From the hills of North Carolina to the shores of California — and a few places in between — the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) extended a helping hand to those in need during Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) in September.

Each year, regional sanitary supply associations throughout the country organize events in their areas.

The associations choose charities to support and they donate cleaning supplies, time and equipment for the cause. OCS 2004 had everything from a record turnout — 71 people showed up at the Southeastern Wisconsin Sanitary Supply Association’s (SEWSSA) event to clean a center for adults with mental illness — to a natural disaster-related cancellation. Unfortunately, Hurricane Ivan made an unexpected turn toward the Northeast and put the New Jersey Sanitary Supply Association’s (NJSSA) event at the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County on hold.

In North Carolina, 20 volunteers from several jan/san companies pitched in to help the Carolina Sanitary Supply Association (CSSA) restore the Alamance Rescue Mission.

In Chicago, the Greater Chicago Sanitary Supply Association (GCSSA) enlisted the help of 17 volunteers and thoroughly cleaned Spectrum Vocational Services, a school for disabled adults and children. In addition, 28 volunteers helped the Southern California Sanitary Supply Association (SCSSA) restore two buildings that are part of the 1736 Family Crisis Center complex.


ASSOCIATION NEWS

ISSA and APPA Form Informational Partnership
The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), Chicago, recently announced a new alliance with the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA). The new partnership is designed to share information between the cleaning and facility-management industries.

The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), Vancouver, Wash., recently announced the development of three new certification courses. Currently, the courses are undergoing beta testing, but they will be ready by the end of the year. The courses are: Ceramic Tile, Stone and Masonry Maintenance Technician course (SMT); Rug Technician course (RC); and the Leather Cleaning Technician course (LCT). Email for more information.


The NPTA Alliance, Farmingdale, N.Y., a group that represents the needs of member jan/san and paper distributors, recently announced that Unisource, a national distributor of paper products, has joined NPTA. Unisource, Norcross, Ga., is a $6 billion distributor with 2,000 trucks and 17 million square feet of warehouse space. Distributors of paper, packaging and jan/san products throughout North America and a dozen other countries are members of the NPTA Alliance.


COMPANY NOTES

Distributor Partners of America (DPA), a member-owned marketing and procurement organization, recently announced that it has expanded its offices to a new location in Naples, Fla. In addition, DPA announced that it added 17 partner distributors in 2004.

Nichols, Muskegon, Mich., a distributor of paper, packaging and sanitary supplies throughout the state of Michigan, recently announced that the company’s Grand Rapids equipment-service division has moved to a new facility. The new building covers 12,000 square feet of space and includes a large showroom, a service area and a warehouse.

Clark National Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., a broadline foodservice and paper jan/san distributor, recently announced the opening of a 60,000-square-foot distribution center in Eagan, Minn., close to the Twin Cities. Clark previously operated out of a smaller facility in St. Paul, Minn.

Crown Sanitary Supply, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was recently appointed as a Triple S (SSS®) member-dealer. Triple S is a nationwide network of 102 sanitary supply distributors.

In addition, two other jan/san distributors have been appointed as Triple S member-dealers: Gem Supply Co., Orlando, Fla., and Wilco Inc., Danville, Va. All three distributors now have the right to market the complete line of SSS® brand cleaning products and systems.

Reckitt Benckiser Inc., Parsippany, N.Y., recently provided the American Red Cross’ Sarasota, Fla., warehouse with pallet-load shipments of three different Lysol brand disinfectant products. The contribution assisted volunteers and local communities with major clean-up efforts resulting from hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan.

Distributor Partners of America (DPA), Naples, Fla., a member-owned procurement and marketing organization, recently concluded its Annual Buying & Networking Conference at Disney World’s Contemporary Hotel, Orlando, Fla. Lagasse Inc., New Orleans, a wholesaler of jan/san supplies and paper products, received DPA’s 2003 supplier of the year award.

Tornado Industries, Chicago, recently exhibited at one of the largest trade shows targeting cleaners of Mexican descent. The one-day trade show, MEXPORT, was held in San Diego. According to Tornado, very few jan/san manufacturers exhibited at the event, but there were many companies from other industries. The show attracts large and small business owners, corporate purchasing agents for companies like FedEx and Morgan Stanley, quality and safety managers and building service contractors.

Kaivac Inc., Hamilton, Ohio, recently announced that the company has been issued a patent for the No-Touch CleaningT system. The patent, issued in September, lists 19 different claims. These claims are manufacturer-related methods of restroom cleaning that Kaivac has exclusive rights to. In practice, the patent prevents others from making, using, training or selling the No-Touch CleaningT system without permission from Kaivac.

