Without a single customer in 1990, Consolidated Linen Service or Hervey Bay Commercial Laundry as it was then known, was established to meet the growing needs of the local Hervey Bay area. Neville & Morena Roberts persisted during the early years to expand customer by customer, washing machine by washing machine at a time.

Oldest son Adam, and then Luke joined the family business. Conversation each Sunday night at family dinners rarely strayed from washing more, washing faster and washing smarter.

With continued growth, CLS began servicing nearby regions and investments in larger and more efficient equipment was made. By the Year 2000, CLS was the predominate laundry operator across the Wide Bay, washing around 40 tonnes of linen each week.

In 2003, a major plant upgrade included the installation of a new Continuous Batch Washer and Dryer system increasing capacity to 100 tonnes.

In 2004, a further expansion was undertaken by merging with a Sunshine Coast based laundry called Crystal Linen Service. The “CLS” moniker was alive and well.

The youngest and supposedly smartest brother Tom jumped on board, with his brothers often reminding Tom that his intelligence was questionable considering the many other career opportunities he’d forsaken. But the smell of soap suds was too much to resist.

A few years later, another large plant upgrade doubled the capacity of the Hervey Bay laundry with a 2nd CBW added along with high-speed ironers and other automated equipment. Up to 200 tonnes of linen was now being laundered each week.

Expansion northwards occurred with the acquisition of a laundry plant in Gladstone in 2013 and shortly thereafter, a largescale Distribution Centre in Mackay. The Gladstone laundry underwent an upgrade in 2017 to expand capacity, improve quality and offer greater supply redundancy.

In 2020, Laundry #3, being Barrier Reef Linen joined the ranks and CLS began servicing The Whitsundays. This near new plant was purpose-built for the local market and now washes up to 100 tonnes each week.

Late 2021, Chevron Laundry Rockhampton became CLS Laundry #4. This purchase further increased our Central Qld capacity and compliments the Gladstone plant today with a diversified customer profile.

This story will get even longer in the years ahead with our family and team committed to our industry and customers across the regional Queensland landscape.