1883 : Origin
The big laundries in Pantin were opened in November 1883 by Théophile Leducq. Within a few years, the company was sending its horse-drawn carriages all over the east side of Paris to take clean linen to restaurants, luxury hotels, public baths and numerous private linen stores.
1945 : Beginnings
Just after the war, Jean Leducq, Théophile’s grandson, was sent by his father to put the Rouen factory back on its feet. He had barely arrived when the US army placed an order with him for 50 tons of linen to be cleaned every week! The teams were mobilised, and one month later the factory was cleaning 80 tons…
1968 : Creation of Elis
Now in charge of the family business, Jean Leducq decided to modernise it by grouping the activities together in a single group. The new structure needed a new name, which was to be Elis, an abbreviation for Europe Linge Service. The full name was to feature for a long time on the company’s vehicles.
1973 : European expansion
The expansion began very quickly. In 1973, Jean Leducq supervised the takeover of the Belgian company Hadès. This was followed by Spain, Portugal, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy and the Czech Republic.
1973 was the start of a period of continuous growth which led to Elis now being the leading European company in the sector.
1991 : Eurodisney contract
The Group beat its main competitors to win one of its finest contracts: cleaning of the costumes and linen for the whole of the theme park and its hotels, or more than 6,000 rooms and clothing for 10,000 people… Two new factories were created for the occasion in Meaux and Saint-Thibault.
1992 : An Olympic sponsor
That year, Elis took on an Olympic tone. Bidding in competition with leading fashion designers, Elis was chosen to design and supply the parade costumes of the athletes and assistants of the French delegation sent by the French Olympic Committee. Elis was able to showcase its clothing design know-how and the quality of its service even under the most extreme conditions.
1999 : Diversifying of services
To contribute to well-being in companies, Elis’s activities extended to the rental and maintenance of water fountains and Espresso coffee machines. In 2001, with the takeover, Elis became the leading European company in the field of ultra-cleanliness.
Since 2002
The first genuine multi-service player in the field, Elis has continued to consolidate its leading position through a sustained policy of external and internal growth and constant efforts to innovate.