Robert Caen is Now President of Uniform Masters
September 11, 2024Moe (Morris) Caen moved from New Jersey to Memphis, TN to start Mechanics Laundry Service in 1946 with 2 kids Richard and Judith and wife Lenore in a Ford station wagon. “To get his fledgling company off the ground, my dad drove an old Ford station wagon that leaked when it rained,” Richard said. “He serviced his customers by picking up their soiled industrial laundry and delivering cleaned garments. All the cleaning was done by hand. All the garments were 100 percent cotton and they were all folded by hand. Nothing was easy.”
1946-1975 we were located at the corner of Jackson and North Front Street in Memphis, TN
1975 we moved to the location we are in now near the Memphis Airport 3276 Democrat Square
Moe died in 1967 and Richard, then after returning from college, ran the business and built it into what the modern industrial laundry model is today. We expanded the service area outside of Memphis into the 2 surrounding states – Arkansas and Mississippi – and east into Jackson, TN. We moved out of downtown into our building today in 1975 and changed the name in 1993 to Uniform Masters.
Every summer, Robert grew up riding routes in the early mornings, and folding shop towels as well as assisting the plant at the end of the days. After attending college in Boston, Robert returned to Memphis working in the food and beverage industry before returning to work at Uniform Masters. He’s worked along side Richard now for 18 years. Robert worked as accounts payable assistant, service supervisor, sales representative, sales & marketing manager, worked on the brand transition in 2016, and is now President of day to day operations.
Richard still works day to day helping manage benefits and imparting his industry knowledge and experience.