The Editor’s Notebook

Hi, Everybody-
Our word for the day is ‘planning.’ Although that’s something we all do — and that many of us realize we should do more of — changing circumstances sometimes mean that previously planned actions must be put in place quickly.

Fear of a coming recession are one reason to do so currently. Business leaders across the nation are taking measures to ensure their firms’ survival as fears of a recession grow.

Information Strategies, Inc., recently surveyed more than 6,000 business leaders on what actions they are taking under the threat of reduced business activity.Respondents reported numerous options they are either implementing or considering. The five top actions reported are:

* Build up cash reserves to at least three month expenses.
* Maintain current employee staffing and to reduce inventory as much as possible.
* Increase the sales/marketing effort and renew ties with critical client.
* Seek better payment terms from suppliers.
* Plan projects that can be done with current staff if there are slack times.

According to JoAnn M. Laing, ISI’s President & CEO, just six of 10 respondents said they had implemented plans to reduce expenditures or previously planned outlays. Of these respondents, 51% said these reductions were more symbolic than actual but almost all said stronger measures were ready should sales or other indicators prove negative.

However, it is clear that those surveyed are far from a panic mode. When asked if they expected their companies to do better or worse in terms of sales and profits, 79% reported a positive outlook with only 8% saying they were experiencing negative results as compared to last year at this time.

Perhaps somewhat harder to plan for is a split with your partner(s). One contractor reported that he’s become the victim of what might be called a ‘forced departure.’ His partner(s) have engineered a power play that, so far at least, has allowed them to take over the company and force him out of it.

This one example — and the myriad other reasons and ways that business partners can become at odds with each other over time — underscores how important it is to have solid paperwork that spells out the legalities of your company structure.

Unless you are totally comfortable that you have already done so, I urge you to review your corporate or other structure to ensure that the details are in place for what happens in the case of sudden death of partners, for example, and all other foreseeable contingencies.

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-
I’ve been involved over the last several weeks with providing an industry perspective on the California environmental regulations that threaten to park a significant number of existing street sweepers in that state. The regs, which target chassis engines in street-class sweepers, have already resulted in at least one contractor having a dozen machines parked. More are bound to follow.

Some of the top street sweeping contractors in California are meeting with representatives of the state’s Air Resources Board tomorrow, and we’ll have coverage after the fact. Central to our industry argument, which I have discussed in a 6-page ‘white paper’ submitted to ARB, is that sweepers appear to deserve an exemption since my analysis shows that even an older broom sweeper should pick up more small-micron debris than their now-outlawed engines emit.

I found the information interesting to develop — especially since I was doing so on a scientific basis, not having a business that is directly affected by the outcome of the data — was an interesting, if time-consuming, process. The crux is that it would appear that a minimum of 5 times more small-micron material should be contained than is emitted by the relatively ‘dirty’ engine exhaust from a sweeper’s chassis engine. We should have info about the outcome in a few days.

I want to welcome Timothy Dix and Von McCray and Sons Maintenance to our Contractor Locator and Ethics Program. Von McCray is located in the Washington, DC, area.

I’ve also been doing an in-depth investigation into what can be done in light of rising fuel costs. Today, I posted the first of a pair of articles on this topic, which is composed of a list of things you can do to reduce your fuel usage through things like driving techniques, vehicle maintenance, etc.
Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-
I just spent a good part of the afternoon updating the Wordpress blog software we are hosting on the website. Whew! There are certainly a number of aspects to keeping the WorldSweeper.com site up and operational. I wish it were more about checking out the latest in sweeping and less infrastructure maintenance.

I used the title shown above because I was sent a very thought-provoking video clip, entitled ‘Shift Happens, on how the world will soon be changing around us even faster than it is already. Although it has nothing to do with sweeping, it does make one think a little deeper about how to structure one’s business and life. In case you’d like to take a look, here it is.

After you’ve taken a look at the brief video, I challenge you to brainstorm how your own marketplace will be changing in the next few years, from the types of equipment to the type of jobs that will be emerging to ways to compete with other, similar businesses to yours. It is only by forecasting and planning the future that you’ll be able to stay current and relevant in your business operations.

If you’d like the latest thoughts on how sweeping is changing, be sure to listen to all the audio clips I taped at Uri Ben-Yashar’s ‘Contractors’ Best Practices’ NPE seminar this year. The season will soon be heating up, and you want any business changes in place prior to that time.

For those of you following along, I have finally spoken to the maintenance folks at Seattle Tacoma Airport about the box I watched blow away while awaiting my flight to Nashville. An interview is in the works; I’m hoping that happens in the next few days.

