The ability to adapt and pivot has been the secret to Cleanstar’s 15 years success, according to co-founder, Lisa Michalson.

Started by husband-and-wife team Garth and Lisa Michalson under its former name Vacstar, the Melbourne-based business is a leading Australian brand of cleaning machinery, parts, and accessories.

“Garth and I had been married and with our first daughter. At the time, Garth was working in the wholesale division of a major vacuum cleaner business. When the business was sold to a private equity firm, we decided to bite the bullet and start Cleanstar,” explains Michalson.

“We thought, if we started our own business, we could offer better service and we would not compete with our distributors. Garth did not want to be hamstrung by the inertia of working for a corporate organisation, making decisions, reacting quickly with no limitations. But personally, we wanted to achieve something for us and our family and not look back at life later on and regret not doing this.

“Not long after the business started and started to get some good traction with our sales and range of product in the industry, we received a legal letter, with one demand to change our business name.

“After many months of legal back and forth we can to an agreement, we changed our name to Cleanstar and continued to trade. As a matter of fact, we started to thrive and the whole experience made us stronger in life and business. In hindsight it was a blessing. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!”

Since then, the wholesaler of commercial and domestic vacuum cleaner bags, filters, spare parts and equipment, has become a market leader in both domestic and commercial sectors, with an extensive portfolio of products and brands.

“We moved into a new warehouse facility that was 20 times bigger than what we started in and have now outgrown our current site and are looking at a bigger facility to cater to our growing business.”

In 2019, Cleanstar won the INCLEAN Innovation Award at the 2019 ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo for its Mira 40 battery powered scrubber dryer, and its domestic vacuum cleaners have launched at Australia’s largest retailer, Bunnings.

“We work with the best manufacturers in the world to produce long lasting quality and safe product. This is our priority. You can’t always be the cheapest and have the best quality product.”

Adapting during times of change  

In response to the pandemic, Cleanstar has expanded its offering and has become a leading supplier of medical supplies, PPE, surgical face masks, surgical gowns, face shields, sanitisers, disinfecting foggers, and social distancing signage.

Last year, Cleanstar was seeking partners to produce face masks as its vacuum cleaner bags are made from the same fabric as disposable face masks, in response to the unprecedented demand caused by the global coronavirus outbreak

“We adapt every day and pivot our business according to the market and surroundings. From the onset of COVID, we reacted quickly and imported items such as PPE and related products that allowed our distributors to have easy access to product during this time.

“We are very in touch with our massive distribution and service network and users of our product and therefore always are always adding new and improving products in our range.

“We are not a corporate company or owned by an international company like a lot of our competitors, so it’s easy for us to keep close to our network. Our phones run hot all day as people still prefer to talk to us, which is great, because for us it’s all about human relationships.”

Its sister brand, XPOWER, was launched in 2008 to run alongside Cleanstar. XPOWER is a major worldwide brand of restoration equipment including air-movers, dryers, air scrubbers and dehumidifiers.

“We innovate with XPOWER to produce excellent quality product. The fusion of the two brands has become a powerhouse and like Cleanstar, we will continue to grow and improve the XPOWER product range,” says Michalson.

“When we step back and look at Cleanstar, we are incredibly happy with our business. That we range such an extensive range of product to cater for many industries and the list keeps growing.

“Early on we faced some significant challenges but from those challenges we started to thrive and the whole experience made us stronger in life and business. What does not kill you makes you stronger!

“We have created the brand of Cleanstar from the ground up. We have made this proudly Australian brand into a strong one, with excellent product and service. We are proud of what we and our team have achieved.”

Creatively upping the ante 

When it comes to marketing in the cleaning industry, Cleanstar has upped the ante.

“We believe we have brought a youthful and refreshed perspective into the industry with our marketing campaigns,” says Lisa,” but boy has it evolved since we first started!”

“I chuckle to myself when I look at the advertising, but you have to start somewhere. One thing I did know was that you have to keep pumping out the advertising.”

More recently, it has increased its team of marketers and designers and its own marketing company.

Cleanstar launches a new creative campaign each year. Previous campaign highlights have included, ‘Who is Cleanstar’ in 2018, and Homegrown released in 2019, which reflected the company’s local heritage.

Its 2020 campaign, ‘20/20 Vision’, combined the company’s two flagship brands, Cleanstar and XPOWER, for the first time.

In 2021, the Cleanstar/Xpower brand will mark 15 years, with this represented in a simple campaign, ‘15 years strong’.

The creative features the two-company logos of Cleanstar and XPOWER merged together, with a bold blue background.

“It is very important to us that we represent our business in a very creative way and each year it is different according to the position of our business at that time.”

The ‘15 years strong’ campaign will roll out throughout its distribution, retail and service networks across multiple channels including, digital, social, and print.

Print advertising includes trade magazines, brochures, and banners. Cleanstar also produces a catalogue each year, in both print and digital versions.

“As we have evolved, we have become more sophisticated with our design and marketing.”

As part of the ’15 years strong’ campaign general merchandise such as floor mats and shopping brands will also be branded. Cleanstar’s social media platforms include Instagram, Facebook and a Youtube channel. Cleanstar will also be showcasing its new campaign at the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo in Sydney in October.

Following on from the success of its own marketing, Cleanstar launched Starred Marketing in 2019.

“Starred Marketing is a separate division of our company and has really taken off,” explains Michalson.

A separate entity from Cleanstar, Starred Marketing first launched to service the commercial cleaning industry, with clients including Melbourne Cleaning Supplies, B&G Supplies, Adelaide Cleaning Supplies, and WA Cleaning & Equipment Repairs, however, the company has since expanded to cater to a broader range of clientele and industries.

“Good, innovative design is what Starred Marketing is based on. We have prepared marketing for many cleaning supplies houses and retail businesses in the industry, general businesses in the beauty industry, restaurants, and design for interior of homes.

“Businesses need to understand that marketing is an investment to business. The advertising needs to be consistent and needs to stand out. Our work is displayed on social media and can be seen at www.starred.com.au.”

Homegrown innovation

As for the future, Michalson says Cleanstar will continue to keep doing what it does best – developing innovative, quality-made products.

“We are always looking to add innovative and relevant product to our range, keep our customer service level high, and also make sure our stock levels are good.

“Due to the pandemic, most importers in Australia have been experiencing delays in manufacture and delivery of goods along with increased costs.

“In saying this, we have put our money where our mouth is and have been investing in higher levels of stock so that we don’t run out.

“We are very much on top of these issues and want to make sure that we continue to supply our product as reliably as always, with the quality control maintained.”

Battery powered product is coming to the XPOWER range soon, with the team looking forward to introducing this to the industry.

“Cleanstar/Xpower will just go from strength to strength. As our brands get stronger and we continue to grow our product range, our business will continue to thrive. We are excited.”

Cleanstar is currently working on a new product that will be supplied to the professional and home cleaner.

“Designed in Australia, we are currently working with local manufacturers to make sure the product is made here.

“During these times, we want to offer an Aussie made product that we can sell locally but also export. Watch this space!”

This article first appeared in the March/April issue of INCLEAN magazine.

Read the original article here. 

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