Cascades Tissue Group, Kingsey Falls, Quebec, recently announced that it has been admitted to the Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). The company said in a press release that the program was created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide increased security at every stage in the supply chain, while continuing to promote cross-border commercial exchanges through close cooperation between the government and the private sector.

BioLab Commercial Pool Care (BCPC), a division of Great Lakes Chemical Corp., Lawrenceville, Ga., and ChlorKing, a Georgia-based manufacturer of patented saline generating systems (on-site hypochlorine generating systems), have formed a partnership that makes BCPC the master distributor for the ChlorKing product line in North America. The ChlorKing line of commercial-scale chlorine generators is a next-generation offering that provides pool-care professionals with alternatives to traditional cleaning methods.

Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, a nationwide manufacturer of jan/san paper products, is helping Florida’s Hurricane Frances victims by donating essential everyday products, such as paper towels and bathroom tissue, as well as shipping extra retail supplies of commodity-grade plywood into the affected areas. The company is working with volunteer relief agencies like the American Red Cross.

DadePaper, Miami, was recently named member of the year for Network Services Co. Network is a $7 billion member-owned sales and marketing organization composed of 75 independent distributors located throughout the United States. This is the second time in four years that DadePaper earned the award, which recognizes distributors that perform well in all areas of supply chain management.


PLAYERS

Bunzl Distribution Inc., St. Louis, an international supplier of disposable paper products and plastic packaging, recently announced the promotion of Patrick L. Larmon to president and chief executive officer. Larmon, who has been with Bunzl for 14 years, most recently served as president and chief operating officer of outsourcing services for North America. He succeeds Paul Lorenzini, who retired in July.

Cascades Tissue Group, Kingsey Falls, Quebec, an international manufacturer of paper products, recently announced that Stephan E. Doyon has been promoted to the position of vice president of sales, North America, for the company’s Commercial & Industrial division. Doyon started at Cascades in 1991 as a customer-service representative.

Clark National Inc., Elk Grove, Ill., a distributor of foodservice and jan/san supplies, recently announced that David Vinson has been appointed president of the company’s Cleveland division. Vinson was formerly with Bunzl. After Bunzl, he was with CM Packaging Inc. as a regional sales manager. In addition, Clark announced that Donald D. Hindman has been appointed to the position of chief executive officer. For the past five years, Hindman has served as president and chief operating officer of the company.

National Chemical Laboratories, Philadelphia, recently announced the appointment of Rick Rosenthal to the position of regional sales representative. Rosenthal is responsible for sales and distributor support in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He has 24 years of experience in the jan/san industry.

Olmsted-Kirk Equipment and Supply, Dallas, a distributor of janitorial equipment, chemicals and paper products, recently announced the appointment of Don Guest to the position of sales manager.

Spartan Chemical Co., Inc., Maumee, Ohio, recently announced the addition of Michael Fabian, business technologies specialist, to its information technology (IT) department. Fabian brings seven years of management experience in the service industry, as well as a wide range of programming and database-management skills.

ProTeam, Boise, Idaho, a manufacturer of vacuum equipment, recently announced the promotion of Stephanie Standley to the position of director of education. Standley began her tenure with ProTeam in 1993.

Unger Enterprises Inc., Bridgeport, Conn., recently announced the addition of Chuck Rote as controller. Rote is responsible for all corporate accounting, including budgeting, auditing, taxes and financial reporting and analysis. He will lead the human resources and information technology functions for Unger.

The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA), Washington, recently announced that Dr. Hans Sanderson has joined SDA as director of environmental safety.

Betco Corp., Toledo, Ohio, recently honored employees with the annual Pace Setter Awards. This year’s ceremony was held in Big Sky, Mont., during Betco’s national sales meeting, September 15-19. The Pace Setter Award is presented to individuals of Betco’s sales force that have achieved significant sales success. This year’s recipients were regional managers Tom Owen, Carlos Lastres, Curt Hitchner, Jeff Satterfield, and corporate accounts manager Ed Turner.

Frank Miller & Sons Inc., Riverdale, Ill., a manufacturer of de-icing compounds, recently announced the appointment of three new sales representatives: J.S. Steffy will service Illinois, Wisconsin and northern Indiana; B.T. Ramsay will be responsible for Indiana, northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania; and Dan Murnen will cover Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.