{{Short description|American corporation}} {{Infobox company | name = UniFirst Corporation | logo = File:Unifirst-logo.svg | type = Public | traded_as = {{NYSE|UNF}}<br />S&P 600 component | founder = The Croatti family | fate = | area_served = United States, Canada, Europe | key_people = Steven S. Sintros (President & CEO) | industry = Apparel industry, Workwear, Uniform service | products = {{ublist |Uniforms | Workwear | Protective Clothing}} | production = | services = {{ublist |Uniform rental |Laundering |Mending |Embroidery |Pickup & delivery |Facility services |Scheduled maintenance}} | revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|2.43 billion|link=yes}} (2025) | operating_income = {{increase}} {{US$|184 million}} (2025) | net_income = {{increase}} {{US$|148 million}} (2025) | assets = {{increase}} {{US$|2.78 billion}} (2025) | equity = {{increase}} {{US$|2.17 billion}} (2025) | owner = | num_employees = 16,000 (2025) | parent = | divisions = | subsid = UniTech, UniClean, UniFirst-First Aid Group | intl = | foundation = {{start date and age|1936|7|12}} | location_city = Wilmington, Massachusetts | location_country = U.S. | locations = 281 facilities (2025) | homepage = {{URL|https://unifirst.com}} | footnotes = <ref name=10K>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000717954/000119312525256222/unf-20250830.htm | title=FY 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |date=October 29, 2025 |publisher=United States Securities and Exchange Commission}}</ref> }}
'''UniFirst Corporation''' is an American uniform rental company based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, that manufactures, sells, and rents uniforms and protective clothing. UniFirst employs more than 14,000 people and has over 260 facilities in the United States, Canada, and Europe, including customer service centers, nuclear decontamination facilities, cleanroom locations, distribution centers, and manufacturing plants.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite web|title=UniFirst Corp (UNF)|url=https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=UNF|publisher=Reuters|access-date=October 18, 2012}}</ref><ref name="UniFirstAbout">{{cite web | url=http://www.unifirst.com/about/about_unifirst.html | title=About UniFirst | publisher=UniFirst | access-date=April 7, 2012 | archive-date=April 13, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413220825/http://www.unifirst.com/about/about_unifirst.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/10970601/1/unifirst-declares-regular-cash-dividends.html | title=UniFirst Declares Regular Cash Dividends | publisher=The Street | date=January 11, 2011 | access-date=April 7, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Morningstar">{{cite web|title=XNYS:UNF UniFirst Corp Annual Report 10-K Filing|url=http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2014/8/30/t.aspx?t=XNYS:UNF&ft=10-K&d=a8982b201fba2fbed6b329a18deba263|publisher=Morningstar|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718205722/http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2014/8/30/t.aspx?t=XNYS:UNF&ft=10-K&d=a8982b201fba2fbed6b329a18deba263|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== History ==
UniFirst was founded in 1936 by the Croatti family,<ref name="Pasiuk2006">{{cite book|author=Laurie Pasiuk|title=Vault Guide to the Top Business Services Employers|url=https://archive.org/details/vaultguidetotopb00vaul|url-access=registration|access-date=8 April 2012|date=30 April 2006|publisher=Vault Inc.|isbn=978-1-58131-402-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vaultguidetotopb00vaul/page/111 111]–112}}</ref> under the name of National Overall Dry Cleaning Company.<ref name="FundingUniverse">{{cite web|title=History of UniFirst Corporation|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/unifirst-corporation-history/|publisher=FundingUniverse|access-date=January 19, 2015}}</ref> The company began in a horse barn that had been converted into a makeshift laundry, and its equipment consisted of a single washing machine and a delivery truck. It served Boston area factory workers and other laborers, whose heavy soiled work clothing needed to be cleaned frequently.<ref name="FundingUniverse"/> The National Overall Dry Cleaning Company was incorporated in Massachusetts on October 6, 1950.<ref name="Service1984">{{cite book|author=Moody's Investors Service|title=Moody's industrial news reports|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cccgAQAAMAAJ&q=%22incorporated+in+Massachusetts%22+unifirst|access-date=7 April 2012|date=May 1984|publisher=Moody's Investors Service|page=3804}}</ref>