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-

We have some input from a couple of industry manufacturers to mention. For one, Clean Up America’s president, Bill Clemons, alerted us to the product action video his company recently put onto YouTube. Our hat is off to them for using this new technology to showcase their state-of-the-art surface cleaner.

If you haven’t seen the machine Clean Up America has built to clean pavement and then reclaim/recycle the water used, my guess is you’ll find it quite interesting. The company is selling it via franchise opportunities.

The rest are the manufacturers’ videos from NPE 2008. Feedback on this annual feature (I did these at last year’s NPE and at APWA) is uniformly positive. It’s an easy way for those who weren’t at a show to take a look at the latest products they might be able to use.

If you are following along, I didn’t ever hear back from someone at Sea-Tac Airport. I’ll put it on my list to try again next week.

I did get an interesting call yesterday from a ‘newbie’ to the industry. With a bit of embarrassment, s/he related how s/he’s made a beginner’s mistake: Going out to scout a competitor’s lot, one that hasn’t been kept clean, s/he was approached by someone who s/he mistook for the property manager. Actually thrilled to get a chance to talk about the lot to someone who might be able to hire his company, he answered all questions that were asked.

These included how long s/he’d been in business, what kind of sweeper(s), who else they swept, etc. Long story short, guts were spilled. Only later was it discovered that the person was actually the competitor who had the contract to sweep the lot!

So, there’s bound to be a moral in there somewhere if you search around for it. Since it’s well after 5 on a Friday, in this case I’ll leave it to you to discover just what it might be…

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-
As always, NPE was a fun and informative event. I was busy on your behalf, and collected a total of 14 video interviews from vendors and others at the show, as well as nine new audio interviews and a host of other story contacts. I’ll be getting what I’ve collected online for you over the next several weeks.

Before we get down to some of the specifics, though, I saw an incident during my travels to the show that’s worth mentioning to the sweeping community.

It occurred at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport when I was waiting for my flight out. As I stood at the large windows looking out at the runways and the vehicles passing by on service lanes closer in to the terminal, I watched as a pickup truck loaded with full garbage bags passed by. Off the truck bed flew a substantial cardboard box, flattened, about the size that a case of canned vegetables might fit in.

There was a brisk wind passing from left to right, and it tumbled the box down the service road and slightly toward the runways. To my surprise, although two service ‘tug’ vehicles encountered it while in my sight, no one stopped to pick the box up or to chase it. This prompted me to take a closer look at the paved area closer in to the terminal. In view was a large paper cup on the tarmac below.

As I suspect it would most airline passengers, this bothered me on a couple of levels. First off, I’m very surprised there isn’t a protocol for garbage bag transport on the service ways at airports. It seems that one of the slide-back pickup bed covers would be appropriate, at the very least.

Secondly, although there surely must be a protocol for picking up any wayward ‘foreign object debris’ items, it appeared to me that no timely one was being followed. To the eyes of watching passengers, this kind of incident isn’t what one wants to take comfort from just prior to a flight across the country.

If you are currently sweeping for an airport, you might want to talk to management about their protocol for garbage and other loose material transport. This is not only a safety issue, but an area where liability to sweeping contractors may exist if protocols aren’t developed to deal with wayward debris between sweeps.
I will send an email to Sea-Tac operations and keep you posted of any reply on their part.

There were several sweeping vendors that I had not seen at previous NPE shows. One of these was Wayne Engineering, a large player in the garbage truck business that had a new entry in the broom sweeper market called ‘Gladiator.’ Also in this category was the Challenger sweeper. We’ll have video interviews with both of these in our NPE coverage section. The Wayne interview is already posted.

One of the widespread topics of discussion at the show was the Nissan chassis that Elgin had on the floor. They’re providing it with a standard right-side steering wheel and making a left-side wheel optional. Interesting — and seemingly sensible — change that fits the industry. You’ll enjoy Brian Giles’ video discussion of the chassis, as well.

Keep an eye on my front page letter for the next several weeks. I’ll keep that updated for you with the latest show and other links. In the next blog I’ll discuss some of the other events of interest at NPE.
Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-

I’m headed to Nashville tomorrow for the 2008 version of the National Pavement Expo. It’s always great to re-connect with old friends in the industry, as well as to make new ones.

I’ll be conducting interviews, both audio and video, while there. So, if you can’t get there in person this year, at least you’ll be able to access some of the information via the WorldSweeper.com website.

On Thursday night, at the Sweepers’ Roundtable, I’ll be presenting this year’s Award of Excellence in Sweeping to (Ranger offered teasingly…) a sweeping contractor that has another, high-visibility industry interest, as well.

