With its recent acquisition of PowerBuff Inc., Betco Corp. has strengthened an already strong grip on the floor-care market.

PowerBuff, Stoneville, N.C., is known throughout the jan/san industry as a leading manufacturer of automatic floor scrubbers, electric floor machines, and propane-powered floor equipment.

Betco, Toledo, Ohio, has been one of the great success stories of the jan/san industry, as the Betz family has grown the company from a good idea to one of the premier manufacturers of floor chemicals. Although Betco has been active in producing floor-care equipment in recent years, the acquisition signals a much broader — and more aggressive — approach to tackling the floor-care market.

“The biggest thing the acquisition gives us is an opportunity to have a greater manufacturing presence in equipment, particularly in those items suited for the contract cleaning market,” says Paul Betz, CEO of Betco. “Our core competency has been floor care — floor pads and floor chemicals — and this gives us a big advantage in floor machines, as well.”

Distributors for both PowerBuff and Betco will be dealing with the same company representatives, and the PowerBuff name will continue under the umbrella of Betco Corp. Already, the acquisition looks to be a profitable one for Betco.

“The combined revenue for the joined companies will be in excess of $80 million in 2005,” says Betz. PowerBuff operations will continue to operate out of Stoneville, and Walter Anderson will remain PowerBuff’s president.

“We’re thrilled about Walter Anderson and his teammates coming on board with us,” says Betz. “He has a lot of experience that our company will take advantage of.”

Discussions about a possible deal between the two companies went on for seven months before both parties agreed on the final terms of the acquisition, says Anderson. Details of the purchase amount of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“It’s a great opportunity for everyone here at PowerBuff,” he says. “One of the reasons that we considered a sale — we weren’t really looking to sell the company — was the reputation of the acquiring company, Betco. Betco is just a premier company in the industry, and it has the kind of structure in place that will support growth.”

There are obvious synergies between a leading floor-care chemical manufacturer and a leading floor-care equipment manufacturer, says Greg Chesnutt, president and COO of Betco. “This acquisition just makes us an even stronger player, because we can use PowerBuff’s expertise in machines to complement our expertise in floor care.”

NEWS MAKERS

Health-Insurance Law Defeated in California
A unique California law, Proposition 72, created to ensure health-insurance benefits for workers, was defeated recently, according to the San Jose Business Journal. The proposed law mandated that businesses provide health insurance for their workers or pay into a state fund which would provide the coverage. Just 163,119 votes out of more than 9 million separated winner from loser. The California Restaurant Association (CRA) and other business organizations spearheaded the fight against the measure, claiming it would force many restaurants to shut down.


Telecommuting Takes Off For Modern Executives
Telecommuting is gaining more of a following, as more executives opt to work from home, according to a recent issue of USA TODAY. Nearly 20 percent of executives looking for jobs paying at least six figures ranked working from home as a top priority, a recent 2004 USA TODAY survey found. Recruiters suggest that employers attract the executives of their choice by offering telecommuting options.


Deadline Approaching for UID Scholarships
For the second year, the ISSA Foundation is accepting applications for its 2005 University of Industrial Distribution (UID) scholarship program. Applications must be completed and returned no later than January 1, 2005, and can be downloaded from the ISSA Foundation.


K-C to Make $400M Cuts
The Kimberly-Clark Corp., Dallas, will cut costs by around $400 million over the next three years and will repurchase $1 billion in stock during 2005, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. K-C also faces higher energy prices and expects to spend an additional $80 million to $100 million on pulp next year.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Bunzl Distribution Inc., St. Louis, a leading jan/san wholesaler of disposable paper and plastic packaging, recently announced the acquisition of Temo Sales Inc., a New York-based redistribution company. Temo, a founding member of Redistributors of America (RDA), specializes in serving the disposable foodservice and janitorial/sanitary maintenance segments of the northeastern United States. 

In addition, Bunzl Distribution has acquired Chicago-based Joseph Weil & Sons, a redistribution company serving the janitorial/sanitary maintenance, disposable food service and non-food retail markets. Joseph Weil, president and CEO, Joseph Weil & Sons, will become vice president of national accounts, non-food retail for Bunzl.

As Sanitary Maintenance began reporting in its August issue, Minuteman International, Addision, Ill., a leading manufacturer of floor machines and equipment, has reached a definitive merger agreement with Hako-Werke International of Germany. Minuteman recently announced that its shareholders approved the merger agreement at a special meeting held in November. According to the merger, each outstanding share of Minuteman common stock, other than shares beneficially owned by Hako, was converted into the right to receive $13.75 per share in cash, without interest.

REGULATORY NEWS

New volatile organic compound (VOC) limits for various categories of institutional and consumer products have been established in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. The limits are set to take effect on January 1, 2005, although products regulated by EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) are not required to be in compliance until January 1, 2006.

In most cases, under the new VOC regulations, companies are prohibited from selling, supplying, offering for sale, or manufacturing a regulated product, manufactured on or after the effective date, that contains VOCs in excess of the limits specified in the regulation. Companies may continue to sell non-compliant products that were manufactured prior to the January 1 effective date as long as the products are labeled with the date of manufacture or a date-code.

The new limits in the six localities are virtually identical. There are approximately 45 product categories covered by the new regulations (including numerous product categories that are not regulated by Federal EPA), including: air fresheners, bathroom and tile cleaners, carpet and upholstery cleaners, general purpose cleaners, degreasers, glass cleaners, insecticides and spot removers.


Maine has become the latest state to officially adopt VOC limits for various institutional and consumer products, and Virginia has proposed limits that will apply specifically to the Northern Virginia VOC emissions control area. The limits finalized in Maine and proposed in Virginia are identical to the limits set to go into effect on January 1, 2005, in the six above-mentioned northeast states. The limits in Maine are scheduled to go into effect on May 1, 2005 ( although the effective date for FIFRA-regulated products is May 1, 2006).

New LEED Category Unveiled by USGBC

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Washington, D.C., recently introduced a new LEED® program specifically designed for Commercial Interiors. The rating system, called LEED-CI, was previously in a pilot stage but is now fully launched by the USGBC membership.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a feature-oriented rating system where credits are earned for satisfying specified green building criteria. Certified silver, gold, and platinum levels of green building certification are awarded based on the total credits earned. The LEED standard has been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies as the guideline for sustainable building.

LEED-CI is the third rating system that has been developed by the USGBC. It follows the LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) and LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) green building rating systems.

LEED-CI is designed to assist building owners and occupants, as well as the interior designers and architects who design building interiors, and the teams of professionals who install them.

LEED-CI addresses performance areas including: selection of tenant space; efficiency of water usage; energy performance optimization including lighting and lighting controls; HVAC systems and equipment; resource utilization for interior building systems and furnishings; and indoor environmental quality including criteria for emissions, thermal comfort, daylight and views. The USGBC’s Annual Conference and Expo Greenbuild, which was held in Portland, Ore., last week, previewed the rating system during a certification ceremony, which recognized certified LEED-CI pilot projects.

“The long-awaited launch of LEED-CI has been met with much anticipation,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chair. “The commercial interiors market is 16 times larger than the new commercial construction market. With the challenge of taking on the commercial interiors market also comes a unique opportunity to shape this sector.”

A companion rating system, LEED for Core and Shell developments (LEED-CS), is currently under development. Together, LEED-CI and LEED-CS will establish green building criteria for commercial real estate for use by both developers and tenants.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a coalition that promotes environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Since its founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 5,300 members.




POSTED ON: 12/1/2004