The History of Elite

Elite has a history that goes back more than 40 years.

The company was founded in 1984 by Ivan Stroud.

At the time, the business was known as Elite Maintenance Services.

In the early years, the company offered a wide range of cleaning services.

Elite began after Ivan traveled to America to research a cleaning system called Magna Dry.

There, he met the owner, Charlie Borg.

Ivan secured the recipe for the cleaning solutions with a handshake.

He also traded a set of golf clubs as part of the deal.

The Ivan Stroud Years

Ivan led the business from 1984 until 2007 or 2009.

During that time, Elite grew to around 40 franchises across Australia.

The business expanded as far as Cairns and Perth.

Ivan created a strong family culture in the company.

He held conferences every two years.

He also took staff and their families on trips to Tangalooma.

• Founded Elite in 1984.
• Built the business to about 40 franchises.
• Created a family focused company culture.

The Rob Lovett Years

Ivan later sold the business to Rob Lovett and his father.

Rob led the company from 2007 or 2009 until 2019.

During this time, the business was rebranded as Elite Carpet Dry Cleaning.

The new name reflected a stronger focus on specialist dry cleaning services.

Rob also changed the Brisbane business model.

Under Ivan, the Brisbane vans were company owned and staff were employed directly.

Under Rob, the Brisbane territories were franchised out.

• Rebranded the company as Elite Carpet Dry Cleaning.
• Focused the business on specialist services.
• Changed Brisbane to a franchise model.

The Guosheng Years

Guosheng took over the business in 2019.

He kept the company focused on dry cleaning.

He also expanded the services to include steam cleaning.

Under his leadership, Elite remained IICRC approved.

This helped the company meet industry and government standards.

• Took ownership in 2019.
• Added steam cleaning services.
• Maintained IICRC approval.

How Elite Has Evolved

One important part of Elite’s history is its in-house chemical production.

From the beginning, the company made its own cleaning solutions.

This helped keep costs low for franchisees.

It also helped maintain product quality across the business.

These solutions were not available in retail stores.

Over time, the company also changed the way it spoke about its work.

It moved from using the word chemicals to using the word solutions.

It also moved away from promising guarantees on stains.

Instead, the focus shifted to educating customers about wear and tear.

The People Behind the Business

Elite’s history is also shaped by long term staff.

Cheryl joined the company in late 1984 or early 1985.

She started after a chance connection involving her cousin’s franchise training.

She has worked through all three ownership eras.

Lindsay is another long serving part of the business.

He has been with Elite for about 20 years.

He began as a manager for a franchisee.

Later, he became a franchisee himself.

He eventually moved into a lead role at head office.

• Cheryl has been with Elite since the early years.
• Lindsay has worked across several roles over two decades.
• Long term staff have helped shape the company culture.

Elite Today

Today, Elite continues to build on more than four decades of experience.

The company combines its original dry cleaning focus with new service options.

It also continues to value quality, training, and industry standards.

This long history has helped make Elite a trusted name in cleaning across Australia.