COMBINING THE LATEST technologies and automation with a classic focus on excellence in customer service and product quality, UniFirst Corporation is revolutionizing the textile services (uniform) industry. In May 2016, the innovative company is scheduled to open a brand new, state-of-the-art commercial laundry plant near Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge. The nearly 65,000-square-foot laundry facility will provide businesses throughout Greater Baton Rouge and beyond with local, efficient access to image-enhancing products and services for all of their employee uniforms, workwear, and ancillary facility service products.

UniFirst is one of the largest providers of work uniforms and facility service items to businesses throughout North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company also provides first-aid and safety products, and manages specialized garment programs for the cleanroom and nuclear industries. Headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., UniFirst has more than 230 service locations, 275,000 customer locations and 12,000 employee Team Partners. In fact, the company outfits more than 1.6 million workers every business day. 

Although UniFirst has had a presence in the Baton Rouge market for years, servicing area businesses through its Houston processing facility and local area branch operations, the new plant represents the company’s first processing facility in Louisiana.

“We’re extremely excited to bring this world-class operation to the Baton Rouge area,” said UniFirst Senior Vice President David DiFillippo. “Leveraging experience from other recently constructed UniFirst facilities, this operation is the culmination of all the technological advancements we and our industry have made over the years. This servicing facility will be a model for future ones to come as we continue to grow throughout the U.S. and Canada. It also reinforces our ongoing commitment to quality, efficiency, and industry-leading customer service. We see a real opportunity here to help the region’s diverse business community to grow and be successful.”

The Baton Rouge plant features the latest innovations in textile service operations and automation so garments can be processed automatically and efficiently. Nearly all steps are preprogrammed and computer-controlled. After soiled garments are picked up at customer sites, they’re segregated by type and industry, and software-controlled sling systems feed automated washers with garments from overhead rail systems. Uniforms and textiles are then hygienically cleaned with environmentally friendly wash formulas, matching one of nearly 50 custom wash formulas to each customer’s specific industry or garment type. Next, they’re transferred to industrial dryers for measured moisture removal. After that, high-tech steam tunnel or commercial press finishing provides for a crisp, professional looking garment. Finally, garments are systematically sorted by delivery day, company, and wearer. UniFirst’s proprietary system in Baton Rouge will be processing up to an amazing 4,000 pieces per hour. 

 “Our Baton Rouge location is a showpiece,” said Ron Croatti, president and CEO of UniFirst. “This facility allows UniFirst to demonstrate the latest
high-tech processing systems that are among the most modern and efficient in the textile services industry. It will also enable us to implement continued improvements to our services and products so our customers consistently get the absolute best service available.”

UniFirst couples its technology-based efficiency with a customer-oriented
service approach. Once open, local UniFirst employee Team Partners will be readily available to answer questions or handle any concerns for customers. Local service and operation teams work together to manage each customer’s account to ensure their complete satis­faction. Businesses that rent or lease uni-­
forms from UniFirst get three designated
UniFirst service professionals—a route sales representative, a service manager, and a customer service representative—working on their account at all times. And the company assures a 24-hour response to any problem, question, or request. 

UniFirst tailors its managed uniform and facility services for each customer’s particular requirements. “There’s noth­-
ing more important to us than establishing and maintaining strong relationships for the long term,” says Croatti. “One of the keys to our success over the past 80 years has been listening to our customers and providing solutions for their specific business needs. It’s part of our ‘customers for life’ business philosophy, and it’s why some of our customers have been with us for more than 50 years.” 

UniFirst’s Baton Rouge plant is not just cutting edge technologically—it’s also at the forefront of environmental efficiency. UniFirst has regularly demonstrated its commitment to running environmentally friendly operations having converted company plants to more energy- and resource-efficient operations, using only eco-friendly, biodegradable wash detergents, and testing the use of electric, hybrid, and alternative fuel-operated delivery vans. In fact, one UniFirst location has its entire fleet now running on propane. UniFirst is also a charter member of an industry greening initiative, the Laundry Environment Stewardship Program (ESP). This voluntary pollution prevention and resource conservation program has a goal of making a positive impact on environmental protection in the laun­-
dry services industry. The Baton Rouge plant will be one of the greenest facilities in the region. It will exclusively use environmentally friendly cleaning detergents, and will use heat reclaiming equipment, energy-efficient LED warehouse lighting, and modern rooftop HVAC units to further promote energy efficiency. Workers in the plant will also benefit from extensive natural light throughout the facility.

Although the Baton Rouge facility is an industrial laundry plant, UniFirst’s primary business centers on full service uniform rental programs. The company works with businesses across all industries to custom outfit employees with image-enhancing workwear, as well as personal protective and safety wear. As part of its rental programs, UniFirst schedules pickup and deliveries, hygienic cleaning, finishing, quality inspections, automatic repairs, and replacements when uniforms become overly worn. Through full-service uniform rental programs, UniFirst handles all the uniform program administration, thus allowing businesses to focus on their core missions, while also saving time and money by eliminating upfront clothing investments and lowering total cost of ownership.

Additionally, UniFirst rents, sells, and services facility service products, including floor mats and mops, towels and wiping products, soaps and restroom supplies, cleaning solutions and safety items, and more, to help businesses keep
their facilities clean and assist with inven­tory management. 

This year, UniFirst is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Aldo Croatti founded the company as National Overall Dry Cleaning Co. in a converted horse barn in Boston in 1936. At the time, the fledg­ling business, which focused on cleaning coveralls of workers in area factories and
heavy-soil businesses, had a single washing machine and a delivery truck. The company grew steadily over the years, and, in the 1960s, became the first private industrial launderer to be granted a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to process nuclear-contam­inated garments in select markets. In 1983, the company became listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It changed its name to UniFirst the following year and, in 2014-2015, the company became the number two provider in the industry for uniform and textile rental.

Eighty years after Aldo Croatti opened
his small business in Boston, UniFirst continues to grow. In 2015, the company set new annual financial performance records, including $1.5 billion in revenues and $124 million in profits. Although a public company, UniFirst remains a family-run business, as well. After starting with the company as a dry cleaning operator in 1965, Ron Croatti, Aldo’s son, now serves as president and CEO. Cynthia Croatti, Aldo’s daughter, joined the company as assistant treasurer in 1980, and has served as UniFirst’s treasurer since 1982. She is also the executive vice president of the company.

Despite entering its ninth decade and being one of the largest companies in
the industry, UniFirst retains the same core business values it started with in 1936. “UniFirst has always adhered to our founding core values: a customer focus, respect for others and a commitment to quality,” says Ron Croatti. “These values are embodied in our people, our products, and our services. That’s the reason for UniFirst’s ongoing success. We believe this success provides an opportunity for Baton Rouge-area businesses to continue growing. We’re looking forward to being an active, long-term partner in the Baton Rouge business community.”