I got a call the other day from Bill Clemons, president of environmental pavement cleaning company, Clean Up America, who wanted to let me know his company now had a brief YouTube video online about their product. Just go to: www.youtube/cleanupamerica to see it.

I also learned the other day about what I thought was an interesting product for contractors. The company and its products are called ‘Pid Plates.’ In a nutshell, the product is an elegant, 3-D raised lettering system to put your company name, website, etc. onto a vehicle. The letters are very similar to those put onto autos by vehicle manufacturers. It appears a typical set of letters is about $80, which includes shipping. For a look at what the company offers, go to: www.pidplates.us/html/video.en.html  

While I’m on the road I’ll also be doing tests on how well a bio-enzyme product designed for environmental removal of oil spots works. I believe, at least from what I’ve learned so far, that these naturally-occurring ‘bugs’ may be an excellent add-on for your parking lot sweeping customers. There may well be other applications for street and construction sweeping, too. I’ll keep you posted on what I find out.

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

In my reading I came across some alarming news regarding payables in the national service sector. Although it doesn’t necessarily mean the situation will affect your business in your local area, for many areas it will be if it isn’t already.

I have posted the information into an article that explains the situation from the perspective of the Chief Economist of a leading trade credit insurer, Euler Hermes ACI. Included with it is my analysis of steps you should consider in order to minimize the affect the situation has on your sweeper contracting business.

I have written a ‘WorldSweeper.com’s State of the Industry,’ which includes a recap of some of the information we provided in 2007 and some of our plans for 2008. There is a separate file for both contractors and municipalities. In it, I cataloged some of the information we covered from 2007 and provided information about some of the things we have in store for 2008.

If you don’t receive your copy in your e-mailbox in the next day or so it means you aren’t on our email list. To get onto our email list, fill out the WorldSweeper.com Guestbook.

Finally, the National Pavement Exposition, held this year in Nashville, is coming up starting later this month. During the Sweepers’ Roundtable we will be awarding our 2008 WorldSweeper.com Award of Excellence in Sweeping to an outstanding company in the industry. Hope to see you there!

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-

I’ve been talking to contractors around the country, several of whom have been hard hit by the recent storms. There’s one substantial difference in the stories of the folks in the blizzard areas: Some are ecstatic about the snow (in a business sense only, of course), since they plow snow and are making lots of money by being out plowing.

Another take on the same topic are contractors who don’t handle snow. They’re wishing they did at the moment, since they can’t sweep again for who knows how long. Since there will be a big mess of sand, etc., to clean up once they can sweep, that will either mean more money or, for those who bill year round no matter what the weather, it will mean cleaning up lots more material for the same money.

Then, there’s the other side of the coin for those who plow: Several of those I spoke to are plowing but wish they weren’t! That’s because they have snow removal contracts in place whether it snows or not, so they actually lose money when they have to perform.

All this underscores the importance of how you price your services, what you include, etc. If you have been finding yourself behind the ol’ eight ball in recent years (since we all are starting to agree the weather is changing…) then you might want to consider re-figuring how you have your business set up in terms of winter weather.

Since situations change so much according to location there’s no way to generalize for all about just how you should be pricing and deciding upon your contracts, because that’s so variable depending upon the situation and locale. On the other hand, if what you’re doing has been costing you money instead of helping you to make it, isn’t it time to re-think your business plan?

On another topic, I want to welcome Argus Industrial, Inc. to our Sweeping Products area. Argus is the maker of the EZ-Screen line of debris screeners. The company offers several models, and there’s one to fit the needs of most any sweeping contractor, large or small. If you haven’t investigated the savings available by screening your debris prior to landfilling, you’ll probably find it’s an area where you can increase your company’s bottom line substantially.

And, since environmental regulations in many areas are moving toward actually requiring debris screening by sweeping companies — it’s already law in several states — now is the time to be pro-active in that regard. When you call them, please tell Al Skoropa, company head, that you heard about his product at WorldSweeper.com. And, thanks for supporting advertisers on our website!

One last item before I’m going to call it a day at the office and go out into the rain to rescue a friend who called with a stalled vehicle. I’m excited to announce what will soon be the latest addition to the WorldSweeper.com website. Before the end of the year we’ll be adding a ‘Lending Tree’ type of financing link to the site. We have completed arrangements with three top financing companies and hope to add in a couple more. The idea will be that you’ll be able to fill out a single finance request and get quotes from all of the lenders involved in the program. Look for the announcement before the year’s end.

I hope this finds everyone in the true Christmas Spirit that offers something more than submitting to media exhortations of buy, Buy, BUY! Please remember to think about, and do something for, those less fortunate than yourself.

