It started with $1,000, a tiny office space, a few ads in the Pennysaver and half a dozen housekeepers, but Maureen Gray, president and founder of what would become KBM Facility Solutions, wasn't about to let odds get in her way.

Gray, just 20 years old at the company’s founding in 1981, now has a multimillion-dollar, multi-faceted company with about 500 employees and 450 vendor partners.

Along with janitorial, the firm has a tenant improvement division, a maintenance division and an array of other functions, and Gray continues to grow her company with additions and acquisitions.

The company, originally known as KBM Building Services, posted $28.8 million in sales last year and is projecting more than $30 million in sales in 2010.

"Despite the weak economy and an overall increase in competition, KBM has seen tremendous growth during the past two years, primarily as a result of the focus of our dedicated management team," Gray said. "While our pricing remains highly competitive, we have expanded our list of value-added services to ensure that our clients are receiving the best possible value for their dollar."

More at source:San Diego Source

Now, just in time for the holidays, emerges a Boston Terrier who doesn't just wheel around a pushcart, but s/he apparently takes out (and puts back) cleaning supplies piled up inside the four-wheeler.

More at Source: Urlesque

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - December 27, 2010) -  When the Metrodome in Minneapolis succumbed to the forces of Mother Nature, the NFL was left with a dilemma, where do they stage the matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants? Most people don't realize there was a second dilemma that came with that decision; this became clear once the NFL decided their solution was to hold the game at Ford Field in Detroit just 24 hours after the Detroit Lions finished up their own home game. Now came the interesting part. It took nearly 1,000 tons of snow to make the Metrodome stadium inadequate to play in. Nearly 240 Jani-King Commercial Cleaning crew members assembled to get another stadium ready to take its place.

More At Source:Market Wire 

When searching for cleaning services in South Florida, you better be very specific or else you might find yourself getting taken to the cleaners.

A Miami woman hired to tidy up a house has been arrested after the homeowner claims the woman made herself right at home and stole $200,000 worth of jewelry, electronics and other items.

Jesenia Lopez-Gavilan, 22, was in court Tuesday and charged with grand theft for her phony maid scam, JustNews.com reports.

Lopez-Gavilan was advertising her services on Craigslist.com and that's how she pulled in her victims, police said.

The woman allegedly cased the joint and then came back with an accomplice, Ray Valdez, who was also arrested.

Chances are this isn't the only time the duo have pulled off such a house cleaning, police said.

Source: NBC Miami

MIDDLETOWN undefined A school janitor was fired on Dec. 7 for "inappropriate conduct" after an internal investigation into reports on his behavior by several students, district officials said.

The district is not aware of the janitor engaging in any criminal activity or child endangerment, said Board of Education attorney Christopher Parton, who declined to identify the employee or elaborate on the "inappropriate conduct."

During a board meeting on Wednesday, several parents criticized the school district's handling of the situation, alleging that the district did not report information to authorities in a timely manner and that it allowed the janitor to remain in contact with students as the internal investigation developed.

"Children are going to be at risk," said resident Dina Milne, if the district handles future cases in a similar fashion.

More at Source:App.com

A San Mateo man who worked as a janitor at several Shell service stations on the Peninsula is now accused of robbing them, a prosecutor said.

Marlon Arbulu, 27, is accused of going on a two-week robbery spree in which he hit the same service station, and same clerk, twice in San Mateo as well stations in San Carlos and San Bruno, said chief deputy district attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The managers at the San Mateo station recognized Arbulu when watching surveillance footage and realized he used to work there as a janitor.

Arbulu pleaded not guilty Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court to robbery and burglary charges, said Wagstaffe.

Prosecutors say the robberies started Nov. 28 at a Shell station on Peninsula Avenue in San Mateo. Arbulu is accused of passing the clerk a note that demanded cash and warned there would be trouble if the money wasn't handed over. Authorities say Arbulu got away with about $200. He came back on Dec. 12 and said he didn't get enough money the first time and ordered the clerk, who was behind the counter at the first robbery, to give him more, according to authorities; he escaped with an undetermined amount of money.

Prosecutors said he robbed a Shell station in San Carlos on Dec. 14 and then held up one in San Bruno on Dec 16. Based on information from his previous employers, police identified Arbulu as a suspect in the crimes. He was arrested in a San Bruno hotel on the same day as the last robbery.

Source: Mercury News

Invercargill's Ascot Park Hotel has taken an environmental leap and ditched cleaning chemicals in favour of water and microfibre cloths.

Executive manager Peter Ridsdale said after months of testing the hotel took the plunge to 100 per cent chemical-free cleaning yesterday.

The move is expected to save $6000 in chemical costs annually and has helped secure the hotel three "green" conferences – for Apparelmaster, Environment Southland and a yet-to-be-named tourism organisation.

Other benefits have included less irritation for housekeepers, asthmatic guests raving about the rooms and social media commentator Craig Garner, who travels extensively, said he was blown away by the cleanliness of the room he stayed in.

Laboratory tests during an eight-week trial in which 10 rooms were cleaned with microfibre cloth and 10 with chemicals showed a massive difference in cleanliness.

The bacterial count in rooms cleaned chemically was 179, while in the microfibre rooms it was just 11.

"The only real downside is the room really doesn't smell like anything at all," Mr Ridsdale said.

The move was part of a four-year journey that began with a sustainability audit, resulting in a huge recycling project and an electrical audit that led to new light bulbs and $1000 a month savings.

The latest environmental project for the Invercargill Licensing Trust hotel is a plan to spearhead rejuvenation of Dog Island and joining forces with the Department of Conservation and Maritime New Zealand to investigate its historical, ecological and tourism potential.

The hotel had given $10,000 from one of the hotel's guest washing machines as an initial funding injection. Being a part of the sustainable movement was a huge thrill, Mr Ridsdale said.

"I'm not a greenie by any stretch of the imagination but I've embarked on a trail that's getting greener and greener.

"It has a feel-good factor not just for me but everyone else that works here as well," he said.

Read More At The Source

ALBANY undefined Legislation designed to push up the pay of janitors, security guards and groundskeepers at utility companies has created a holiday season lobbying spree now that the measure has been sent to Gov. David A. Paterson for consideration in his final days in office.

The pay boost affecting service industry workers on contract at utility companies presents a slippery slope, opponents say, because it broadens the state’s prevailing wage payment requirements, beyond just public agencies or private entities on public works projects, that now must pay the higher rates.

Besides raising energy costs for gas and electric utilities by millions of dollars, which will get passed on to consumers, the bill will also end up impacting other employers, including those located in “business improvement districts,” such as the 24-block Buffalo Place, according to opponents.

But Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, a Queens Democrat and sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, has a simple message: Calm down.

More at the source:Buffalo News