WILMINGTON, Mass. – UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) has been named an official contracted supplier for Premier, Inc., a leading healthcare improvement company with one of the largest national group purchasing organizations in the United States. UniFirst is one of only two companies authorized to supply Premier members with rental programs for uniforms, facility service products, and microfiber cleaning supplies. As a supplier partner, UniFirst is now part of Premier’s collaborative alliance helping its members reduce costs and improve quality of care.

The UniFirst program available to Premier members offers a wide selection of healthcare uniforms, lab coats, and other clothing items for rental programs or for direct purchase. UniFirst rental programs outfit members’ employees in the work clothing of choice, provide scheduled pickups and deliveries, and handle hygienic cleanings, garment repairs and replacements. Similar rental programs are also in place for facility service products and microfiber cleaning supplies.

Premier unites an alliance of approximately 3,400 hospitals and 110,000 non-acute, educational, and alternative market members. Premier members collaborate to obtain the highest quality products and services at the best value possible. 

By selecting UniFirst as a contracted supplier, Premier members will benefit from the company's coast-to-coast servicing capabilities, its understanding of the need for healthcare facilities to reduce costs while maintaining quality, and its ongoing commitment to total customer satisfaction. More than 80 percent of UniFirst’s laundry servicing facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada are ISO 9001:2008 certified, with the remaining operations currently scheduled for ISO audits.

UniFirst president and CEO Ronald Croatti said, “UniFirst is committed to meeting the business needs of the growing healthcare industry and partnering with Premier is a testament to this. Premier and all its partners help large and small businesses within the medical community lower supply spends and gain access to industry best practices through the spirit of collaborative purchasing power.”

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About UniFirst: Headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a North American leader in the supply and servicing of uniform and workwear programs, as well as the delivery of facility service programs. Together with its subsidiaries, the company also provides first aid and safety products, and manages specialized garment programs for the cleanroom and nuclear industries. UniFirst manufactures its own branded workwear, protective clothing, and floorcare products, and with over 225 service locations, 275,000 customer locations, and 12,000 employee Team Partners, the company outfits more than 1.5 million workers each business day. For more information, contact UniFirst at 800.455.7654 or visit www.unifirst.com.

About Premier, Inc.: Premier, Inc. is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,400 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.