CASE STUDY: Creating Positive Impressions With Floor Equipment

More than a decade ago, Audi AG in Germany decided to start updating the look and feel of Audi dealerships worldwide. The goal: Create "lifestyle" structures that are modern, timeless, and deeply rooted in progressive thinking and functionality.

This was easier said than done. Audi's are very popular in large urban areas. However, it is in large urban areas that the company found they had the most difficulty building these lifestyle facilities. So, designers, had their work cut out for them. But, according to one Audi spokesperson, no matter where the showroom is, "when you walk into an Audi dealership, we want [our customers] to feel like they are in a second home."

To accomplish this, architects designed Audi's lifestyle showrooms "with ample plush spaces, a surplus of outlets and café areas perfectly suited for reading, relaxing, or business. Even the service bays are full of personal touches and luxurious accommodations," said the Audi spokesperson.

Of course, to make this progressive thinking lifestyle work, Audi showrooms had to be not only clean, but spotless, and this applies specifically to the floors. And that's where Zach Shore, President of Ace Cleaning Systems in Coral Springs, FL comes into the picture.

Shore's company was recently awarded the cleaning contract to maintain the Audi dealership in Ft. Lauderdale. One of the first steps he took when his company took over the account, was to replace the outdated string mops and buckets used by the former cleaning contractor. He replaced them with Kaivac's automated SUV floor cleaning system.

"This technology is being used to clean floors in car dealerships and other businesses that see large amounts of foot traffic in a given day," says Shore. "The [Kaivac] floor cleaning system cleans deeper and more thoroughly than manual, mop-and-bucket systems, providing a longer lasting clean. [And] Kaivac's cordless SUV system is fast and very easy to work with."

Similar to an automatic scrubber, but at one-fifth the price, as the SUV is walked over the floor, fresh cleaning solution is released directly to the floor. A pad at the rear of the machine provides the necessary agitation to loosen soils, which the system then vacuums up. No mops are used in the cleaning process, and the system can clean up to 20,000 square feet per hour.

Further, independent tests indicate the SUV systems are as effective – if not more effective – than traditional automatic scrubbers. "The SUV cleaning system is based on extraction technology," says Shore. "It removes dust, dirt, and germs that are present on different types of floor surfaces in a single pass. It's a vast improvement over string mops, which tend to spread more dust, dirt, and germs around than they remove. With the Kaivac system, [there is] no dirt or film left behind, resulting in super clean, shiny floors."

The Audi staff has also taken notice. "Great service, the results are amazing," said one Audi office administrator. "I could see the difference as soon as they started cleaning our dealership."

By the way, Ace Cleaning Systems is using Kaivac's automated floor cleaning systems in many other facilities it cleans in South Florida, including office buildings, corporate offices, day care centers, and grocery stores. "Our crews have embraced the technology, not only because of the great results, but because it also reduces worker fatigue and gets the job done faster than manual methods."