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March 12, 2012
Linen King Acquires Fifth Healthcare Laundry Facility

WICHITA, Kan. — Newest addition increases company’s processing capacity to

WICHITA, Kan. — Linen King, an Oklahoma-based textile rental services company that provides commercial laundry services to the healthcare and hospitality industries, recently acquired Via Christi Hospital’s Laundry, an off-premise laundry facility here.

With approximately 20,000 square feet in space, the facility has the immediate capacity to process more than 15 million pounds of laundry each year. This is Linen King’s fifth dedicated healthcare facility in the south-central United States.

The new facility will allow the company to streamline operations and service its Wichita area customers, while freeing up capacity in the company’s Oklahoma facility.

Linen King will work to build up the base volume of the long-term contract with Via Christi Hospitals that was part of the purchase.

Linen King partnered with Clairvest Group, a Toronto-based private equity firm, to acquire the healthcare laundry.

“The purchase of the Via Christi facility represents a significant milestone for our company and is expected to generate immediate value,” says Linen King CEO Leonard McCullough. “The new facility increases our capacity and allows Linen King to expand its presence into new markets.”

The company operates five facilities across four states and annually processes more than 50 million pounds of laundry.
 

January 4, 2012
Private Equity Firm Invests in Linen King

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada — Clairvest Group Inc., Clairvest Equity Partners IV Limited Partnership and Claire Equity Partners IV-A Limited Partnership have entered the linen rental industry via a combined $8.6 million investment in Linen King, an Oklahoma-based textile services company that provides commercial laundry services to the healthcare and hospitality industries.

“Our team has followed the textile rental industry for a number of years,” says David Sturdee, Clairvest managing director. “We are excited by the opportunity to partner with a strong and ambitious management team led by the founders of the company, who will continue to own a meaningful percent of the company.

“Linen King has an outstanding reputation for reliability and customer service, and we look forward to working with management to help execute their growth initiatives.

“I’m thrilled to have Clairvest as our partner to help fuel the next stage of our expansion,” says Leonard McCullough, Linen King’s CEO. “We’ve spent the last 12 years rapidly becoming one of the largest textile rental companies in the central U.S. and are enthusiastic about working with Clairvest to expand our footprint throughout the country.”

Linen King operates plants that serve the Oklahoma City, northwest Arkansas, mid-Missouri and central Arkansas regions. The company was formed in 1999.

June 23, 2011
Cherokee Nation Businesses Plans Oklahoma Industrial Laundry

JAY, Okla. — Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) plans to locate an industrial laundry facility in Jay, Okla. The facility will eliminate the outsourcing of laundry services for its hotels, and bring approximately 10 new jobs to the area.

“The development of this facility helps us achieve our goals of economic development and job creation inside the Cherokee Nation in two ways,” says Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. “It eliminates outsourcing of services, and creates new jobs for Cherokee citizens in Delaware County.”

The collective room count at CNB-owned hotels is nearly 500, with plans to add another 100 rooms at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa within the next year. As CNB’s hospitality sector grows, so would the workload at the new laundry facility, according to the company.

“Opening a laundry facility like this in Jay allows us to eliminate an outside service and bring that work in-house, which is great for our business’s bottom line,” says David Stewart, chief executive officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses. “While saving money, it also shows our commitment to expanding into places like Jay, that CNB hasn’t been able to create jobs in before.”

CNB plans to complete the purchase of an existing property in Jay sometime next month, and construction will take approximately four to six weeks. Operations will begin shortly thereafter.

“I am extremely happy that CNB has decided to locate this new project in Jay,” says Harley Buzzard, who represents Adair, Delaware and Ottawa Counties on the tribal council. “Cherokees in our area desperately need jobs, and this is a wonderful step in the right direction.”

Cherokee Nation Businesses is the tribally-owned holding company of the Cherokee Nation, the second largest Indian Nation in the United States. CNB owns companies in the gaming, hospitality, personnel services, distribution, manufacturing, telecommunications and environmental services industries.

July 27, 2010
Linen King Expanding with New Facility in Missouri Industrial Park

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Linen King, an Oklahoma-based provider of laundry services to the healthcare industry, will be opening a 52,000-square-foot facility in an industrial park here.

