Work Wear Corporation, Inc.

The Work Wear Corporation, Inc. was founded in 1915 by Samuel Rosenthal (1885-1957) as the Cleveland Overall Company. Originally selling to retail stores, the company soon switched its focus in 1921 to garment rental, providing rental uniforms directly to companies. Another successful innovation was to assure renters adequate industrial laundry capacity to clean rented garments. The company accomplished this by providing capitalizing and technical support to industrial laundries in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, and Buffalo, and then throughout the nation. By the 1940s, the company also produced work apparel for men and women including service uniforms, coveralls, jackets, pants, shirts, aprons, and blouses. Under Leighton Rosenthal (1914-2003), son of founder Samuel Rosenthal, Cleveland Overall became the publicly held Work Wear Corporation in 1961. In the 1960s, Work Wear continued its expansion, in 1968 acquiring the Belgian garment manufacturer Van Moer and in 1969 purchasing Mars Manufacturing Company, a domestic producer of disposable products. In 1968, Work Wear's acquisition of industrial laundries opened it to charges of violating the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, resulting in its divestiture of its American industrial laundries in 1977 and the incorporation of ARA Services to provide for rental services. During this shakeup, the company also changed its name to Work Wear Corporation, Incorporated. Work Wear continued to hold accounts to provide uniforms to many companies, including AT&T, Ford, and Toyota. By the 1980s, Work Wear had divisions in Canada, Mexico, Belgium, France, Malta, England, and West Germany, in addition to minority ownership in the Japanese firm Sani-Kleen. Work Wear also increased its presence in the medical disposable field during this time through its White Knight Division, acquired in 1981. In 1985 the company had revenues of $260 million and employed over 6,600 people worldwide. In 1986, Work Wear was acquired by Paine Webber Capital, a subsidiary of Paine Webber Group, Inc. After 75 years in Cleveland, Work Wear moved its corporate offices in 1990 to Greensboro, North Carolina.

From the description of Work Wear Corporation, Inc. records, series II, ca. 1940s-1996. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 762830200

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