Entrepreneurs scoop up dry cleaning businesses

In a sale that closed Nov. 1, the Forsyth-based company – co-owned by partners Kyle and Beth Reynolds and Chris and Michelle Harvell – acquired Lloyd’s Cleaners, Mr. Dry Cleaners and Prestige Dry Cleaners along with their 60 employees. The three companies have a combined 107 years in the dry cleaning business.

With three dry cleaning plants and 12 locations total, 417 Cleaners now owns and operates one of the largest dry cleaning enterprises in the area, according to company officials. Glo Dry Cleaning operates seven stores in Springfield.

417 Cleaners’ stores are in Springfield, Branson, Nixa, Ozark and Forsyth. 417 Cleaners purchased four stores – two with tanning beds – from Mr. Dry Cleaners owners Larry and Karen Smith and Carl and Peggy Blankenship, three stores from Lloyd’s owner Todd Edwards, and three stores from Prestige Dry Cleaners owners Mark and Julie Frost for undisclosed amounts. Each of the three companies sold a plant to 417 Cleaners through the deal, Michelle Harvell said.

All three of the dry cleaning companies acquired by 417 Cleaners will retain their names and employees for the time being, Harvell said, adding, “At this time, we’re not making any changes.”

417 Cleaners has been operating for two years inside Perfect Tan in Branson and Forsyth.

Lloyd’s, which dates back to 1922, is the oldest dry cleaning chain sold in the transaction, according to a news release.

Former owner Edwards, who characterized Lloyd’s as the “oldest dry cleaners in Springfield,” acquired the three-store chain in December 2000 and even experimented with a store in Hammons Tower for a short time. Edwards, who also owns Performance Marketers and Auto Dent Repair, said he wasn’t shopping Lloyd’s to prospective buyers when 417 Cleaners made an offer.

“I wasn’t looking to sell,” he said. “I had built a great family within the Lloyd’s company. It was sad to let it go. The opportunity came in front of me … and I loved their business plan, and I loved their work ethic, and I loved the family atmosphere.”

Mr. Dry Cleaners also has a long track record of cleaning garments in the Springfield area, where the chain has been operating for more than 20 years.

The chain started with a coin laundry on South Campbell Avenue in 1981. In late 2006, the owners agreed to list the business for sale with Business Brokers Unlimited.

“We decided it was time to hand over the reins of Mr. Dry cleaners Inc. to someone else so we could spend more time with our parents and grandchildren,” according to a prepared statement from the former owners. “We are pleased to announce that the new owners are experienced business operators, and we feel they will continue to serve (customers’) needs in the future as we have in the past.”

Prestige, which is little more than a year old, brought the newest dry cleaning equipment and latest technology to the table, according to 417 Cleaners.

Kyle Reynolds also owns Kyle Cos., which counts Buster’s Video, Perfect Tan, Excavation & Landscaping Contractors LLC, Professional Property Maintenance and Mountain View Storage among its holdings.[[In-content Ad]]