AmeriPride Services
Encyclopedia
AmeriPride Services is one of the five largest uniform rental and linen supply companies in North America
privately owned and actively managed by the founding family. AmeriPride is a multi-national organization operating over 190 production facilities and service centers throughout the United States
, Canada
, and Puerto Rico
. The organization supplies local, regional and national companies in a variety of industries, including automotive, manufacturing, service, hospitality, food processing, technology & research and pharmaceutical/laboratory.
delivery boy for Johnson's towel route in Lincoln, Nebraska
. When Johnson lost his contract to have his towels laundered by inmates at the state penitentiary in 1889, he offered to sell to George his towel route for $50.80- half down, half later. He purchased the towel business. George named his business American Linen Supply and began one of the first towel-supply companies in the world. After his business grew with great success, George turned for help to his younger brother who he made an equal partner. Together they made deliveries from a green & white hand cart they pushed through the city streets. It wasn't long before the hand cart was upgraded to a horse-drawn wagon. Business continued to boom and the Lincoln business expanded to Minneapolis, Minnesota
and Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 1920s establishing the Canadian Linen Supply Company. Today the American Linen Supply Company is known as AmeriPride and serves over 150,000 customers daily in over 190 locations.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
privately owned and actively managed by the founding family. AmeriPride is a multi-national organization operating over 190 production facilities and service centers throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The organization supplies local, regional and national companies in a variety of industries, including automotive, manufacturing, service, hospitality, food processing, technology & research and pharmaceutical/laboratory.
History
As a schoolboy, George Steiner worked as a towelTowel
A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping. It draws moisture through direct contact, often using a blotting or a rubbing motion. Common household textile towels are made from cotton, rayon, bamboo, nonwoven fibers or a few other materials.-Types of towels:* A bath...
delivery boy for Johnson's towel route in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. When Johnson lost his contract to have his towels laundered by inmates at the state penitentiary in 1889, he offered to sell to George his towel route for $50.80- half down, half later. He purchased the towel business. George named his business American Linen Supply and began one of the first towel-supply companies in the world. After his business grew with great success, George turned for help to his younger brother who he made an equal partner. Together they made deliveries from a green & white hand cart they pushed through the city streets. It wasn't long before the hand cart was upgraded to a horse-drawn wagon. Business continued to boom and the Lincoln business expanded to Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 1920s establishing the Canadian Linen Supply Company. Today the American Linen Supply Company is known as AmeriPride and serves over 150,000 customers daily in over 190 locations.
Timeline
- 1945- Reorganized multiple state chartered corporate entities into one Delaware Corporation
- 1948- All individual operating companies are consolidated under the American Linen Supply Company
- 1960-1979- Multiple acquisitions made across the U.S. and Canada
- 1989- Customer Oriented (COSy) route accounting system implemented to improve and streamline billing and reporting processes
- 1997- Superior Apparel Management (SAM) with Radio Frequency (RFID) chip technology introduced in Vancouver, Montreal, and Los Angeles to assist in improving garment accountability
- 1998- Company name changes to reinforce commitment to the work apparel market: AmeriPride Services Inc. in the U.S., Canadian Linen and Apparel Services in Canada, and Quebec Linge in the province of Quebec
- 2000- National and Major Regional accounts program established with dedicated account management teams
- 2003- Superior Apparel Management (SAM) and RFID technology implemented in all branches across North America (except in the Grande Prairie, Alberta depot)
- 2007- Company open Toronto Central ‘state-of-the-art’ facility and is recognized as one of the top 5 garment and linen supply companies in North America.