CHICAGO — It was a year of acquisitions in the industrial/institutional laundry industry.
It was also the year The Clean Show returned to form.
American Laundry News readers stayed abreast of these topics and more through our online coverage.
These last weeks of 2025 present the perfect time to look back at the year’s top stories (based on page views) posted on AmericanLaundryNews.com.
Here are stories No. 5 through No. 1:
5. Creating Effective Training and Development Plans, Sept. 23
The fifth most read online story covered the highlights of the Clean Show educational session “Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (oh my!): Creating Training Plans with Best Practice Frameworks.”
Callie Rendon, education instructional designer for the Association for Linen Management (ALM), and Jason Hartsell, vice president of operations for United Hospital Services (UHS) in Indianapolis, shared their expertise in defining training and development, along with using the problem-opportunity-goal method to create an effective process.
4. Cintas Ends Bid for UniFirst, March 31
We reported that Cintas Corp. terminated discussions with UniFirst Corp. regarding its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding common and class B shares of UniFirst for $275 per share in cash.
Cintas said the offer was a premium of 46% over UniFirst’s 90-day average closing price as of Jan. 6, the last trading day before the proposal was made public.
In a statement, UniFirst said, “Consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its independent advisors, the Board conducted a careful review of the unsolicited proposal and determined that it is not in the best interests of UniFirst, its shareholders, and other stakeholders.”
3. EVI Industries to Acquire Girbau North America, March 3
EVI Industries Inc. announced that it executed a definitive agreement to acquire Girbau North America, paying consideration of approximately $43 million in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, which was to be funded through EVI’s revolving credit facility.
The strategic acquisition “strengthens both companies’ ability to deliver innovative laundry solutions while enhancing service and distribution capabilities nationwide,” Girbau North America added in its press release.
2. Clean ’25: Exceeding Expectations, Sept. 9
The Clean Show, presented by Texcare, enjoyed a successful return to form in terms of attendance and schedule in Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 23-26.
North America’s largest textile care trade show got back on its every other, odd-numbered year schedule after three years and bounced back from the previous years’ challenges in terms of exhibitors, attendees, educational sessions, and the overall mood of the industry.
Visitor attendance was close to 11,000, and exhibitor numbers jumped from 350 in 2022 to 434 in Orlando.
A record number of international companies (88) exhibited at the show, along with a record number of first-time exhibitors.
1. Cintas Makes Offer for UniFirst, Proposal Rejected, Jan. 8
The year’s most-read online story reported on Cintas’ November offer to acquire all outstanding common and class B shares of UniFirst for $275 per share in cash.
In a statement, UniFirst confirmed that in November and December 2024, its Board of Directors received and unanimously rejected an unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional proposal from Cintas Corp.
“Consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its independent advisors, the Board conducted a careful review of the unsolicited proposal and determined that it is not in the best interests of UniFirst, its shareholders and other stakeholders,” the company wrote.
Click HERE to find out which stories were the sixth through 10th most read online in 2025.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].
