CLOSE-UP I

Legacies

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"That name must stay in
the family," he insists.
Julie Sandler is the son of
the late Reuben Sandler,
who immigrated from
Russia in 1904 and founded
Reliable Linen with his
brother, William, from a
failing hand laundry opera-
tion in 1910.
Today Julie is president of
Central Quality Services, a
parent company to four
plants involved in the linen
supply business. Central
Quality employs 500 people.
Julie's son-in-law, Stuart
Wish, is chief executive offi-
cer for Central Quality,
which provides a complete
line of work uniforms, dust
control items, uniform
image wear and restaurant
supplies. It generates over
$20 million in sales.
- "The slogan went "RELI
on us, we are ABLE to satis-
fy," Julie Sandler recalls.
"Our trucks were painted
red with gold lettering. It's
amazing. To this day I run
into people who remember
those trucks."
Julie lost the rights to the
name when he left the busi-
ness about 30 years ago to
create his own venture. He
sold his shares. Yet Julie
was never comfortable let-
ting go of the name. It was
his heritage.
When his cousins sold the
business to a competitor in
the 1970s, Julie bought back
part of the company, along
with rights to the name. He
doesn't use it for the busi-
ness, but owning the rights
keeps him happy.
"That company is a part of
me," he says.
Reuben and William were
lured to Detroit by the Ford
Motor Co. offer to pay high
$5-a-day wages to its
workers. At the time, their
brother-in-law was running
a hand laundry business
that was going awry. They
loaned him some money.
The business continued to
plunge, forcing the brotherly
duo to protect their in-
vestment and take over
operations. They found
profits in "bachelor
bundles," a laundry service
for young men who worked
for Ford, rented rooms in
boarding houses, yet had no
place to do laundry.
With a horse and wagon,
they picked up the laundry,
washed it and returned it.
They found a niche. They
turned the stock over each
night because there wasn't
enough money for extra in-
ventory. They sometimes
worked through the night.
In the 1920s, the business
evolved into a linen supply
service, after a meat man

from Cleveland asked
Reuben to make a long white
butcher frock for him.
Reuben had never seen such
an item, but made a small
investment into making
them.
They brought over their
relatives from Russia and
put them to work. A shop
was opened where they
made aprons, towels and
other items. The business
began renting and cleaning
items.
Also in the 1920s, the
Sandlers began expanding
the services into northern
Michigan. Today they
operate throughout the
Midwest.
The Great Depression was
tough, but Reuben and
William never missed a
payroll. Reuben kept a sav-
ings account in Canada,
which helped during the
lean years.
"My father had no formal
education," Julie says. "But
he was shrewd in the laun-
dry business."
Julie came into the busi-
ness after serving in World
War II, and took over as
president after his father
retired.
"This business is about
tradition and pride," Julie
says.

1911

Julius Bing Quits
Cigar Business,
Sells First Safe

It was an odd business,
one almost nobody planned to
enter. It just happened.
This is the story of the
Julius Bing Safe Co., started
on a whim in 1911 by a
young cigar salesman who
came to Detroit from
Rochester, N.Y.
As a premium for selling
more than his projected
quota of cigars, Julius got a
safe. Someone saw the safe
and asked if he could buy it.
The sale was so easy,
Julius thought. He could
make more money selling
safes than cigars. With no
apparent competition, the
business was an immediate
success.
Today the business is
entering its fourth genera-
tion. Julie Kohlenberg-
Tache, Julius' great-
granddaughter, is the office
manager. And her father,
Martin Kohlenberg, married
to Julius' granddaughter,
the former Sally Bing, is
president, overseeing sales.
It is different now. Though
still run as a mom-and-pop
company out of an old, not