Petersfield & Reliance Laundry, which began life making deliveries with a horse and cart, recently celebrated its 100th year in business.
A family-owned company, the laundry now employs more than 60 staff and has much more horse power—a fleet of seven vans and two lorries to deliver laundry to a variety of domestic and commercial customers. Robert James, managing director, said: “When it started out, the firm just dealt with domestic laundry but now the majority of our market is commercial. We provide a service to hotels, restaurants and conference centres and to domestic customers.” Originally known as Petersfield District Laundry, the company was set up in 1899 by the Kneller family and provided a domestic laundry service to the local area using a horse and cart. In 1958, the laundry changed hands when it was taken over by the James family who owned the Reliance Laundry in Alton.
From small beginnings, dealing with about 500 pieces of linen a week, the laundry can now process up to 75 000 pieces every week on a site which is five times as big as the original prupose-built laundry.