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-

I thought I’d write about a conversation I had yesterday with Ray Confer, head of Michigan-based, C & J Sweeping. When I called the office, I was told that I’d have to reach Ray via cell phone, since he was out delivering Christmas gifts to his customers.

This Holiday delivery routine is one Confer has maintained for many years, at one time even basing a fruit basket business around the concept. When I reached him, Ray told me what he’s learned on this topic through the many years he’d been doing it.

“I personally deliver a box of Fuji apples and another of mandarin oranges to each of our many customers,” Confer told me. “Unlike a standard fruit basket you might buy from a delivery service, this is a nicer product and, more importantly, for about the same cost there’s much more of it. When you send a fruit basket, there are typically only a few items to choose from, which means only the boss or supervisors share in it. With two entire boxes of fruit, knowledge of the gift makes it out to everyone because there is enough that the boxes typically get left out so the lower level employees get some, too.”

Confer doesn’t leave to chance that they won’t know who brought the treats, either. “I cover the inside of the boxes with stickers that show the fruit is from C & J Sweeping,” he told me. “That way, there’s no doubt who brought it. Some of the same people have been getting our fruit boxes for many years, and I’m often told by someone in the office that they’ve been waiting for me to get there, or that they like what we do best of any of the office gifts that show up this time of year.”

As I’m confident anyone who knows Ray Confer will agree, he’s a natural goodwill ambassador for his company wherever he goes. That’s true when he’s the Christmastime delivery person for the gift boxes of fruit, as well. “I take a few minutes at each customer’s office, interacting with the people there and being personable with everyone. It’s a time when I can provide a ‘face’ for our company and, as president, if there’s anything anyone wants to tell us then they know they can tell it to me and it will get to the top.”

Ray Confer has learned that in sweeping it’s very important to differentiate your company in every way possible. One of those is at Christmas, when you have yet another opportunity to stand out in your customers’ minds. How you do that may well be the difference when another contractor offers to do sweep for them at a few dollars less per sweep.

On another Christmas topic, Mark Carter, head of Bill’s Sweeping, and I had a conversation around Christmas last year where he asked me if I knew any contractors who sent out industry-oriented Christmas cards. Although I didn’t, the thought came back recently with the Season.

Since there aren’t any off-the-shelf Christmas cards with sweepers on them, at the time we idly kicked around the idea of putting together an exchange system where contractors could ‘bank’ their previous years’ cards and so be eligible to ’swap’ that design for one from the exchange bank in a future year.

So, let’s give that idea a shot. If you’d like to participate, send me an email to that effect along with, ideally, the design for the industry-type Christmas card you’re using this year or have used in years past. I’ll catalog them, keep track of who’s used a card so we don’t have duplication into a particular marketplace, and set up some type of clearinghouse system to make it all work. In other words, once I see what kind of response there is, we’ll figure out whether or not it’s viable and how to make it happen.

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

Hi, Everybody-

The ear I keep to the ground tells me that prices will be going up next year, probably more than the usual amount. I know everyone has been doing their best to keep a line on their pricing, but the rising cost of oil, which is almost at $100 a barrel as I write this, the trickle-down cost is inevitable to pretty much all sectors of the economy.

No matter what you purchase, it probably will have to be shipped and rising fuel costs means that expense is rising. Plus, like everything else, sweeper parts require energy to produce and the cost of production has been rising, as well. Finally, both steel and poly have been subject to increasing demand from India and Asia, among other places.

This topic has been on my ‘blog to-do list’ for sometime before the end of the year, but I was spurred on by an email I received today from Jack Moran, Product Manager for well-known broom supplier, Keystone Plastics. In it, Jack included an attachment from ThePlasticExchange.com, the authoritative web portal for resin and other plastics pricing trends. In the event you’d like all the details, I posted the pdf file, which is called The Plastic Exchange Market Update, at the WorldSweeper.com site so you could read all about it.

If you’d like the short version, here it is: Polypropylene, the stuff poly brooms are made from, appear to be increasing about 6 or 7 cents a pound on the wholesale level. Though that may not sound like much, it represents almost a 10% price increase. I know Keystone and other suppliers will be trying to keep their costs down, but with the dollar falling, as well, higher prices will inevitably be a fact of life sooner rather than later.

And, for the twin reasons of falling $ and rising oil prices, the same trend will be happening to a wide variety of sweeping industry products. So, especially if you made money this year and have use for some write-off, my advice is to stock up on spare parts to whatever level you can store and will need in the coming months.

Good Sweeping,
Ranger

PS Whenever you have industry news, please do send it this direction. Just use our handy contact form to let me know what’s happening in your area or area of expertise!