Accolades Across The Industry
Everyone who works hard to make their world a better place deserves praise, but many contractors and others in the cleaning industry have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Several industry members recently were honored for a variety of achievements:

• JoAnn Munford, owner of a Coverall Cleaning Concepts franchise in Florida, recently received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Lifetime television network. Munford provides jobs to family and community members to help alleviate area unemployment. She also is a full-time director at a community center in Brookfield, Fla., and has been called the “Mother Theresa of the franchise industry” by local press.

• Boise, Idaho-based backpack-vacuum manufacturer ProTeam was presented with an American Lung Association (ALA) leadership award at the ALA’s Annual Officers’ Reception and National Leadership Awards Ceremony.

“It was a rewarding experience to interact with the medical and American Lung Association communities at these events,” says ProTeam CEO Larry Shideler in a press release. “We came away with renewed resolve to keep refining our products for better indoor air quality, and to support research leading to better lung health.”

• Mickey Crowe, CBSE, of NISH South Region, presented an American flag to John and Renae Walker of Managemen Inc., at a recent Janitor University session in Salt Lake City. The flag was in recognition of the Walkers’ ongoing support of the Javits Wagner O’Day (JWOD) program, which offers work and training opportunities to individuals with severe disabilities. The Walkers have provided NISH, an agency that works with JWOD participants, with information on time standards, quality and training. JWOD participants in a community rehabilitation program made the flag.

• At this year’s conference of the British Toilet Association in Somerset, England, Unger Enterprises was awarded the “Service Innovation Award” for the most innovative washroom cleaning system.

“We were very happy to receive the award,” said Bruno Niklaus, vice president of global marketing for Unger Enterprises, in a release. “Though little known in the United States, the British Toilet Association is much respected in England and plays a major role in advancing good health and public hygiene.”

• Two office buildings have won the “Best Office Building Bathroom” contest, as announced by sponsor Kimberly-Clark Professional, Atlanta. Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan’s Metro Service Center in Southfield, Mich., won first prize; the company donated its prize money to the Warming Center of Macomb County, Mich., which provides year-round assistance to the homeless. Second-place winner Nationwide, in Columbus, Ohio, also donated its winnings to Operation Feed, a local annual food drive.

Protect IDs, Cars, Uniforms, Warns DHS
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned law-enforcement and private-sector agencies to be on the lookout for stolen uniforms, identification tags and company vehicles.

The department is concerned terrorists might use these items to pose as employees, contractors or service providers and perhaps gain entry to sensitive sites.

A five-state DHS survey showed that hundreds of identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms and license plates for government agencies were reported stolen or lost from February 2003 to May 2003. Additionally, a number of private companies have reported receiving suspicious inquiries about renting official delivery vehicles.

Building service contractors should report thefts of their own property to law-enforcement agencies, but they also should be vigilant and keep an eye out for suspicious persons and vehicles in the facilities they clean.

Obituaries
Two veterans of the sanitary supply industry passed away recently:

• Alfred Pollack, president and founder of National Chemical Laboratories Inc. (NCL), Philadelphia, passed away on July 10, 2003. Pollack was founded NCL after World War II in 1946, and made it an industry leader that today sells to 40 countries.

• Richard E. Gable, chairman and founder of Misco Products Corp. (MPC), Edison, N.J., died July 26 in Reading, Pa. An Air Force veteran of World War II, Gable founded MPC in 1962 and served as its president until 1987.

Mergers & Other Moves
• K-tech Kleening Systems, a diverse provider of commercial and residential cleaning and environmental purity applications, has acquired Neat’ n Clean Janitorial Services of Fond du Lac, Wis. K-tech will integrate Neat’ n Clean’s operations with their own, as well as those of another recent acquisition, Nu-Life Professional Cleaners, in order to provide comprehensive services to Wisconsin’s Fox Valley area.




POSTED ON: 8/1/2003