Elavo CEO Luis Aguilar featured in American Laundry News

Elavo was created with an ambitious goal: to build a leading regional—and ultimately national—commercial laundry and linen services platform. But for us, growth is not about replacing the local businesses, brands and relationships that brought us here. It is about making them stronger.

That vision is at the heart of a recent two-part feature from American Laundry News. The series traces CEO Luis Aguilar’s path into the commercial laundry industry, the growth of our South Florida operations and the principles guiding Elavo’s next chapter.

From one local business to a regional platform

Our story began in 2022, when Luis acquired Cy’s Linen, a company that has served South Florida’s restaurant and hospitality community since 1945. That first acquisition provided both a strong foundation and an important lesson: established local laundry businesses create lasting value through the trust they build with customers and employees.

Elavo has since expanded through the acquisition of four additional operations. Today, our five facilities operate through three customer-facing brands: Cy’s Linen, SerClean and Florida Keys Linen. Together, they serve restaurants, hotels, resorts, spas and other businesses from Key West to West Palm Beach.

Each brand brings its own history, expertise and customer relationships to our organization. Cy’s Linen has deep roots in food and beverage, hospitality and spa services. SerClean specializes in dependable, high-volume service for hotels throughout the greater Miami market. Florida Keys Linen combines local knowledge with the capacity and technology required to serve hospitality customers across the Keys.

Part one of the American Laundry News series explores these businesses, the evolution of our platform and the meaning behind the Elavo name.

Building scale while preserving local strength

Our goal is to create a linen and laundry powerhouse by bringing strong operators together—not by stripping away the qualities that made their businesses successful.

Joining Elavo can give a local operation access to shared purchasing power, proven systems, operational expertise, back-office support and additional capacity across a growing network of facilities. These resources can help businesses improve consistency, strengthen supply chains and continue serving customers through periods of growth or disruption.

At the same time, we recognize that a respected local name can be one of a company’s most valuable assets. Our approach to brand integration is therefore considered individually. Perfect Linen joined the Cy’s Linen brand, while SurGlobal became part of SerClean. Florida Keys Linen retained its name because of the recognition and trust it has earned in its market.

There is no one-size-fits-all formula. We make these decisions according to what will best support customers, employees and the long-term success of each operation.

A platform built by operators

Elavo is led by people who understand the everyday realities of running commercial laundry facilities. That operating experience shapes how we evaluate potential partnerships, integrate new businesses and invest for the future.

We begin by learning about an owner’s goals, the company’s history and what matters most in selecting a partner. Following an acquisition, our focus turns to supporting the team, maintaining service continuity and identifying practical opportunities to make the business stronger.

We believe growth should respect the people who built the company, the employees who sustain it and the customers who depend on it. Our aim is to provide long-term stewardship while creating new opportunities for the businesses that join us.

The conclusion of the American Laundry News series examines this partnership model and our vision for expanding Elavo beyond South Florida.

Elevating the standard together

Over the next decade, we intend to grow Elavo into one of the leading commercial laundry and linen services platforms in the country. We will pursue that goal by partnering with well-run independent businesses that share our commitment to reliable service, consistent quality and strong relationships.

We are grateful to American Laundry News for telling our story and giving Luis the opportunity to share where Elavo has been—and where we are going next.

If you own a commercial laundry or linen services business and are considering its next chapter, we would welcome a confidential conversation. Together, we can preserve what makes your business special while giving it the resources to grow.