| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NASDAQ: CTAS S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Service |
| Founded | 1929 as Acme Industrial Laundry Company 1972 as Cintas |
| Headquarters | Mason, Ohio, U.S. |
| Key people | Scott Farmer, President and CEO |
| Employees | 34,000 (2007) |
| Website | www.cintas.com |
Cintas Corporation is based in Mason, Ohio, is a publicly traded company that operates more than 400 facilities throughout North America. The company provides specialized services to businesses, including the design and manufacturing of corporate identity uniform programs, entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services to approximately 800,000 businesses.[1]
The company has grown consistently for the past 9 years. Growth has been both organic and from acquisitions large and small. Revenue in 2007 was $3.7 billion and net income was $335 million.[2] The company is the largest in the industry with 34,000 employees. They have received industry awards from publications such as Fortune in the United States, which named Cintas among its "Most Admired Companies" for eight consecutive years,[3] and Report on Business Magazine, naming the company one of Canada's Best Employers.[4]
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Previously headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cintas Corporation began in 1929 as the Acme Industrial Laundry Company by Richard (Doc) Farmer. He collected chemical-soaked rags from factories and washed and returned them for a fee. His grandson Richard T. Farmer joined the family business in 1956 after graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Richard saw the growth in uniform rentals and helped sales increase from $300,000 in 1959 to $847,000 in 1963. The name was changed to Cintas in 1972.
Farmer also tried products that were new at the time, such as fabrics that resisted wrinkles and stains, to grow the company to an almost 30% market share in uniforms. Cintas' recent growth has been primarily through its acquisition of more than 220 companies, eliminating overheads and cutting costs. Today, Cintas has bought itself into markets such as First Aid and Safety, Document Management, Fire Protection, Facility Services, and now Tile and Carpet Cleaning.
The company recently has made changes in its rules that affect how board members are elected. The company now requires that directors must be elected by a majority of votes cast. Bill Goetz has now returned to the company and moved from being the Head of Marketing to being one of four Presidents of this company.
In 2003, UNITE HERE and the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters have been engaged in a campaign against Cintas, alleging unfair labor practices. Unite obtained license numbers of Cintas workers in Pennsylvania, to contact them at home and has since been ordered to pay the workers $2,500 each. The ruling was subsequently upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[5] Following the death of a Tulsa, Oklahoma worker in March 2007, both unions and several Members of Congress have called for stricter health and safety standards at the company's laundries.[6][7] In May 2007, Cintas hired a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, the Podesta Group, to manage their relations with Congress.[8]