River City Maintenance Fuels Profits With Grout Cleaning Restoration Services

“The BR Vario II cuts down cleaning time and labor, thanks to the units ease of use and effectiveness at penetrating tough-to-clean grout lines. With the BR Vario II, we reduce scrubbing time by 50% for each job. Being able to cut cleaning time in half allows us to dramatically increase our profits on each restoration and grout-cleaning project we perform.”

Larry Kays, Operations Director,
River City Building Maintenance, Richmond, VA
Saniglaze Franchisee

“When it comes to restoring grouted tile and stone floor surfaces, we have had great success using the Tornado® BR Vario II cylindrical brush scrubber. This machine is extremely effective when cleaning grout lines,” states Larry Kays, Director of Operations at River City Building Maintenance in Richmond, Virginia. Having tested other competitive machines, River City found that the BR Vario II offers precise downward weight distribution to penetrate and clean these hard-to-reach grout lines. Plus, the wide selection of cylindrical brushes can be changed easily and quickly to meet virtually any cleaning need.

“As cleaning contractors, we take the selection of our cleaning equipment very seriously,” shares Kays. Floor care equipment is chosen based upon a strict set of criteria. Equipment must offer the latest cleaning technology to improve efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and business profits. “Improved cleaning efficiency means reduced labor expenses and higher profits for each cleaning job, so this is vital to our selection process, as well as the success of our cleaning business,” states Kays.

“We save a lot of time, because the equipment is very easy to use and extremely effective. With the BR Vario II, we reduce scrubbing time by 50%. Cutting cleaning time in half allows us to dramatically increase our profits on each grout restoration or hard floor project we perform.”

Asked about flooring trends, Kays responds, “We’re seeing a growing trend in the installation of low-maintenance hard floor surfaces in many facilities.” Low maintenance means that facility managers are choosing to eliminate high-maintenance flooring programs such as stripping, coating, and multi-step maintenance performed repeatedly throughout the year. Many new hard floor surfaces require far less time-consuming or costly maintenance programs, saving money while reducing the cleaning budget.

What’s more, customers in all types of facilities are demanding more environmentally responsible cleaning methods, due to an increased awareness of environmental issues. Kays observes an increasing concern for the excessive use of cleaning solution and chemicals. “Low-moisture cleaning will continue to be an important element of facility care. Too much water or cleaning solution waste can create problems. It is difficult to control where the water and chemical waste may go.” When asked if River City Building Maintenance commonly works in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.) certified buildings, Kays responds to the contrary, but recognizes these types of buildings are on the rise in his local area. “We promote that our cleaning and restoration process will earn our customers points toward their L.E.E.D. facility certification.”

River City Building Maintenance uses the Tornado® BR Vario II to deliver superior grout and stone floor cleaning, and our customers are thrilled with the results! Thanks to the BR Vario II scrubber, we are able to deliver grout cleaning expertise for hospitals, schools and other grout-heavy facilities, and we know that the machine will back up our quality guarantees!

Advice for New BSCs

According to Kays, if a building service contractor chooses the right technology and quality-driven floor care equipment, there is an opportunity to promote niche and high-profit-margin cleaning services—like ceramic tile and grout cleaning. “We can count on the Tornado® BR Vario II to deliver quality grout-cleaning results for our customers, and the unit backs up our product and quality guarantees!”

For on-going grout and tile maintenance, we often suggest that our customers purchase the BR Vario II for continued use in their facility. This floor care equipment sale can result in additional revenue for our contracting business, and it positions River City Building Maintenance as the experts and trusted advisors to our customer’s facility staff. “We think this is good business, and it helps our customers in the long run.”

About River City Building Maintenance

River City Building Maintenance, Inc. is a locally owned and operated Virginia corporation located in Richmond, and was founded in March 2000 by co-owners Joseph L. Kays and Roxane C. Kays. With over 30 years of building maintenance experience and a seasoned management staff, River City Building Maintenance has been serving the Richmond area for over 10 years, and has a Better Business Bureau rating of excellent. Known for its superior customer service and fast turn-around times, River City Building Maintenance is an industry associated member with the Building Service Contractors Association International. Our staff has worked with local, regional and national janitorial firms reaching from Virginia to Texas.

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