Dick Farmer - founder, former CEO, and the only chairman of Cintas Corp. retired as chairman Tuesday following the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Mason. His retirement was not previously announced. It was approved by the company's board after the shareholders meeting at its corporate headquarters complex.
Bob Kohlhepp, the company's vice chairman for six years since 2003 and CEO from 1995 to 2003, was elected to succeed Farmer. Farmer remains a member of the board of directors and has been named chairman emeritus.
Kohlhepp joined Cintas in 1970 and helped it grow into the nation's largest uniform supplier. The company has achieved annual sales of nearly $4 billion through numerous acquisitions, expansion into business-to-business services, and organic growth.
Dick Farmer's retirement comes as the company has been struggling to overcome a national employment slump that has hurt its sales in many key markets. This economic slump had a negative influence on a 40-year series of rising sales and profits ever since its founding in 1968. At nearly $30 a share, however, the company's stock price has lately been on the rise, rising more than 30 percent since July amid indications that the national economy is improving.
