About Us
THERE’S A PEERLESS NEAR YOU
PEERLESS CLEANERS is a family owned and operated drycleaning and laundry business for over 70 years. In 1937 Harold Marshall, the founder of the business, bought a bicycle shop in the Six Points area of Corpus Christi and changed it into a drycleaning business.
In 1946 George W. “Pat” Sullivan bought the cleaners from Mr. Marshall. Robert “Bob” Sullivan, Pat’s son, had worked for a cleaner and was the families’ technical resource. They expanded the operation and opened 7 locations in the 1950’s. In 1956, the Sullivan’s opened their laundry plant in the South Park Shopping Center. In the next three decades, the Sullivan’s practiced a controlled growth of branch stores. By 1985 the Sullivan’s grew Peerless from one successful location into 8 owned locations and 6 franchises. It was at that time the Sullivan’s, after 40 years of success, decided to sell Peerless Cleaners and retire.
The Sullivan’s commissioned a broker to find a family-oriented buyer. Allan P. Johnson III, was looking for an operating business for his family. On January 2, 1986 the Sullivan’s passed the family tradition to the Johnson’s and the Johnson’s took over as the operating owners of Peerless Cleaners. The Johnson’s expanded the company to 16 locations and added Hotel Valet Service to its product line. Peerless now serves more than 10 major hotels in the Coastal Bend.
In November 1995 Peerless, built a new 17,000 square foot facility and consolidated operations at 3434 South Staples Street. Now, we are not only the largest drycleaning and laundry business in South Texas; but, have the reputation of being the most modern and most environmentally concerned drycleaner in Texas.
We have never used perchlorethylene, commonly known as perc drycleaning solvent. Perc has recently come under attack by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as a hazardous chemical and probable contaminant. Our solvent is a high flash point petroleum. It takes a little longer for our cleaning cycle. However, it is more gentle and, through our recycling recovery units better for the environment.
The readers of the Corpus Christi Caller Times voted Peerless Cleaners “Best of the Best” for fourteen years from 1996 to 2010. We constantly improve the way we operate our business in order to ensure our customer service is the best possible. To make sure your garments have the best care possible, we have invested a great deal of time and money in state of the art equipment and the best trained people. In 2007 we purchased two new state of the art laundry machines. This allows us to provide a very consistent and top quality laundered and finished product. We regularly upgrade and refurbish our equipment to make sure your garments receive only the best of care.
Most importantly, we invest a great deal of money and time in the people who work for us. Garry Jackson, Director of Production and G. Douglas Johnson, President are the only two Certified Garment Care Professionals in the Coastal Bend. Peerless is the only cleaner in the country with two of these professionals on staff. This is another testament to our customer care and environmental commitment. In order to achieve this designation (CGCP), three tests are given by the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI) and the professional drycleaner earns three certifications as a Certified Environmental Drycleaner, Certified Professional Wetcleaner, and a Certified Professional Drycleaner. For more information on these certifications and other consumer information about drycleaning and laundry please refer to the DLI website. http://www.ifi.org
Our owner, Allan P. Johnson , III is an elected member of the board of DLI. He represents the 8 states (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Kansas) of District #6 in this national/international professional association. In addition, G. Douglas Johnson serves on the Board of Directors of Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA).
