In the United States, family businesses comprise half of the country’s gross domestic product and generate 60 percent of the country’s employment, yet, despite that, many of them struggle when it comes to
succession.
Only 30 percent of family businesses survive to the second generation, and
merely 12 percent are still viable to the third. With each generation, the odds
only get worse. In fact, only 3 percent of such businesses make it to the
fourth generation or beyond.
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Not only has the business been handed down through five generations, but it
first opened its doors four years before the Civil War began.
Initially, the company was started in 1857 by German immigrant John Zengeler, a
man who wanted to keep Chicagoans looking chic even during the town
’s frontier days.
Back then, the company was called New York Steam Dye Works, and John used his
background as a chemist toward the practical application of dyeing and
bleaching garments.
From day one, the Zengeler family fostered a lot of pride in their final
product. John
’s own business card emphasized: “Renewed in a manner that cannot be surpassed.”
About a decade after it first serviced garments on South Clark Street, the New
York Steam Dye Works moved to South Prairie Street.
Five years later, the plant completely burned down in the Great Chicago Fire,
which killed hundreds and destroyed four square miles altogether in the city,
making it one of the largest U.S. disasters in the 19th century.
Fortunately, both Chicago and the Zengeler family proved resilient and
immediately began the rebuilding process.
The family business was soon back up at a new location on South Cottage Grove.
However, it would still be another quarter of a century before the second
generation of the family joined the operation.
The Zengeler family has never felt any pressure from its predecessors to prolong
the life of the company, and Arthur (A.W.), John
’s eldest son, was certainly no exception.
“It took him a while to settle down to really figure out exactly what he wanted
to do,
” noted Tom Zengeler, who currently serves as the company’s president and CEO.
Once A.W. was on board, though, the business flourished. In fact, it was his
unparalleled dyeing skills that helped bolster the family
’s reputation with Chicago’s high society and generate a new opportunity for growth.
“As our history goes, Mrs. J. Ogden Armour (wife of the famous Chicago
meatpacking baron) persuaded A.W. Zengeler to try a location further outside
the city to a very affluent area in Lake Forest, IL,
” Tom said.
The request was a direct result of A.W.’s ability to reproduce her favorite shade of pink in her garments.
Around the turn of the 20th century, Zengeler Cleaners started a pickup and
delivery service using a horse and carriage.
By 1923, the company opened a satellite store closer to the train station and
upgraded to the rail system to transfer soiled clothes to and from the main
plant.
The “Roaring 1920s” proved to be good to the Zengeler family as they sold the Lake Forest plant and
moved the business to Winnetka, IL, where they continued to service the North
Shore
’s aristocratic clientele.
Having the high society market cornered certainly helped the family when its
third generation
— A.W.’s sons Ralph, Art and Al—began to assume management in the wake of the Great Depression.
“It’s interesting looking at old invoices and the money that they had at that time,” Tom noted. “It’s pretty amazing they were able to survive.”
During the Great Depression, or even in more prosperous times, the family’s main goal was always about raising the bar of quality, not increasing the
bottom line.
“They were just always very focussed on quality and customer service,” Tom explained. “I don’t think they ever were out to make a lot of money in the business. They were
more interested in just providing high quality and great customer service.
”
During World War II (in 1944), A.W. retired after being in the cleaning business
for 48 years. Before he left, however, he made sure his son Ralph was ready to
take the company
’s reins, and that his grandson, Robert, Sr., was trained properly whenever he
visited the plant.
“As a young child, my grandfather Art (A.W.) would take me down to the plant in
Winnetka, where he did the dyeing,
” Robert, Sr., said. “He was a master dyer. I’d watch him dipping clothes into the dye kettles, which we have preserved in the
lobby of our Northbrook store. He would dip and pull out the garment, comparing
it to a color sample from a customer. He
’d dip it back in, pull it out again, over and over until he had a perfect match.
He was meticulous, never satisfied until he could proudly present it to his
customer.
”
The work ethic has certainly been passed down with each generation. Under Ralph’s leadership, the company continued to expand, opening stores in Northfield and
Libertyville, as well as a
“drive-in” facility located at Tower and Green Bay Roads in Winnetka.
When Robert, Sr., was handed the torch in 1962, there was no question that the
company would continue its successful traditions.
“When it came time for me to run the business, I tried to lead by example,” Robert, Sr. explained. “Our business is pretty simple. Once you have the right technology in place and
you
’ve mastered the very best cleaning methods, the business is all about stressing
quality, insisting on doing it right, never cutting corners in a business where
that
’s easy to do, and surrounding yourself with people who are dedicated to
providing superior service, every day.
”
This year marks the 150th anniversary for Zengeler Cleaners, which now includes
seven stores and 150 employees. A trio of brothers represent the fifth link in
the family generation chain: Robert, Jr., Michael and Tom (all sons of Robert,
Sr.).
According to Tom, all three men have prospered in the company by pursuing their
own interests.
Robert, Jr., began working full-time with the family business in 1975 after he
studied business in college. In addition to managing the Northfield store, he
is the go-to guy for all of the customer-related issues.
When it comes to keeping garments spotless, the family relies on Michael, who
first started at one of Zengeler
’s Libertyville locations in 1977.
“He’s a great spotter, a great cleaner,” Tom noted. “If we have any problem, he’s the guy to take care of it.”
Tom, who has been at the helm since 2001, takes comfort knowing that he can
still seek advice from a reliable source: his father still works at the
company, and, after 64 years, does not seem interested in slowing down.
“My father taught me a lot of the business and I think that’s invaluable,” Tom said. “He’s still active today and he’s a good sounding board when I need someone to talk to about an issue.”
Even for a company like Zengeler Cleaners, history and experience are simply not
enough to guarantee survival. Instead, the main key to success is consistency.
Because the Zengelers treat their employees as an extended family, about 25
percent of their workforce (including four family members) has been there at
least 20 years.
“We try to keep turnover to a minimum,” Tom explained. “I feel that the longevity of an employee helps to maintain the quality and
service that we
’re known for.”
With such consistent quality and service, it’s no accident that the Zengelers keeps a lot of long-time loyal customers, as
well.
“It’s funny, I just had a phone call this morning from a customer who has been with
us for 62 years,
” Tom said. “He just wanted to call and thank me for the service and everything we have given
him. He was congratulating us on 150 years.
”
All year long, the company has sent out flyers to find many of its long-term
customers. The feedback has been gratifying.
“We’ve found several customers that have been with us 50+ or 60+ years,” Tom added. “It was amazing how many we found... and their parents were customers, too. I had
one that dated back to 1907 when their grandfather was a customer and they
’d been with us for all that time.”
Few cleaners can claim such a history with their clientele. If there is an older
drycleaning business out there in the country, then Tom hasn
’t found it yet. He is pretty confident that no such business has been in the
same family for as long.
Yet, despite the family’s rare accomplishment, Tom does not closely guard the secret to Zengeler’s success. As he breaks it down, it’s all quite simple, really.
“We just try and do things the right way and not go off into a business that were
not knowledgeable in or familiar with,
” he said. “We just focus on what we have and stay hands-on, and not try to get too big. We’re all accessible to customers and employees and the like.”
He paused for a moment, content with the answer until he realized one more
thing:
“A little bit of luck helps, too.”
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