Taking A Shine To Ride-on Burnishers

While burnishers are typically walk-behind units, some end users are enjoying the benefits of ride-on versions. Like other ride-on floor care equipment, sit-down and stand-on burnishers reduce operator fatigue and increase productivity.

To get the best bang for your buck, rider burnishers should be used in wide, open spaces.

“You’re going to be counter-productive if there are a lot of tight hallways and a lot of stuff in the area,” says says Kurt Amig, vice president of sales, Quaker City Paper Company, York, Pa.

Because a ride-on burnisher is more expensive than a walk-behind unit, they are most cost effective for end users who burnish floors on a regular basis, for example departments in healthcare facilities, schools and shopping malls. 

“They’re more productive,” says Tom Wenzlick, sales rep for Lansing Sanitary Supply, Lansing, Mich. “Typically they’re all battery-operated, and a rider burnisher gives you more of a propane-burnisher look — propane being the best possible performance you can get in burnishing.”

Facilities with smaller staff sizes will benefit from the ride-on’s boost in productivity. However, building service contractors may face trouble transporting the equipment from facility to facility.



Kassandra Kania is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, N.C. She is a frequent contributor to Sanitary Maintenance.