The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) and NASA recently kicked off the new CRI Seal of Approval program with a ceremony at Kennedy Space Center. The program previously certified high-performing carpet-cleaning products, but with the addition of a new X-ray Flourescence analyzer “gun” to the program, extractors that meet certain standards can now be considered for Seal certification.

Under the new program, soil removal is scientifically measured using the x-ray technology, which was developed in the private industry and enhanced by NASA.

This is the first time NASA-enhanced technology has been used by an entire industry.

The technology can help end users identify high-quality products and it can help companies enhance products by giving them a goal to reach.

ISSA and EPA Strengthen Green Connection
ISSA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s DfE Program/Green Blue Institute will continue their close relationship as ISSA partners with the EPA’s Green Formulation Initiative (GFI).

GFI aims to ensure development of cleaning formulations that are safe for the environment and humans.

GFI and other interested parties are developing a CleanGredients™ database that will help formulators identify ingredients that are safe for humans and/or the environment, and give raw-materials providers a way to showcase these types of ingredients.

The group is made up of representatives from the EPA and other environmental programs, industry associations, cleaning product formulators and distributors, as well as raw-material suppliers.

Once finished, the database will be free to formulators and available to raw-materials suppliers at a modest cost.

OBITUARY
A scholarship fund has been developed in memory of Willa S. Schaffer, wife of Tornado Industries’ president, Michael Schaffer. Willa passed away September 9 at age 50 after a battle with leukemia.

The Willa S. Schaffer Memorial Scholarship Fund will honor students at Oak Park River Forest High School., where Willa was a dean, counselor and educator.

In a press release, Michael wrote that he hopes the scholarship will help students in much the same way as Willa did.

“If we accomplish that, then the scholarship will be a fitting tribute to her memory and life,” he said.

PLAYERS
United Receptacle, Pottsville, Pa., recently appointed three new employees. John Stevens and Terry English are the new national sales managers. The company has also hired Thomas Palangio as the director of marketing.

Samuel P. Waites was recently promoted to vice president of distributor sales for Cleaning Technologies Group (CTG), Leicester, N.Y.

The board of directors of Olmsted-Kirk Paper Co., Dallas, recently elected Charles Clark Jr., to vice chairman, Robert M. Olmsted III as president, David B. Olmsted to executive vice president and Richard Hart as senior vice president.

Lou Piccarretta has been named vice president of sales of Royal Paper, Santa Fe Springs, Calif. He has over 20 years of experience in sales, national account management and executive sales management in the sanitary supply industry.

Gary Navratil was recently named manufacturer’s representative for Chicago-based Tornado Industries. Navratil has been in the industry since the late 1970s and will cover Florida.

Rick Johnson, former managing partner of Indian River Consulting Group, LLC, has started a new firm called CEO Strategist LLC. The company aims to “coach” executives to help improve business practices.

Carroll Company Distributor Alliance Group, Garland, Texas, recently appointed Scott Willingham as vice president, national sales manager. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.

Weiss Bros. of Hagerstown Inc., Hagerstown, Md., recently announced that sales consultants Brenden Slifer and Scott Withrow are now Certified Packaging Specialists.

Atlas-Graham Industries Co., Winnipeg, Manitoba, recently announced changes to its management team, following the retirement of Mel Patterson, who served as president for 10 years. James S. Graham was named president and CEO; Kevin McCaw was appointed executive vice president and COO; Kathleen Rodrigue is now vice president, sales and marketing; and Peter Riches has assumed the vice president, operations, position.

The executive board of Distributor Partners of America, Naples Fla., recently voted Adam Heller as president of the company. He succeeds Randy Moss, who served as president for five years.

U.S. Products, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a manufacturer of professional carpet cleaning and restoration equipment, has hired Tesha Chavez as an account executive. Previously, Chavez was a salesperson for a major national retailer.

Charles E. “Ted” Moon Jr. was recently appointed senior vice president of sales and marketing for Geerpres Inc. Moon has more than 20 years of experience in the sanitary supply industry.

Brady Industries, Las Vegas, recently hired Jeffrey Pease as corporate vice president, sales and marketing. He has over 20 years of experience in distribution sales and marketing, most recently as vice president of marketing for Castle Rock Industries.

Continental Commercial Products, Bridgeton, Mo., recently promoted two employees: Robert A. Gail is now vice president of sales, marketing and customer support, and Barbara Coen has been promoted to North American Field Sales Manager.

The Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) recently designated Richard Jarzabek, director of sales training for NSS Enterprises Inc., Toledo, Ohio, as a Certified Sanitary Supply Professional (CSSP), one of 12 people in the nation to hold the designation.

ASSOCIATION NEWS
The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently honored schools for developing programs that encourage handwashing.

The top classroom award went to eighth graders at Ralston Middle School in Belmont, Calif., for their development of the Water And Soap Help (WASH) program. Recognized as runners-up were Maplewood Local Schools in Courtland, Ohio, for “OPERATION: HANDWASH”; and Central Elementary School in Tahequah, Okla., where students created “Don’t Bug Me,” a program also known as “Grossology 101.”

The International Executive Housekeepers Association Inc., (IEHA), Westerville, Ohio, has named Luz Quiroz, a housekeeping supervisor at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, as the recipient of the 2005 Unsung Facility Hero Award.

In February 2005, Quiroz returned a woman’s bag containing over $10,000 in jewelry to management. She will receive a check for $100 and a year’s membership to IEHA.

Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) recently announced its sponsorship of the Green Seal Cleaning Service Standard. The association plans on participating as an active stakeholder in the development of the standard.

COMPANY NOTES
Sloan Valve Co., Franklin Park, Ill., a manufacturer of water-conserving plumbing systems has established a new division — SLOAN JANSAN — which offers restroom products and systems to the industrial and commercial markets. Every product is engineered to ensure increased levels of hygiene and energy efficiency.

Three distributors were recently appointed member dealers of Triple S (SSS®), Billerica, Mass.: Janitorial Supplies Co., Inc., Dallas; C.M. Supply L.P., El Cajon, Calif.; Supreme Industrial Products Inc., Taunton, Mass.; and Nothern Sanitary Supply Co., Inc., Coon Rapids, Minn.

Olmsted-Kirk Paper Co., Dallas, celebrated 100 years of business this year with a company-sponsored cookout.

Advantage Marketing Associates, Chicago, elected new members to its board of directors at its September meeting. Officers include: Chuck Wuttke of CSB Industries, Phoenix, as president; James King and Charles King of Garland C. Norris, Apex, N.C., as vice president and treasurer, respectively; and Paul Roberts of Vernon Sanitation, Los Angeles, as secretary.

Ettore Products Co., Oakland, Calif., a maker of window-cleaning products, recently broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot headquarters in Alameda, Calif. The structure, expected to be complete in February 2006, will house administration, manufacturing, packaging and distribution functions.

The United Group, Monroe, La., recently took on 12 new stockholder members: A to Z Paper Co., Inc., Southern Hotel Supply and Louisiana Envelope Co. (three companies in one), New Orleans; A-#1 Chemical Inc., Sparks Nev.; Apex Packaging and Industrial Supply Inc., Huntsville, Ala.; Baron Chemical Co., Inc., El Paso, Texas; Colorado River Distributors, Needles, Calif.; Fuqua Paper Supply Inc., Ruston, La.; Interstate Wrapping Products, Melrose Park, Ill.; Lansing Sanitary Supply Inc., Lansing Mich., and Indusco (branch), Kalamazoo, Mich.; Packsmart Inc., Batavia, Ill.; Performance Packaging of Nevada LLC, Las Vegas; Tapeman, Wixom, Mich.; Tek Distributors Inc., Panama City, Fla.; and Tri-County Cleaning Supply Inc., Brighton, Mich.

Mister Chemical Ltd., Concord, Ontario, recently held a ribbon cutting for its new corporate headquarters that provides over one million cubic feet of warehouse, showroom and office space.

Tennant Co., Minneapolis, a leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions in non-residential floor care, is celebrating 135 years of business.

Advanced Vapor Technologies, Edmonds, Wash., has joined in to sponsor the Green Seal Green Cleaning Services Standard. It will join other companies in supporting the development of this standard.

Cimex-USA, Tallmadge, Ohio, a manufacturer of floor preparation and cleaning equipment, announced its partnership with GranQuartz, Tucker, Ga., the stone industry’s largest supplier of stone tools and equipment. Through the partnership, GranQuartz will carry Cimex machines in all U.S. and Canadian locations.

The Ashkin Group LLC, Bloomington, Ind., has created a new health and advisory board that will look into broadening the group’s focus into other fields and industries while still fulfilling its original focus on healthy indoor environments.




POSTED ON: 10/1/2005