“Kevin and I were looking to buy a business that fit our skills: Kevin’s background is in engineering and sales, and mine is in finance,” Viki says. “And we wanted a business where we could make a positive impact pretty quickly. We found this.”

Dayton Sweeping was started in 1972, by a one-man sweeper operator. When the wife-and-husband Kroeger team purchased it in 1999, it had a workforce of seven.

“Like a lot of people outside the industry, before this, we were blind to parking lot sweeping, never thought about it, didn’t even know it was done. But we built the company quickly. We’ve doubled our employees, from the original seven to our current fourteen, and have doubled revenues as well. I can’t believe it’s been ten years.”

Sweeping and more
“Our core business is parking lot and construction sweeping. We also provide snow removal services and have recently added power washing and landscape maintenance, based on customer need. In addition, for a few select customers with specific property management needs, we provide a variety of other services that we subcontract and oversee.”

DSS regularly sweeps at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio, as a subcontractor on construction projects. In 2009, the company also did construction sweeping at Dayton International Airport as a subcontractor. The remainder of DSS Sweeping’s clients are within a two-hour radius of Dayton for construction sweeping and within a one-hour radius for parking lot sweeping, covering seventeen Greater Dayton and Greater Cincinnati counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

“Our parking lot customers are shopping centers, strip malls and big-box stores like Walmart. Besides construction clean-up jobs, we subcontract on municipal projects. Our ideal customer is one who wants the job done right. Usually, these are property managers, who are less hampered by costs and driven more by the quality of the work.”

Viki, who is responsible for strategic planning and budgeting, gets a kick out of her work. “I really like strategic planning. I’m a very organized, detail-oriented person, so I like generating ideas, coming up with a plan, and then watching the plan come to fruition.

“We are very quality driven. We believe in communicating with the customer, finding out what the needs are and then meeting those needs, instead of offering just a flat service.”

Change can be good

What advances has Viki seen in the industry?

“I think GPS technology has made a significant impact, providing us with a huge opportunity to improve our operations and cut costs, especially since GPS has become more cost-effective. We use it to assist us with billing and routing.”

To her relief, the economic downturn hasn’t impacted DSS’s business as much as she feared it might. “Only a few of our customers have cut services completely, while others have reduced services, but not significantly. And fortunately, some property managers see the downturn as their chance to let go of ineffective contractors and hire us to do a better job. We’ve seen the downturn as a growth opportunity and have hired a sales executive to generate new business. We are also pursuing projects funded with stimulus dollars.”

She believes strongly that one of their key skills is their willingness to learn from others, especially when faced with challenges. “We had a big problem with turnover a few years ago. Parking lot sweeping can be a tough job, working at night on your own. We’d train the new hires, but after two or three nights, they wouldn’t come back.

“We’re involved members of NAPSA, so we took some of the best practices of companies across the country, tweaked them to meet our needs, and implemented them. Now, we describe the job better in all our hiring materials so applicants fully understand it before they’re hired. It’s reduced our turnover by half, and now we have quality people who are really proud of the work they do.”

DSS Sweeping, majority owned and run by a woman, is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), Encouraging Diversity, Growth & Equity (EDGE) and is a NAPSA Certified Sweeping Company. For more information, visit the website: www.DSS-Sweeping.com.

 Story by Anne Biggs

NAPSA is looking for your input to help our industry. What’s being done right? What would you like to see more of? At the recent Sweeper Roundtable held at the NPE in Nashville, the membership provided ideas such as NAPSA should find a way to better educate property owners regarding the value of hiring a quality contractor. Another suggestion was to launch an education program in conjunction with the equipment manufacturers. Both ideas, as well as others, are being considered and pursued. What’s your idea? Is there something that you’re business or the industry needs but you’re unsure how to find it? Ask NAPSA.  With the experience and knowledge of the industry’s only trade association, the information is probably readily available.

As a member of NAPSA, or a participant in the industry, your information is helpful. Please take the time to copy and fill out this small survey and fax it to Kristy Baier, NAPSA’s Membership Coordinator at 856-439-0525. Thank you for your time!

• Flotation device under the seat: check.
• Access to the mid-plane emergency exits: check.
• Nothing suspicious or odd hanging from the wings: check.

