After Skirting 'A Civil Action,' Local Company With Woburn Ties May Be Sold

WOBURN, MA — A local company with a connection to a notorious environmental scandal here may soon be sold.

UniFirst Corp., a uniform and supply rental company based in Wilmington, has agreed to sell to its chief competitor, Cintas, in a deal worth $5.5 billion, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday.

While its headquarters are 10 miles away on Jonspin Road, UniFirst was among three defendants in a 1982 lawsuit over industrial pollution in Woburn. The case was dramatized by a best-selling book and a popular 1998 movie, "A Civil Action," starring John Travolta.

Plaintiffs claimed that well pollution by the defendants resulted in numerous health problems, including the deaths of five children.

The story brought attention to a decades-long problem in Woburn and the impact of industrial companies such as UniFirst that have operated in the city.

But UniFirst skirted the spotlight, settling with the plaintiffs for $1 million before trial began.

The two other defendants – W.R. Grace & Co. and Beatrice Foods – eventually paid over $8 million.

The potential sale of UniFirst would mark an end to a family-founded business that dates to 1936. Now a public company (NYSE: UNF), UniFirst has repeatedly rebuffed takeover attempts by Ohio-based Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS).

UniFirst employs more than 700 people in Massachusetts, and 16,000 overall. It's not clear what the potential takeover could mean for jobs here, and both companies declined to talk about the matter.