Floor Care: Industry Expert Discusses 2010 Trends

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Industry expert Michael Schaffer, a senior executive with Tacony Corporation's Commercial Floor Care Division, which includes Tornado Industries and CFR Corporation, among several other brands, has been involved in the professional cleaning industry for nearly 30 years.

He says the jan/san industry is evolving faster and having a greater impact on the general public than ever before.
 
"This is probably the biggest trend in our industry," he says.  "Decades ago, no one really knew who we were or how valuable we were. But today, are stature has been dramatically increased, thanks to our role in helping to keep people healthy and [industries] moving ahead."
 
As for the professional cleaning industry specifically, Schaffer believes the following are the key trends that surfaced in 2010:

1.  Our industry is proving its resilience, emerging from the recession better than many other industries.

2.  Green cleaning is merging with sustainability. We are developing products that not only have a reduced impact on the environment, but a reduced impact on natural resources as well.

3.  Due to drastic budget cuts in some situations, distributors have been asked to develop more customer-centric maintenance programs that improve worker productivity and reduce costs.

4.  Smaller floor care equipment, such as compact burnishers and scrubbers, have found a substantial market niche.

5.  ISSA's CIMS program established its footing in 2010 and is helping to bring greater professionalism and self-confidence to building service contractors, as well as our industry as a whole.

6.  By acquiring TerraChoice, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) confirmed the importance of Green certification programs in our industry.

7.  Reducing the amount of water used in cleaning is becoming a growing concern.

8.  Systems that measure cleaning effectiveness and bring more science into cleaning are playing a more prominent role.

9.  Bio-renewable, and enzyme-based cleaning products, are becoming increasingly popular, and third-party "green" certification, such as the EPA's DfE program are now a must in the marketplace.

10. Outsourcing of cleaning services is greatly impacting in-house cleaning

"We probably should mention one more trend that will impact our industry," adds Schaffer.  "Bed bugs are back and in the news, and the cleaning industry will play a major role in addressing the problem."