Entrepreneurs:
Jerry Shapiro, Jay Shapiro, David S. Shapiro, Steven Shapiro, David E. Shapiro and Hal Shapiro

Company Name:
            Walker Towel & Uniform Service
            2601 Truman Road
            Kansas City, MO 64127
            (816) 231-0300
            www.walkeruniform.com
                        
Type of Business:
Uniform rental, sales and laundry service

Year Founded: 
1878

Number of Employees:
125

Keys to Success: 
“If you’ve got good employees, you’ll grow.” – Jerry Shapiro


Imagemakers
A fourth generation, 125-year-old business ranks as one of Kansas City’s oldest.

By Linda Cruse

Keeping Kansas City-area employees looking professional has made all the difference for a company celebrating its 125th year in business.

Uniforms sales and rental is the mainstay of Walker Towel & Uniform Service, a Kansas City, Mo.-based business that is one of the city’s oldest companies. And not only is it one of the city’s oldest, it’s also one of the oldest continuously operated family-owned businesses.

Third- and fourth-generation family members currently operate the business located on the corner of Truman Road and Prospect Avenue. The management team includes cousins Jay and Jerry Shapiro, and their sons: David S. and Steven and David E. and Hal.

The horse-and-buggy laundry service of the 1800s has evolved into a modern-day success story. Among other advances, the company boasts a state-of-the-art 1,200-pound washing machine unlike anything else in Kansas City. The enormous washer can clean more than half a ton of laundry every 30 minutes.

And whether they’re outfitting employees at companies such as Ford Motor Co., Hallmark Corp. and Hen House grocery stores, or providing floor mats, towels and uniforms to restaurants and bars, the Walker company’s fleet of trucks are a familiar site throughout Kansas City.

The Early Years
Kansas City was a frontier town of just 60,000 people when the Walker family started a family laundry and dry cleaning service, Walker Laundry.

According to a 1893 weekly time book discovered in a desk by the current owners, 39 people worked at the company in September of that year. The total weekly payroll was $254.75, and employees made between five and 10 dollars a week during that time, Jerry Shapiro said.

The original plant was located at 6th Street and Broadway in downtown Kansas City. In 1906, the company moved to 1120 Oak Street.

Old photographs showing the company’s turn-of-the-century wash room are a far cry from today’s modern facility. Women wearing long skirts, long-sleeved blouses and aprons hand-washed and ironed clothes, a process that now has been automated.

Employees today wear modern uniforms and use state-of-the-art industrial laundry equipment, including automatic pressing machines, an automated computer tracking system and industrial-size washers and dryers.

Next Generation
Jerry’s grandfather, Henry, and his father, Rubin, and uncle, Jack, purchased the plant in 1946 from the founder’s son-in-law. They had previously operated a grocery business.

Shortly after purchasing Walker Laundry, the company experienced both its greatest setback and comeback.

“A horrible ice storm in 1949 reduced the plant to a 14-foot pile of rubble,” said Shapiro. “My father and his partner, Jack, went to the bank president, threw the keys to the business on his desk and told him he could either have the business back or provide them with a $65,000 loan to rebuild it. They got their loan the next morning.”

A decade later, after receiving a degree in industrial and personnel management from the University of Missouri, Jerry joined the business.

“I hadn’t planned on working in the laundry business, but I’m glad now that I did,” said Shapiro. “It turned out to be a great career.”

Shapiro added a new twist to the laundry business, with uniforms, shop towels and eventually floor mats and mops becoming a focus.

“I introduced a towel service in 1956, uniform rental in 1959 and the mat and mop business in 1965,” he said. The company’s name was changed to Walker Towel & Uniform to reflect the new focus.

The decade from 1965 to 1975 was one of tremendous growth for the business. With the addition of poly-cotton uniforms and mops, and cotton latex mats, business began booming, said Shapiro.

“Although the number of employees didn’t grow significantly, sales grew about 500 percent. We experienced double-digit growth during that entire decade,” he said.

Growth and Expansion
In 1971, the company moved from 1120 Oak to its current location, the former Woolf Brothers laundry plant at Truman Road and Prospect Avenue. Two years were spent revamping and modernizing the facility before the move.

“In 1969 we made the decision to move to a larger plant to accommodate our growing business,” said Shapiro. “Our services and customer base were expanding and we needed more space.”

The company spent $250,000 for the plant, but virtually doubled its business. The investment paid for itself in less than four years.

With the move, the company phased out family laundry and dry-cleaning services and focused entirely on industrial customers.

During the 1970s, Walker Towel & Uniform service solidified its name and grew its customer base.

The 1980s brought a new generation to the business, with Jerry and his partner, Jay’s, sons joining the company as vice presidents. In addition, in 1988 the company began selling work and corporate logo garments through a direct sale program.
Shapiro said the addition provided customers the opportunity to switch between rental and purchase programs as their needs changed.

In the 1990s, the company made a $2 million investment in its building, adding 25,000-square-feet of loading and dock space and new storage space for garments. In addition, the company added a new steam tunnel and upgraded its wash room.

Through the years, the company has continually expanded its services to keep pace with changing times. Current services and products include industrial shirts and pants, executive wear, jackets and coveralls, ladies wear, lab and butcher coats, aprons and smocks, towels, chef’s apparel, and mops and floor mats.

Shapiro estimated that the company currently has 2,500 to 3,000 customers located from St. Joseph to Sedalia, Mo., and Sweet Springs to Topeka, Kan. And while it has a direct sales department, about 60 percent of the uniform business involves rental garments.

Shapiro said a uniform not only projects a positive company image and serves as an important part of a corporate identify program, it also provides security and safety.

“Although business has dropped some since the Sept. 11 tragedy, it’s starting to pick up because a lot of people realize that uniforms are important to company security,” he said.

Pickup and delivery of rented items is a primary component of the company’s business. Route drivers visit customers weekly to pick up soiled products and deliver clean ones, Shapiro said.

David S. Shapiro said that jeans, khakis, polo shirts and Bermuda shorts have replaced the old-style uniforms of years past.

“Our customers want the new, updated styles, so that’s what we provide,” he said. “Our uniforms are made in comfortable fabrics and project a more stylish image.”

David added that many of the company’s customers are service companies.

“Our clients want to make sure that when their employees knock on a customer’s door, they’re wearing a uniform,” he said. “Customer satisfaction ratings are higher when a service employee is wearing a uniform. It’s important to make a professional first impression.”

Moving Ahead
During the past five years, the company has focused on environmental improvements. A new wastewater treatment system helps company clients comply with regulations.

For example, the company offers a recovery service for printing industry businesses. All soiled towels are spun in a centrifuge before laundering.

Investments also have been made in wastewater treatment. Wastewater pretreatment technology enables Walker to meet all federal, state and local requirements for water discharge.

Because of the advances, Walker is the premier provider of rental shop towels to printing and ink companies in the Kansas City area.

Shapiro said the company would continue to focus on expanding its customer base and making technological and environmental improvements in the years ahead.

“I attribute all our success during the past 125 years to our employees,” said Shapiro. “It’s definitely been a team effort. When you have good employees, you grow.”

Linda Cruse is managing editor of Kansas City Small Business Monthly.