Thank You

For the last 80 years, Sanitary Maintenance has welcomed feedback from industry representatives. Many of the comments spark future coverage that answers the needs of the readers. Other times, distributors, manufacturers and other members of the industry have written to express their appreciation. Here’s a sampling of what the magazine means to the jan/san industry today. 

‘Thankful For Their Support’  

ACS Industries began in 1939 in Providence, Rhode Island. What many people don’t know is that ACS originally was American Copper Sponge. This copper scourer was the very first product produced. It was a huge innovation in those days to be able to take textile-weaving machines and transform them to be able to weave wire. 

This very first product later became known as Chore Boy and other iterations including stainless steel scrubbers. This was the starting point to the Foodservice Disposables Category, including hand pads, sponges, soap pads, grill bricks, etc. Some 80 years later, ACS is the leading supplier of this category in the industry. 

In the 1990’s, ACS recognized that product line expansion was necessary. A decision was made to begin producing mops, brooms and brushes, which could be sold to foodservice distributors, as well as floor maintenance pads for jan/san. This is when we began with Sanitary Maintenance; our goal being to reach the jan/san market. 

It was a crowded space with many brands and manufacturers. ACS used Sanitary Maintenance to deliver its full jan/san bundle of cleaning products message to the market. 

In 2017, ACS acquired both ETC and Treleoni. Our growth in jan/san has exceeded expectations and we are thankful to Sanitary Maintenance for their support. We are ACS Cleaning Products Group today and we are a loyal monthly advertiser. 

Beaudette

Rory Beaudette, Vice President and COO, ACS Cleaning Products Group, Lincoln, Rhode Island

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‘Partner in Innovation’ 

More than 30 years ago, a contract cleaner in Boise, Idaho, named Larry Schideler built the original lightweight backpack vacuum in his garage using PVC pipes, several filters and a powerful motor. Schideler's revolutionary unit, the QuarterVac, was the first to be produced and ultimately altered the professional cleaning landscape by directly impacting worker productivity, improving indoor air quality and removing more dirt and debris than a traditional upright.   

Schideler and his team grew the lightweight backpack vacuum business, eventually establishing the ProTeam brand. Later, after decades of market growth and product innovation, ProTeam was acquired by Emerson, an automated solution organization.   

Throughout ProTeam's history, Sanitary Maintenance, the premier content source for the jan/san market, played an instrumental role in helping the organization reach this influential audience. On behalf of the dedicated ProTeam representatives and staff, we'd like to offer our sincerest congratulations to Sanitary Maintenance for 80 years of providing best-in-class facility maintenance resources and content. 

Reimers

Matt Reimers, Vice President and General Manager, ProTeam for Emerson

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‘A Valuable Partner in Growth’  

From the beginning, my grandfather had a simple business plan — Manufacture quality products consistently, and build an organization aligned with independent distribution. Today, our commitment to innovation, quality, and distribution remains unwavering at Spartan Chemical. We’ve expanded our manufacturing facility from 1,500 square feet to 725,000, our sales team to over 80 highly trained professionals, and our select network of independent distributors to cover the entire country. 

Throughout our 67-year journey, we have relied on Sanitary Maintenance as an important part of Spartan’s advertising strategy. It has helped us build our brand and promote new products and services to distributors.  

Congratulations to Sanitary Maintenance for 80 years of serving distributors and wholesalers of facility maintenance supplies. 

Swigart

John Swigart, President, Spartan Chemical Company, Inc.

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‘A Trusted Advocate for Cleaning’ 

PortionPac was founded on the belief that education, safer formulations and labor-saving processes result in safer, cleaner buildings. Throughout our history and today, we rely on Sanitary Maintenance as a resource to support our mission. They are a trusted, independent voice and advocate for cleaning and the cleaning worker. Harry Apple’s vision 80 years ago has given us and our industry a wealth of knowledge that continues under the leadership of Corinne Zudonyi. 

Klein

Burt Klein, President, PortionPac Chemical Corporation

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