Now, anxious flyers can add another item to the list: clean runway.
Pilot error. Terrorists. Faulty mechanics. Many things can bring down a plane, but none more quickly than a stray piece of metal on an airport runway.
Careful sweeping and daily checks of runways are a seldom-seen but integral part of keeping passengers safe. An impressive arsenal of sweeping machines, huge magnets, chemicals and even radar in some places—along with a simple scan by human eyes— keep airplanes where they belong: in the air.
The biggest single safety issue in the airline industry is FOD, or Foreign Object Debris. The FOD can be natural—such as rocks, brush or birds—or manmade—such as metal components or rubber. The rare but entirely possible result of FOD is that the object can be sucked into an aircraft engine and cause catastrophic damage or bring a plane down.
Unsecured fuel caps, tools from maintenance trucks and all sorts of other items can wind up on an airport runway. Routine sweeping—along with the use of powerful magnets—are part of nearly every airport’s maintenance routine.
“I don’t see how there is anything more important than keeping the runway clear of debris. It has tremendous negative outcomes if you have any debris on the runway,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director of the Tallahassee-based Florida Airports Council. The group represents twenty commercial and seventy-three general aviation airports.
“Keeping a runway clear of debris,” he continued, “is the most important thing any airport can do.”.
The issue has several components. First, FOD such as small pieces of metal can end up in an engine. A second consideration is that an object on the runway can split an aircraft’s tire, peeling off rubber. The result is a piece of rubber that can wind up in an engine.
How airports deal with the issue depends on the size of the facility and frequency of flights as well as whether or not vehicles routinely cross the runways or travel on other areas that service airplanes. Additionally,. construction projects on hangars, air traffic control towers or terminals introduce hundreds of opportunities for FOD to get on a runway, Johnson noted.
Regardless, each day, the runways are checked—sometimes by highly technical radar or other devices, other times by a worker driving along the edge to look for FOD.
Airline safety experts and the federal government all place a priority on FOD and  its detection. The Air Force Safety Center has even produced special FOD prevention posters. One shows a man with a broom and another man bending down to pick up something from a runway. The caption: “One person can make a difference.” Another poster, this one with a gruesome skeleton holding pieces of metal, reads simply: “FOD: just waiting to happen.”
“People don’t understand the true implications [of FOD]. Even if a piece of material goes into an engine and doesn’t cause a crash, it can cause multiple millions of dollars worth of damage to an engine. For the airport, it is critically important that airport runways are clean of all debris all the time,” Johnson explained.
Sweeping plays a crucial role. Runways are often one or two miles long, and 100 to 200 feet wide. The size of the sweeping device depends on the size of the airport runway. Many use conventional sweepers—just like the ones for parking lots, construction sites and roads. However, to make sure that every piece of metal is collected, airport maintenance workers also use magnets, which are able to pull ferrous objects from oily or greasy surfaces. Blowers and vacuums can collect much of the debris, but they do not work as well as a strong magnet sweeper does in certain situations.
Magnet manufacturers customize their products so they can be used on trucks and conventional sweepers. Magnets are used in untold areas of industry. The magnets produced by Magnetic Products, Inc. of Michigan, for example, are mounted above food conveyers to pull out any stray metal bits that may have found their way into the food during the production process.
Two types of magnets are used with sweepers on airport runways. The first is a permanent magnet that requires no power to feed or operate it. The magnet can hold anything that is ferrous, or attracted to a magnet, at all times. A permanent magnet has no “off switch.” Debris has to be manually cleared from the magnet surface. The operation is simple, but requires more work. Usually, the magnets on sweepers have a faceplate that breaks the magnetic surface and reduces the amount of force required to clear the magnet.
The other type of magnet used with sweepers is an electromagnet, which operates with copper or aluminum coils. DC current is fed to the magnet, creating a powerful force field. Cut the electricity, and the magnet loses its power and allows items to drop away.
Conventional sweepers, sweepers with magnetic attachments and magnets used alone are all components of an airport’s runway maintenance equipment.
A final issue, according to Johnson, is the accumulation of rubber on the runways. As airplanes land, they leave a trail or skid mark from their tires. Too much rubber on a runway can hamper the aircraft’s ability to land. “Too much rubber affects the braking,” he said. “Braking with rubber on rubber instead of rubber on asphalt can affect stopping.” To counter that issue, airport operators use chemicals, water and sweepers to scrape the rubber when it begins to accumulate too thickly in vital landing areas.
Johnson compares runway cleaning with keeping a parking lot or roadway swept. The stakes, however, are much higher if an errant piece of material ends up in an aircraft engine.
“Whether it’s a parking lot at a mall or a road, you just have to sweep this stuff up. Thousands of airplanes can fly off a runway with a bolt sitting on it and nothing would happen. When it does, it’s a fluke. It’s just [that] we are trying to keep the fluke from happening,” Johnson said.
“It still comes down to the basics of how you keep stuff off any kind of runway, roadway or parking lot, except you don’t have a multi-million dollar engine at stake.
“The implication of a flat tire in a parking lot is a little different than a three-inch bolt going into a jet engine. In aviation, all accidents happen because of multiple things that go wrong,” Johnson said.
Keeping a runway clean by using road sweepers and magnets removes at least one element from the equation.
Nervous flyers: your list has now expanded.

