Prudential Overall Supply is an American company with headquarters in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

. The company was founded in 1932 as a uniform and textile laundry service, serving industrial clients such as automotive production facilities. The company currently serves municipal, industrial and service industry companies. The company was founded by John D. Clark, who served as the company's President until 1972, and served as Chairman Emeritus until his death in 1991. Dan Clark, John's brother took over until 1984, then serving as chairman until his death in 1989.

History

In 1943, Prudential signed a contract with the government to clean and sterilize gas mask components. The company discontinued home laundry, hospital and agency services in favor of garment rentals."History"
prudentialuniforms.com. Retrieved 1 October 2015 In 1952, Prudential opened its

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

plant, followed by a plant in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Van Nuys City Hall, Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley ...

in 1960. In 1961, the company opened a plant in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh-most populous city in Southern California ...

. In 1966, the

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

plant was launched, followed by the building of the corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. The company expanded its operations into

Milpitas, California Milpitas (Spanish for or little cornfields) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, part of Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, it is bordered by San Jose, California, S ...

in 1971. The Cerritos Dust Control plant was launched in 1972. In 1976 a plant in Irvine was opened. In 1978, Prudential began serving the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

area with the acquisition of Tucson Supreme Cleaners, representing the company's ninth plant. The company continued its expansion efforts in both California and Arizona, opening plants in

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

and

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Throughout the 1980s the company opened plants in Irvine, CA, Milpitas industrial and Milpitas

cleanroom A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space that maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well-isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientifi ...

, California Plants,

Fremont, CA Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area, behind San Jose, San Fr ...

(now Milpitas cleanroom), Los Angeles, CA cleanroom Plant,

Fresno, CA Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, Moorpark, CA,

Mesa, AZ Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix and Tucson, the 37th-most populous city in the U.S., and the most populo ...

cleanroom Plant, Phoenix, Arizona,

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 census. The city straddles the Balcones Escarpment, Texas State Histor ...

cleanroom Plant and

Vista, CA Vista (; Spanish for "view") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is a medium-sized city within the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, Vista had a population of 98,381. Current dat ...

. In 1994, the company began global operations through a cooperative venture with AMPri Rubberware to operate a cleanroom near

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. In September 2015 Prudential overall Supply acquired operations of now bankrupt laundry firm Coyne International Enterprises in Virginia and South Carolina. In March 2019, it was announced that Prudential had a five-year contract with Consolidated Laundry Machinery (CLM), which includes the purchase of CLM's dryer technology. In June 2019, it received a "STAR Site" designation from the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Department for " exemplary and comprehensive safety and health management systems." Later in June, it was announced that there would be a leadership transition at the end of the year when president Tom Watts retires. Then-CEO Dan Clark stepped down from this position for his son John Clark to take over while he remains as a member of the company's board of directors. In July 2019, the company renewed its ISO 9001:2015 certification. The company was covered by

Morley Safer Morley Safer (November 8, 1931 – May 19, 2016) was a Canadian-American broadcast journalist, reporter, and correspondent for CBS News. He was best known for his long tenure on the news magazine ''60 Minutes'', whose cast he joined in 1970 af ...

on the American Medical Review episode covering cleanroom processing and technology.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.prudentialuniforms.com Companies based in Irvine, California Business services companies established in 1932 1932 establishments in California