Kärcher Helps Mint Commercial Deliver Multi‑Site Facilities Management Excellence
Mint Commercial and Healthcare Ltd. is a growing company that provides cleaning services, facilities management, project management, security and a range of other services. They have national contracts with a vast number of blue chip companies. Mint Commercial prides itself on being a market leader in technology and innovation, with the same skillset and expertise as national companies, managing diverse client contracts with bespoke services.
Mint was seeking a tailored cleaning solution for disparate client sites with individual requirements. In addition to this versatility, the company also wanted to prioritise minimising environmental impact. Knowing Kärcher’s reputation for excellence in cleaning products, as well as its emphasis on building long term relationships, Mint decided to seek their expertise, “Their track record of innovation alongside a commitment to the environment was especially attractive,” says Debbie McAulay, Managing Director at Mint Commercial and Healthcare Ltd. She continues, “As the owner of a family-led business, Kärcher’s values reflect the ethos I am striving for at Mint.”
From the beginning of the project Kärcher worked in partnership with Mint to establish tailored solutions for each site. Debbie goes on, “Mint’s clients have specific requirements. Working closely with John, our Kärcher representative, we have moved away from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. John attended site visits with us and helped us to establish exactly which machine would help to resolve our clients’ problems. This approach has worked well to meet customer needs, whether it’s a huge warehouse or a small office or public building.”
For example, at warehouses in Warrington and Manchester, Kärcher carried out an on-site survey to create a personalised plan covering machines, battery types, brushes, pads and beacons. Prior to this survey, the machines being used to scrub the warehouse floor were fitted with a disc head system, which was not something Kärcher recommended for these floors. The floor areas are vast and a disc cleaning head system was only cleaning the high points of the floor, leaving the lower points of the floor not cleaned thoroughly. Kärcher has since implemented a B 250 R scrubber dryer, with a roller cleaning head and a sweeper tray to collect debris prior to scrubbing the floors. The roller system is an innovative tool that allows the operator to work with polypropylene red brushes for standard daily scrubbing, changing to green roller pads when a deep clean is required. The adaptability of roller technology ensures the high and low points of the floor are scrubbed and dried.
In terms of products, Mint uses a plethora of Kärcher products across many locations. The KM 75/40 Vacuum Sweeper is used on the Mezzanine of the warehouse, the Battery Pedestrian machines are used at Media City offices for scrubbing the floors. The BR 45/22 Compact Scrubber Dryer models are used for scrubbing the floors at offices located around Manchester Airport.
The strength of Kärcher’s relationship with Mint isn’t based just on the quality of the products, as the support service is also of great importance to the company. Debbie explains, “New contracts often bring new employees who are unfamiliar with our Kärcher equipment. Training on the machines from a supplier expert is one way of helping to reassure our employees and to build their confidence.” Kärcher provides Mint with a full all-inclusive service package on contracts where any downtime has to be minimal and optimum performance and productivity are critical. These contracts are in place for very demanding warehouse environments. The service contract will cover service visits, interim calls, labour, parts and agreed amount of consumables. This gives piece of mind with contract costs for Mint.
Kärcher’s close working relationship with Mint has also assisted the facilities management company with new business wins. Debbie explains, “In winning new contracts we often find that the legacy equipment is traditional vacuums and mops. Working with Kärcher, we have invested in more modern equipment that produces efficiency gains, reduces our environmental impact and is easy for our employees to use. All of this enables us to reduce our tender price in line with assumed productivity gains, thereby helping to secure the contract.”
Mint has recently won several more contracts and continues to invest in Kärcher innovations for warehouse cleaning, including a new pedestrian scrubber drier BD 80/100 with 100 litre solution tank and large set of batteries, to ensure optimum productivity in the new warehouse contracts. Mint has also invested in battery-operated tub vacuums and battery-operated hand vacuums for daytime cleaning, as the lack of trailing cables means no health and safety issues.
Kärcher’s longstanding relationship with Mint has endured so successfully due to rigorous induction processes, quality products and a comprehensive service package that ensures the equipment is always performing to the highest standard. Debbie summarises, “The Facilities Management environment is a very competitive world and customers expect value for money, high cleaning standards and reduced environmental impacts. Mint maintains these standards and our partnership with Kärcher is at the heart of our approach. I would certainly recommend Kärcher to anyone looking for innovative technology to tackle their cleaning challenges.”
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