By Marie Elium

Susan Palmer, a certified public accountant in Paoli, Pa., has witnessed many of her clients using this financial tool. “The cost benefit is there. People use it for cash flow,” she explains. “In this economic era, it’s essential.”

A factoring company takes responsibility for accounts receivable, paying from 75% to 90% of total invoices up front. When they collect from your customer, they pay you the balance of the invoices, less their fee.

Not a Loan, Not Invoice Discounting

Factoring depends on the value of account receivables, not the credit rating of your company. A typical loan includes you and the lending institution, whereas factoring involves the customer, the factor, and your company. Rather than providing a loan, the factor purchases a financial asset. There is less documentation and no collateral required, and there are no interest payments.

Sometimes, factoring is mistakenly called “invoice discounting.” This term refers to using receivables as collateral for a loan; they are not purchased.

What Will This Cost?

To determine cost, the factoring firm evaluates your receivables based on industry averages and specific account risks. The fee is a percentage of gross accounts, rates being higher for greater account risks. Other conditions used in determining terms involve monthly sales volume and individual invoice totals. Firms also consider time commitments to receivable sales. The factoring group may have a service charge in addition to interest fees, based on how long they must wait to collect payment.

Factoring groups offer varying arrangements. Non-recourse factoring is full purchase of accounts receivable, including the risk of nonpayment. Recourse factoring, on the other hand, means your company will be responsible for reimbursing the factoring company if the customer does not pay.

The Plus Side

There are several advantages to factoring. Factored cash is fast cash. It ensures consistent cash flow, especially important to businesses with cyclical sales. This facilitates financial planning by improving accuracy.

It’s also a viable financial tool for new businesses, since banks have stringent requirements for income history. Factoring is based on invoices from income already generated. For more established businesses, this method can increase capital available for growth without incurring debt.

Factoring accounts receivables removes bad debt from income statements; you can structure the arrangement so a third party assumes the risks of bad debt. Thus, business equity remains stable.

Another advantage is that you receive funds as soon as you invoice, as if the customer is paying cash at a discounted rate. In turn, your company can receive early-payment and volume discounts with your suppliers. You can offer credit terms as incentives to customers without impacting cash flow. Plus, it keeps debts current, saving money on interest and past-due fees. You also save time and labor costs that would be spent in collecting outstanding invoices, which can give you a substantial savings on overhead costs.

The Minus Side

There are also, however, some disadvantages to factoring. Since you receive a lower amount than the total revenue owed, factoring is more expensive than borrowing money, although it could be cost-effective in the long term. Since costs can run high, limit the amount factored to the minimum necessary for healthy cash flow.

There is the potential for customers to be upset about third-party collection attempts. Be clear when interviewing factoring firms about your expectations for customer communication, and understand the steps that the company will take to collect amounts owed. Reputable firms are professional about contact and can often encourage customers to pay faster than they might if they were paying you directly.

Additionally, customers may not want another company investigating their financial conditions and contacting them about amounts due. A factoring firm could require that the customer pay them directly, which could damage your customer relations. If you feel that your customers might react negatively to this requirement, consider negotiating against this practice.

Accounts receivables will not be available as collateral if you would also like to pursue a business loan, although having a history of consistent cash flow will help secure a loan in the long run.

How to Find a Factor

Palmer says that factoring has traditionally been used in manufacturing and wholesaling. “It hasn’t been used as much in services industries. People relate it to the manufacturing or wholesale process, when you have an inventory to maintain,” she explained.

Check with your commercial bank to determine if they have a division offering factoring services. Ask your Chamber of Commerce and other businesses in your area for recommendations.

Factors can vary in size, some operating locally and others dealing regionally or nationally. There are also companies that offer online quotes. Stick with firms that have good records and be certain to compare the terms of several different companies.

As you consider your options for increasing cash flow, contact the Small Business Administration, which offers workshops on factoring and other cash-flow solutions.

Factoring can free up your management and marketing team to expand your business and increase sales. In today’s volatile economic climate, factoring may increase your ability to profit from opportunities that might be missed due to lack of available cash. Check with your financial advisor to determine whether or not factoring makes sense for your business.

With regard to factoring, Palmer remarks, “I’m pro anything that keeps my clients floating.”

Story by Catia Whitmore

Cupp really couldn’t afford to buy a new sweeper truck. So he bought three.  "I got three used Schwarze trucks," he recalled, "for $15,000 total. Then I combined them into one truck, which I used for two or three years."  A second truck followed, and Artscape now has a fleet of four. Thanks to the efforts of Schwarze Industries (Ricky Hyatt) and Tech support.

