Long-Time Route Supervisor Al Tracy Retires
Kleen Kraft Services Extends Congratulations to Al Tracy on His Many Years of Service
On September 28th, Kleen Kraft Services will bid farewell and best wishes to long-time Route Supervisor, Al Tracy, who will retire at the end of the month. Al has worked in the uniform rental industry for over 30 years, developing strong professional relationships with many customers and co-workers. To ensure a smooth transition, Al will continue to be involved as a consultant one day a week for Kleen Kraft.
Al Tracy attended Hollywood High School where he first met Bob Halstead, Sales Manager at Kleen Kraft. Following his graduation from Pierce College, Al worked for Thrifty Drug Stores for seven years as a relief manager, traveling to 19 different store locations. In the 1980s Bob was working with Pride Uniform and invited Al to join the company as a route driver. He soon rose to the position of supervisor. When Pride was sold to Kleen Kraft in 2004, a number of key employees came on board including Bob Halstead and General Manager, Boris Zaidman. Al made the move too and has been here ever since. During his tenure in the industry, he has learned a lot and worked in many roles from driving a route and making sales calls to helping run the plant.
He particularly appreciated the friendly and flexible family atmosphere at Kleen Kraft, so different from a rigid corporate environment. He’s enjoyed working with the Antman family over the years and developing strong connections with colleagues and customers. Al says that he’s proud of being recognized as a good crisis manager. He shares this insight, “This business is one where you make plans, but things come up that you can’t anticipate. You need to be able to react quickly so that things stay on track and problems don’t get out of hand if a machine breaks down, a driver calls out sick, or the unexpected occurs.”
Al says he’ll try not to get too bored in retirement since he’s used to staying busy. He looks forward to playing a lot more golf, spending time with his eight grandchildren, working on projects around the house, and going to more baseball games. His wife still has a couple of years before retirement, but during her vacation time, they have plans to visit the Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, and other national parks.
Thank you, Al, for your dedication, honest work ethic, and tireless service. Everyone here at Kleen Kraft Services wishes you the best in your well-deserved retirement. We’ll miss you!