With four healthcare-specific industrial laundries, Linen King has the capacity to process almost 75 million pounds of laundry per year and will employ more than 200 people for fiscal 2010 with revenues approaching $20 million.

May 31, 2010
Cintas Settles Lawsuit with Worker’s Widow for Undisclosed Sum

TULSA, Okla. — Cintas Corp. has settled a civil lawsuit filed by the widow of a laundry worker killed when he fell into an industrial dryer at Cintas’ Tulsa plant in March 2007, according to U.S. District Court records. Settlement terms were not disclosed.

The parties had resolved Amalia Diaz Torres’ claims against Cintas during a court-ordered settlement conference on April 15—a few days before the case was due to go to trial—but a hearing for court approval of the settlement didn’t occur until May 24.

July 14, 2009
Worker Crushed by Scissor Lift at Oklahoma Linen Service Company

TULSA, Okla. — An employee of Superior Linen Service was fatally crushed June 12 when the hydraulic scissor lift he was working under fell on him, according to Officer Leland Ashley of the Tulsa Police Department.

Douglas Ray Ramey, 33, was working on a lift used to load trucks at the plant when the accident occurred. Ramey disconnected an improperly working hydraulic hose, Ashley says in quoting from the police report, and the lift fell. Ramey was trapped underneath the equipment and was pronounced dead at the scene.

January 30, 2008
Greet the 2008 American Laundry News Panel of Experts (3rd in a Series)

In the third of a series, this year’s contributors to the American Laundry News Panel of Experts introduce themselves, describe their operations, identify challenges and list their accomplishments for 2007.

September 2, 2007
Widow Sues Cintas, Lavatec Over Accident

TULSA, Okla. — The widow of a man who died in a March 6 accident at the Cintas plant here has sued the uniform provider and an equipment manufacturer in connection with the incident, according to court records.

Attorneys representing Amalia Diaz Torres, widow of Eleazar Torres-Gomez, filed the civil lawsuit July 16 here in Tulsa County District Court. Defendants are Cintas Corp., Lavatec Inc. and three employees of Cintas’ Tulsa plant.

August 22, 2007
Cintas CEO Defends Safety Record

CINCINNATI — With his company facing $2.78 million in penalties stemming from an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation, Cintas CEO Scott Farmer is defending his company’s workplace safety and says it will contest the agency’s findings.

Eleazar Torres-Gomez, 46, was killed March 6 when he fell into an operating industrial dryer while clearing wet laundry jammed on a conveyor at Cintas’ Tulsa, Okla., plant. Last Thursday, OSHA announced findings alleging 46 violations of safety standards in the plant.

August 17, 2007
Cintas Faces $2.78 Million in OSHA Fines

WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Thursday proposed $2.78 million in penalties against Ohio-based Cintas Corp. following an investigation into an employee death at the company’s Tulsa, Okla., laundry facility.

Eleazar Torres-Gomez, 46, was killed March 6 when he fell into an operating industrial dryer while clearing a jam of wet laundry on a conveyor that carries the laundry from the washer into the dryer.

August 16, 2007
Construction Begins on UniFirst Plant in OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY — UniFirst, a textile and work uniform service company with operations in the United States, Canada and Europe, is ready to construct the foundation for its newest 72,000-square-foot industrial laundry facility after breaking ground here a week ago.

The 4.3-acre construction site is at the junction of Interstate Highways 40 and 35, a highly visible and convenient location just east of downtown.

May 3, 2007
Victim's Son Blasts Cintas While Supporting Worker Protection Bill

WASHINGTON — With the recent death of a Cintas laundry worker still fresh in mind, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif.; and others have introduced legislation aimed at cutting down on the number of American workers killed or injured on the job each year.

March 22, 2007
Lawmakers Call for Safety Investigation in Wake of Cintas Fatality

TULSA, Okla. — A Cintas Corp. employee working in the wash room was killed in an apparent accident here March 6, prompting several Democratic members of Congress to ask a federal agency to investigate alleged machinery safety hazards at the company’s industrial laundries nationwide.

Eleazar Torres-Gomez, 46, became trapped in an industrial dryer that was in operation. Other workers found his body 20 minutes later.