Cintas Corp. Thursday said it has bought Micron-Clean Uniform Service Inc., an East Coast provider of the specialized uniforms needed for particle-free workplaces, such as factories that make computer chips and pharmaceuticals.
Micron-Clean, based in Newburgh, N.Y., has about 300 customers, scattered from Maine to North Carolina, and revenue of about $5 million a year.
The purchase price was not disclosed. Cintas paid for the acquisition with stock, said Karen Carnahan, the company's treasurer.
Micron-Clean operates a plant, designed for the clean-room garments, in Newburgh. The business requires specialized equipment and processes, such as elaborate air-filtration systems and de-ionized water.
Cintas operates a similar, though smaller, plant in San Jose, Calif., near Silicon Valley. That plant, bought in 1992, has 150 customers and revenue of about $2.5 million a year.
Its customers are in the San Francisco area, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Ms. Carnahan said Cintas bought Micron-Clean partly because existing customers asked the company to provide the service. ''They like dealing with one company,'' she said.
The total rental market for the clean-room garments is estimated to have sales of $100 million a year. Ms. Carnahan said that the profit margins in the business are comparable to Cintas' existing markets.
Cintas, which has more than $90 million in cash on hand, made few acquisitions in 1996. This year is different. The most recent purchase follows two sets of acquisitions made in February.
Cintas first bought two uniform supply companies in Vancouver, British Columbia. The two companies have combined sales of about $3 million. Cintas then bought two wholesalers of first-aid supplies for businesses. Those companies had combined sales of $18 million.
In all, the recent spurt of acquisitions will add about $26 million to Cintas' sales.
Cintas had revenue of $730.1 million in its fiscal year ended May 31, 1996. For the first six months of its 1997 fiscal year, the company posted revenue of $401 million, compared with $352.7 million for the same period the previous year.