In the 1980s, UniFirst was sued by residents of Woburn, Massachusetts in a class-action lawsuit. The residents alleged that Unifirst, along with two other firms, had released pollution that had leaked into the water supply, and that this was a cause of increased instances of leukemia in the town. UniFirst settled with the residents without going to trial, for a sum of one million dollars.<ref name="Marshall1986">{{cite journal|last1=Marshall|first1=E|title=Woburn case may spark explosion of lawsuits|journal=Science|volume=234|issue=4775|year=1986|pages=418–420|issn=0036-8075|doi=10.1126/science.3764418|pmid=3764418|bibcode=1986Sci...234..418M}}</ref> This episode was featured in the non-fiction book ''A Civil Action'' by Jonathan Harr, later adapted into a film of the same name.<ref name="Bergslien2012">{{cite book|author=Elisa Bergslien|title=An Introduction to Forensic Geoscience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuOHHh-eIFcC&pg=PA438|access-date=7 April 2012|date=15 May 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-6054-4|pages=437–438}}</ref> As of 2009, UniFirst's environmental record has improved; it has received awards for its water treatment processes from the Missouri Water Environment Association and the Water and Wastewater Utility Special Service Division of Austin, Texas, among others.<ref>{{cite news|title=UniFirst Wins Awards for 'Green' Laundering Processes|url=http://www.americanlaundrynews.com/article/unifirst-wins-awards-%E2%80%98green%E2%80%99-laundering-processes|newspaper=American Laundry News|date=January 12, 2009}}</ref>
In 1991 Ronald Croatti became the chief executive officer of the company. He continued his rise in 1995, when he became the company president, and again in 2002, when he became the chairman of the board.<ref>{{cite web|title=Executive Profile: Ronald D. Croatti|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=309970&ticker=UNF:US&previousCapId=260725&previousTitle=CINTAS%20CORP|publisher=Bloomberg Businessweek}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 2011, UniFirst featured in an episode of the reality television series ''Undercover Boss''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/undercover-boss-how-unifirst-keeps-margins-up-on-uniforms-without-losing-its-shirt/ | title=Undercover Boss: How UniFirst Keeps Margins Up on Uniforms Without Losing Its Shirt | publisher=CBS News | date=January 7, 2011 | access-date=April 7, 2012 | author=Dishman, Lydia}}</ref>
In May 2017, Ronald Croatti died and Steven S. Sintros became President & CEO.<ref>{{cite web|title=UniFirst names new CEO following death of Ronald Croatti in May|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2017/08/01/unifirst-names-new-ceo-following-death-of-ronald.html}}</ref>
In March 2026, UniFirst agreed to be acquired by Cintas in a deal valued at $5.5 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Nicholas G. |date=2026-03-11 |title=Cintas to Buy Uniform Supplier UniFirst in $5.5 Billion Deal |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/cintas-to-acquire-unifirst-in-deal-worth-310-per-share-4b8f74ce |access-date=2026-03-14 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Products and services == UniFirst supplies uniforms and protective clothing, as well as restroom and cleaning products such as floor mats, mops, air fresheners and soap.<ref name="Pasiuk2006" /><ref name="Reuters1">{{cite web|title=UniFirst Corp (UNF)|url=https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=UNF|publisher=Reuters|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> Products that it manufactures in-house include work shirts, work pants, outerwear, and flame-resistant work apparel.<ref name="Reuters1" /> It also manufactures a majority of the garments it places in rental programs.<ref name="Reuters1" />
== Subsidiaries == UniFirst subsidiary companies include Green Guard, UniTech Services Group, and UniClean. Green Guard is a corporate supplier of first aid equipment;<ref name="GreenGuard">{{cite web | url=http://www.greenguard.com/ | title=Green Guard | publisher=Green Guard | access-date=April 8, 2012}}</ref> UniTech provides laundering and decontamination services to the nuclear industry;<ref name="UniTech">{{cite web | url=http://www.unitechus.com/ | title=UniTech Services Group | publisher=UniTech Services Group | access-date=April 8, 2012}}</ref> and UniClean supplies clothing and services related to cleanrooms.<ref name="Pasiuk2006" /><ref name="UniClean">{{cite web | url=http://www.uniclean.com/ | title=UniClean Cleanroom Services | publisher=UniClean | access-date=April 8, 2012}}</ref> UniFirst also has a Canadian uniform rental subsidiary called UniFirst Canada.<ref name="UniFirst Canada">{{cite web | url=http://www.unifirst.ca/ | title=UniFirst Canada | publisher=UniFirst Canada | access-date=May 3, 2015}}</ref>
== Performance == UNF released in quarterly report pre-market on July 2, 2025. During the quarter, sales reached $610.8 million, marking a 1.2% increase from the $603.3 million reported in the same period last year. However, revenue fell short of analysts' expectations by $3.7 million because that increase was smaller than what experts hoped it would be. Net income rose to $39.7 M (or $2.13 per share), compared to $38.1 M ($2.03 per share) last year. Specialty garments revenue edged up to $47.8 M, but margins declined to 22.8% from 23.9% year-over-year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/unifirst-corporation-nyse-unf-q3-2025-earnings-call-transcript/ar-AA1HY7cf?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref>
==See also== *Anderson v. Cryovac, Inc. for suit by residents of Woburn, Massachusetts
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://unifirst.com Official site]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts Category:Companies based in Wilmington, Massachusetts Category:American companies established in 1936 Category:Clothing companies established in 1936 Category:Clothing manufacturers Category:Cleanroom technology Category:1936 establishments in Massachusetts Category:Announced mergers and acquisitions