Laundry Has Good Family ‘Division’
February 11, 2021
San Antonio-based Division Laundry & Cleaners, Inc. announced it has acquired the Texas assets (commercial laundry facilities) of Angelica based in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. February 15, 2022 and took ownership February 16, 2022.
The expansion to two major Texas cities strengthens the company’s footprint in Texas. Division Laundry & Cleaners is a family-owned business and has operated since 1939 mainly in South and Central Texas. It has one of the most advanced commercial laundry facilities in the Southwest and was the first and only private commercial laundry provider in San Antonio to fully automate the washroom and dryer room area with computerized systems and equipment. With this acquisition, the company expects to fill up to 200 additional positions at its San Antonio, Dallas and Houston facilities. Currently, it has about 250 employees.
“This acquisition strengthens our competitive edge since there are few family-owned businesses left in this sector, said President, Patrick R Garcia. “We have a stellar reputation in the San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi markets and the timing is right to move into Dallas and Houston.”
Division Laundry & Cleaners is the embodiment of the American Dream. The company was founded in 1939 by Peter G. Garcia, an immigrant from Mexico and the youngest of 17 children. He went from shining shoes and selling newspapers at the age of 8 in downtown San Antonio, to running an award-winning business where the third generation of the Garcia family is now firmly established. In 2001, a fire destroyed its San Antonio facility but Division was able to recover due to its state-of-the art equipment that’s housed in a 47,000-square-foot facility in far Northwest San Antonio. It took the company two years to build a new home, but Division experienced a 500% growth in business soon after the rebuild. The company has consistently been awarded water conservation and environmental awards from San Antonio’s main water utility.
It’s estimated that the industrial laundry & linen supply market in the U.S. was almost $16 billion in 2021, which represented a 12.5% growth from the previous year, according to IBIS World. TRSA, a commercial laundry trade association, estimates that industrial uniforms are supplied to an estimated 20 million U.S. workers; and linens and towels are provided to hundreds of thousands of facilities, mostly in healthcare and hospitality. Most customers receive deliveries at least weekly from a laundry or service center.
In Texas, the healthcare industry has been fueling growth in the commercial laundry business. Division Laundry & Cleaners also has experience servicing hospitality clients from a 250-room hotel to a massive 1,000-room convention center hotel property.
“From an economic standpoint, growth is important and it will strengthen our relationships with large healthcare systems, especially ones that exist in these other markets,” said Garcia. “This acquisition creates continuity of using one vendor, especially a well-established family business.”
About Division Laundry & Cleaners
Family-owned and operated for over 80 years, Division Laundry & Cleaners has delivered consistent quality and excellent customer service since 1939. Today, its state-of-the-art technology and equipment allow it to provide the most comprehensive commercial laundry service in South and Central Texas with unmatched efficiency. It employs environmentally responsible practices that not only reduce water usage by 10 million gallons a year, but keep costs down.
