go into business with his brother and two brothers-in-law back in 1938, after the Great Depression. |ret||ret||tab|

He probably would have laughed if someone had told him the business he helped start would one day become one of the largest uniform cleaning companies in the Midwest. |ret||ret||tab|

That's exactly what happened, though. Today, Clean, The Uniform Co. has more than 360 employees, five processing plants and five service centers that serve businesses located throughout Missouri, Oklaho-ma, Kansas, Arkansas, Ken-tucky and Illinois. |ret||ret||tab|

Originally, the business was called Clean Coverall and Sup-ply Co. Back then, most of the company's customers were mechanics who paid 80 cents to have their coveralls cleaned, repaired and delivered. |ret||ret||tab|

During World War II, the company supplied apparel to numerous ammunition plants. It also had contracts with many large businesses in the St. Louis area, such as Emerson Electric Co. |ret||ret||tab|

In 1952, the company established operations in Springfield and Joplin. Four years later, it became one of the first industrial laundry companies to offer dust-control mats and mops to its customers.|ret||ret||tab|

By the 1960s, Morris Laza-roff was the business' sole owner, and his sons Gary and Neil began working alongside him. Gary and Neil Lazaroff, who now are the company's co-owners and co-presidents, quickly set about taking the business to the next level. |ret||ret||tab|

In 1973, when energy conservation and saving the environment became hot topics, they pioneered the development of the Hydro-Veyor, a machine that uses less water and less harmful detergents than most industrial washers. |ret||ret||tab|

The Hydro-Veyor helped give Clean, The Uniform Co. a competitive edge. Because it used less detergent and water, it was less expensive to operate. It also produced cleaner, sanitized garments. |ret||ret||tab|

Unlike most industrial washers, the Hydro-Veyor cleans garments while on a hanger, a process that eliminates excess fabric stress due to mechanical action and reduces the risk of soil transfer from another garment. |ret||ret||tab|

During the cleaning process, garments pass through three de-tergent soaking chambers, two of which are heated to 190 degrees Fahrenheit, which has a sanitizing effect. Then they pass through five oscillating rinse modules and a 50-foot drying tunnel. |ret||ret||tab|

Because garments are dried on hangers, they emerge from the drying tunnel virtually wrinkle-free. |ret||ret||tab|

Now, 50 percent of the company's business comes from laundering floor mats, mops and shop towels. The other 50 percent comes from rentals of uniforms, which are worn by employees who work in the industrial, automotive, safety, service, retail, medical and food-service industries. |ret||ret||tab|

"Most companies and individuals rent the uniforms they wear because it's more economical for them to do so," said Bill Albright, general manager of the company's Springfield and Joplin locations. |ret||ret||tab|

"If you own a business, you don't want to spend $100 to $200 for a uniform for a new employee," Albright said. "Em-ployees who are required to buy their own uniforms don't want to spend that much money either. It's very inexpensive to rent, plus you have the added convenience of pick-up and delivery, cleaning and all uniform repair and maintenance."|ret||ret||tab|

In May 2001, Clean, The Uniform Co. became the first multi-plant industrial laundry in the United States to achieve ISO 9002 certification for its entire operation, including production facilities, service centers, stockrooms and corporate headquarters, said Albright. Achieving ISO 9002 has helped the company in many ways.|ret||ret||tab|

Customer retention has in-creased, and Clean, The Uni-form Co. now enjoys a 98 percent customer retention rate, according to Albright. In addition, every process is standardized and documented. This not only ensures consistent quality, it also has helped in the training of new employees, Albright added.|ret||ret||tab|

In recent years, the company has increased its sales and marketing staff and adopted a more aggressive growth pattern. Al-bright believes these changes were made at the urging of the third generation of Lazaroffs, who are preparing to run the company in the not-too-distant future.|ret||ret||tab|

Gary Lazaroff's son Jay, who has a degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia, is a vice president at the company's corporate headquarters in St. Louis. Meanwhile Neil Laza-roff's son Jeff, who has a degree in sociology from Indiana Un-iversity, works in the human re-sources department. |ret||ret||tab|

Other employees, such as Albright, also are working hard to help the company expand its market share. |ret||ret||tab|

In 1995, Albright was named general manager of the Spring-field and Joplin locations. Since that time, sales in the Spring-field market have increased by 10 percent to 20 percent every year, Albright said. |ret||ret||tab|

The Springfield location serves as a distribution center. Garments from area businesses are collected, sorted and shipped to the company's processing facility in Joplin, where they are laundered, inspected and repaired before being shipped back to Springfield for distribution.|ret||ret||tab|

Recently, a new, $2.5 million production facility was built in Joplin. The facility, which contains brand-new equipment that is among the most advanced in the industry, will be christened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 4. |ret||ret||tab|

Although Clean, The Uni-form Co. has continued to im-prove the equipment it uses and has standardized work processes through ISO 9002 certification, the company's managers haven't lost sight of the value of personal service. Perhaps that's because the company still operates in some ways like a small business. |ret||ret||tab|

"Our customers get the best of both worlds," Albright said. "We have the buying power of a large company, and we pass that savings along to our customers. At the same time, a customer can pick up the phone and ask to speak with Gary Lazaroff or Neil Lazaroff, and they can talk to one of them. You just can't get that kind of service from a national chain."[[In-content Ad]]