Sanitary Maintenance Reflects on the Resilient 2000s

In recognition of the 80th anniversary of Sanitary Maintenance, each issue will explore a different decade and how events during that time shaped the jan/san industry. 

2000 First Freetime  

• The October issue of Sanitary Maintenance was the debut of Gretchen Roufs' popular "Freetime" column. To date, roughly 200 readers have shared their personal hobbies and provided a glimpse into the people that make up the jan/san industry.

2000 No photo 

• Debuting in 2000, the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification program helped legitimize the push for environmentally friendly products.  

2001 911 Response 

• The horrific events of Sept. 11 defined the decade. It plunged the country's shaky economy into a recession, sent the military off to war and forever altered security in facilities across the country. Immediately following the terrorist attack, though, the industry banded together, raising a significant amount in relief funds and shipping cleaning supplies directly to the source.  

2005 

• ISSA opened membership to in-house and cleaning contractor members, after previously allowing them on the show floor for a few years. Prior to 2005, membership was exclusive to jan/san distributors. 

2006 Katrina  

• The industry rallied again in 2006 when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and countless distributors in the process. Mike Lott, owner at the time of Dibs Chemical & Supply Co., Gulfport, Mississippi, said in an April 2006 article, "There weren't many manufacturers out there that didn't jump up and do everything they could to help us." Area distributors lost 20-50 percent of their customers, but refused to give up. Laura Craven, then director of marketing for Dade Paper (now Imperial Dade) summed it up by saying, "Business is slowly growing. People in these communities are hardy folk and bounced back. They weren't going to let a storm keep them from living and working there."

 

2006 Sales Leaders  

• Sanitary Maintenance honors the unsung heroes of distribution: salespeople. The "Sales Leader" recognition program profiled stand-out sales reps annually for many years before taking a short break and coming back in 2022.  

 

 

2008 Gone Green  

• Eight years after it was launched, the USGBC's LEED certification now required green cleaning compliance, solidifying jan/san's involvement in the green movement. Sanitary Maintenance covered the topic throughout the year. 

 

 

2009 H1N1

• Cleaning for health focused on cross-contamination thanks to the national media's focus on SARS, MRSA, bird flu, C.diff and swine flu. In 2009, H1N1 reportedly sickened more than a million people, killing nearly 500 Americans.