The Ashkin Group, Bloomington, Ind., was recently awarded a contract to help Mexico implement green cleaning nationwide and develop standards for defining and selecting environmentally preferable cleaning products.

Ron Segura, senior project manager of The Ashkin Group, and president of Segura & Associates, Belmont, Calif., will head the project for the Ashkin Group.

The project is part of the North American Green Purchasing Initiative (NAGPI), which was created two years ago by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to address environmental concerns in North America.

It is expected that the initiative will help prevent trade and environmental conflicts and should promote the enforcement of environmental law.

The group hopes to help create a marketplace similar to that of the United States and Canada, where customers accept and often demand green cleaning solutions.

Jan/San Companies Help With Makeover

The ABC show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” recently featured state-of-of-the-art housekeeping products donated by jan/san manufacturers.

The companies that contributed housekeeping products for the show included: Advanced Vapor Technologies, FilterStream, Impex Systems Group, ProTeam, Sylvane and TxF Products. The products were donated by the Housekeeping Channel®.

The episode that featured these items was filmed in Port Orchard, Wash. Designers, contractors and hundreds of workers and volunteers helped the Kirkwood family renovate their home. The episode will air sometime in 2006.


OBITUARY

Industry Veteran Passes
Sam Robin, Pacific Floor Care consultant and former owner, passed away on December 3, 2005. He represented the company, in various job capacities, for almost 54 years.

Robin began his career as a sanitary supply distributor before he acquired Pacific Floor Machine in 1952. He sold the company in 1985, but he continued to work as a consultant until 2003. He “officially” retired in 2003, but remained an active Pacific territory manager for Northern California until his passing.

An active member of ISSA, Robin served on the board in two separate terms. Pacific Floor Care has established an ISSA memorial scholarship in Robin’s name.

PLAYERS

Scott Brown was recently appointed general manager of Highland Heights, Ohio-based Hospital Specialty Co.’s Institutional Division. He will be responsible for overseeing sales, marketing and product development.

Betco Corp., Toledo, Ohio, recently appointed John Henson as vice president of marketing. Duties will include developing and implementing a successful marketing plan for the Betco jan/san channel.

Jeffrey Malish was recently named president and CEO of Malish Corp., Willoughby, Ohio. He will assume responsibility of these duties in January 2006.

Wood Wyant Inc., Laval, Quebec, recently made three appointments: Garth Enns was chosen as vice president of corporate accounts; Andre Drouin was hired as division sales manager for Quebec; and Jean-Francois Fournier was appointed district manager for the greater Montreal area.

Xpedx, Loveland, Ohio, a division of International Paper, has appointed Thomas G. Kaiden as president. It also named Richard B. Lowe, James A. Connelly and Thomas J. Weisenbach as executive vice presidents.

The January issue of Twin Cities Business Monthly magazine named Chris Killingstad, the new CEO of Tennant Co., Minneapolis, “One to Watch” in 2006.

Geoffery E. Merszei, executive vice president and CFO of the Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., was recently elected to the company’s board of directors.

COMPANY NOTES

PortionPac Chemical Corp., Chicago, has been chosen for the Sustainable Leadership Project by the Chicago Manufacturing Center (CMC) and as a “Sustainable Pioneer” by Natural Capitalism Solutions. CMC chose Portion Pac because of its environmentally conscious cleaning products. “Sustainable Pioneers” are companies that implement natural capitalism — strategies that allow businesses to satisfy customers, increase profits and address social and environmental concerns.

AML Equipment and Supply Ltd., Brantford, Ontario, is celebrating its one-year anniversary as a distributor in Canada.

The acquisition of Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, by Koch Industries, Wichita, Kan., was finalized with the announcement that Joseph W. Moeller will be Georgia-Pacific’s president and CEO while Bill Caffey was hired as executive vice president of operations excellence and compliance. Former Georgia-Pacific CEO and chairman, A.D. “Pete” Correll, will continue to serve as chairman of the board to assist in the transition.

Lagasse Inc., New Orleans, signed a seven-year lease at the end of December to occupy almost 240,000 square feet of a new 346,00-square foot facility in Whittier, Calif., GlobeSt.net reports. Lagasse sought out a larger facility, as it was growing too large for its 105,000 square-foot building in Pico Rivera.

Procter & Gamble, will begin working on its new warehouse and distribution center in Bath, Ohio, early this spring. The company anticipates commencing operations in early 2007.
The center will cost $100 million and will have enough parking for 1,000 semitrailers and a 40-acre warehouse.

The Ashkin Group, Bloomington, Ind., has awarded its “Green Cleaning Champions” Award to ISSA, Lincolnwood, Ill., the U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, D.C., and Leonardo Academy, Madison, Wis. The award recognizes organizations that have contributed to the advancement of green cleaning.

Green Seal recently announced the addition of more sponsors for the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Cleaning Services. The new sponsors are: Kaivac, Wausau Paper/Bay West, Advanced Vapor Technologies, BSCAI, Racine Industries and Ecolab.

Central Sanitary Supply, Modesto, Calif., celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2006 and plans on holding several events throughout the year to celebrate.


ASSOCIATION NEWS

The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), Vancouver, Wash., elected its 2006 Executive Committee. All officers of the seven-member committee were re-elected to serve another year: Carey Vermeulen, president and chairman; Ruth Travis, first vice president; Darrel Paulson, second vice president; Paul Pearce, international vice president; Mike Reed, secretary; Ed Hobbs, treasurer; and Joe Dobbins, certification council.

The National Safety Council (NSC) recently elected Russell J. Kendzior, president and founder of the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), South Lake, Texas, to the NSC’s board of delegates. Kendzior is also president and CEO of Traction Plus, Bedford, Texas.

DistriPakUSA, a new trade show that will launch October 4-7, 2006, in Chicago, has two new endorsements. Women In Packaging (WIP), Kennesaw, Ga., and Consolidated Distributors Inc., Monroe, La., have both announced their support of the new trade show, which is dedicated to the industrial, shipping room supplies and food service distribution channel.




POSTED ON: 1/1/2006