"We do a little of everything, parking lots, state roads," said Cupp.  “We’ve even got a contract with the LaFarge Company for quarries."  Cupp isn’t shy about forging new business relationships.  "I’m a little guy, but I’m kind of personable," he said.  Like the time he noticed a sweeper company working on a state highway.  "I pulled over and asked one of the guys how they got into that. He told me who to contact, and everything fell into place.

Before he was "micromanaging" parking lots, Cupp hung drywall. Then, he started cutting grass and landscaping.  "Through the grass-cutting job, I got to know a lot of the property owners in the Baltimore area, and I saw where a sweeping company might have potential."

Cupp continues to drive one of his company’s trucks, focusing primarily on highway work.  “A lot of guys, when they start building a company, decide to sit back and put all the work on somebody else,” he said. “Me, I still like to get out there and make sure the job is done right.”

In the lagging economy, Cupp sees the recent trend of property managers and municipalities hiring one company to perform multiple tasks to be reversing itself.  “It’s getting so everything is done by bid,” he said, “and not splitting things up.”

Nevertheless, he remains upbeat.  “I don’t think its all price,” he said. “I just can’t look at it that way. I think service still counts for a lot. When we bid $75 for an hour and a half, and if we’re out there for only 30 minutes, we adjust for that.”

Cupp took something of a gamble, he said, by not passing a fuel surcharge along to his customers. Instead, he decided to ride it out, and has recently been rewarded with pre-2007 prices.

The management tier for Artscape (now a $400,000 a year business) remains tight and a family business – Cupp, his son Danny and his wife Tammy. But that doesn’t mean Fred Cupp doesn’t think his other employees aren’t crucial to the company’s success. 
“You’re entrusting someone with a $90,000 piece of machinery,” he said. “That’s not something you take lightly. And it’s really to your benefit to keep your employees happy, something we try to do with bonuses and maybe an extra week’s vacation.”

Flashing back to long nights trudging across deserted parking lots with a broom and dustpan, Cupp now sees a long-term benefit in that drudgery.  “It made me very meticulous.”

COST OF A NAPSA MEMBERSHIP ONLY $295

Other Benefits of NAPSA Membership:
Education
Certified Sweeper Program
New Website with Contractor Locator
Industry Networking

In today’s economy, can you afford NOT to be a NAPSA member? For more information or to join, please go to www.powersweeping.org.

By Marie Elium

The Huntsville, Alabama-based company is releasing its new GS6 Regenerative Air Street Sweeper this year, debuting after a successful introduction in the European market, according to company head Raymond Massey.

“Based on these extremely positive results, we have decided to move forward with distribution of this new machine for the North and South American markets. The GS6 includes a 6.5 cubic yard debris hopper, 39 inch diameter gutter brooms with optional hydraulic tilt and GEO (and) a 250 gallon dust suppression system,” Massey said.

The machine has a “standard sweeping head with our new hydraulic curtain lifter and our new automated sweeper standby system. The engineering on the new GS6 is cutting edge with a completely new approach to sweeper frame design and auxiliary engine mounting.”

To further meet customers’ demands, Schwarze is introducing standard LED lighting for all of its sweeper products this year, with the exception of the floodlights. “While the floodlights are still incandescent, we are offering an LED option. The addition of LEDs lowers the overall electric draw and increases the life expectancy of the light and alternator,” Massey explained. More importantly, the LED lighting has lower maintenance costs.

“We have several additional changes to current products based on the requests from our customers that include new extremely durable inspection door latches for all machines, a new gutter broom design with extended reach,” he said.

In addition, the company has made RPM changes for the S333SE model and hopper screen changes for the 3471 and 3481 machines. It has also changed the hopper design of the A4000 to increase capacity and added a bolt-in suction tube, a bolt-on hopper shroud and a hydraulically operated steel dump door.
Schwarze has redesigned the water system on the A4000 to the current field proven electric pump (that is) utilized on other A series machines. finally, the company has added an optional pneumatic gutter broom down pressure controls for the A7000, and A8000 models.

“Our goal for 2010 is to continue to improve the Schwarze Industries, Inc. product offering and reduce the overall cost of unit ownership of Schwarze products to increase the overall profits of our end users,” Massey said.

The order, the largest in Johnston ’s history, was placed late last year by TIP Auto Parts Limited for a hire contract awarded to them by the Bangkok Metropolis Authority (BMA). All 104 sweepers were supplied from Johnston ’s Surrey manufacturing plant as skid units, and shipped to Thailand to be mounted onto Hino chasses locally by Johnston ’s Thai distributor, Unitech Associates Company Limited.

The fleet of 52 VT500 and 52 VT650 sweepers was inaugurated by the BMA Governor at a special ceremony outside the authority’s headquarters in Bangkok on 1st November, and has now started sweeping operations in the busy city.

For more information contact Joyce Hack – Marketing. Tel.01306 874564