A stronger focus on organic growth as a result of improved efficiencies was the message delivered at Nilfisk’s distributor conference this year. With a number of internal staff changes and process improvements outlined by Australia/NZ managing director, Markus Haefeli, the professional cleaning equipment manufacturer has set some big goals to achieve in 2016 – the same year it celebrates its 110 year anniversary. INCLEAN’s managing editor, Kim Taranto, reports.
Globally, Nilfisk experienced flat organic growth in 2015 with the acquisition of five companies, two of which were in the Asia/Pacific region – Smithson Equipment, a Queensland-based cleaning equipment distributor located in the Brisbane suburb of Tingalpa, and Kerrick, Auckland-based specialists in commercial, heavy duty and industrial cleaning equipment operating in both Australia and New Zealand.
“With Nilfisk’s earnings impacted by heavy investments in 2015, this is the year to focus on growth and reduce costs via improved efficiencies” announced Markus. “For this to happen there has to be some changes, in particular, changes to warranty, supply chain and service and parts.” With this he announced the hiring of a new service manager, Brett van Nesch, to be the powerhouse that grows and leads the service area. “Traditionally we haven’t been as efficient as we could be in the transport of stock, but this is going to change,” admitted Markus.
Further news sees the integration of Kerrick and Nilfisk within the one facility in each state around the nation. “Kerrick is a strong brand and will continue to run as a stand-alone business division rather than being immersed into Nilfisk,” Markus noted. “Kerrick is a well-run profitable company so we are going to let them keep doing what they do right as a complement to our organisation.” The Kerrick Sydney branch will be moving to Nilfisk’s headquarters in Blacktown in August.
With many changes happening in Europe, Nilfisk sees 2016 as an opportunity to improve even further and to offer more support to its customer base with supply and service. “Since its inception in 1906 this company has always moved forward towards expansion and innovation, and under the leadership of president and CEO, Jonas Persson, we will continue to focus on business growth and customer care,” said Markus. “This will include improved product training for our distributors and to ensure dealers are proficient in their technical understanding of Nilfisk products and machines.”
This offered a gateway for Erich Schroeder, product manager with Nilfisk’s U.S. sales team, to introduce the new SC100 compact upright scrubber – which he says will replace the old mop and bucket cleaning method. “This compact machine addresses one of the major complaint areas for customers – bathrooms,” remarked Erich. “It has been designed to clean challenging areas under and around hard-to-reach areas that usually only a wet mop can handle – but not any more.”
The SC100 scrubs and dries in one pass with 15 minutes of continuous cleaning per tank and weighs 12 kg. Brush and squeegee are easy to remove and the detachable 10 m cord is stored on the handle hook. With a low deck profile it allows cleaning of difficult-to-reach areas and the flat recovery tank design holds the bacteria and dirt removed from the floor, leaving only clean water and detergent solution for the next clean. Many of the SC100’S features appealed to distributors with some commenting this could be the solution to eliminating the cross-contamination of the mop and bucket method altogether.
Erich also gave a product update on the SC500 walk-behind battery scrubber/dryer highlighting the key features – the standout being that it is the quietest machine in operation in its class with an exclusive silent mode, which is less three decibels. It also has improved ergonomics, improved paddle system and a squeegee that can be raised and lowered easily with a foot. With 29 per cent fewer part numbers and 19 per cent fewer parts overall it offers improved reliability.
The ES300 carpet extractor was also presented to replace the AX410, which has been on the market for 11 years. The improved features of the ES300 includes increased solution capacity, improved spotter tool integration and water recovery and a front recovery tank drain hose all for a similar price point. The upgraded ES300 is currently getting approval testing and is due to be released in Australia in July.
Anthony Evans, director of product management for Nilfisk Group, gave an update on the latest Nilfisk products in the pipeline and the latest range of vacuums available in Europe, while Andrew Caddick, director of product management for high pressure washers also gave an update on upcoming releases.
The conference came to a close with the Nilfisk distributor awards and this year’s winners were: Qld Dealer of the Year – Allen’s Industrial Cleaning; NSW Dealer of the Year – Aspel Cleaning Equipment; Vic Dealer of the Year – Oz Cleaning Supplies; SA Dealer of the Year – Alltech Sweepers and Scrubbers; and WA Dealer of the Year – Statewide Cleaning Supplies. The Industrial Dealer of the Year was won by National Sweepers and overall prize of National Dealer of the Year was awarded to Capital Equipment Hire.