‘Fanatical about results’ – that’s how Michael Heyburn from Whyteleafe, Surrey describes his business ethos. And that’s why he bought Prochem Europe truck mount technology in his first foray into carpet cleaning.
Looking for a fresh start back in 2012, Michael decided to get into the carpet cleaning business. A stickler for ‘getting it right’, he sought first the advice of a relative with 12 years experience in the trade.
‘It became clear that to do it properly you bought the best you could,’ he reflects.
After a brief stint with a portable extractor, Michael soon realized that to get the work turned around, he needed a bigger machine.
‘I just didn’t want to be the guy turning up in an estate car with a machine in the back,’ he says. ‘I had a good machine and Prochem chemicals. I was networking through BNI and Checkatrade and was getting the work coming through – it was already time to upgrade.’
Back to Prochem in Chessington went Michael to meet up with the Truck Mount Sales Team.
‘They were fantastic: great advice and the whole set-up there was very compelling to see,’ he recalls.
With his eye firmly trained on the latest Blazer GT truck mount, Michael went out and bought himself a new Vauxhall Vivaro to home it. ‘I wanted the job to look right, to be successful at the level I wanted to be at.’
Several months on and he feels he has the ‘Ferrari of truck mount cleaning’.
‘Absolutely fantastic,’ he enthuses. ‘I’ve used the portable once since I got it. The Blazer thrives on work and is super-fast. The diary is full every day.
‘Most of my work is domestic but I do some commercials, too. I recently did a two-bed flat tenant clean-up which was extremely challenging to put it mildly but was able to drive up outside, get in and clean the carpets from start to finish in only forty-five minutes without turning the engine off and without need for power and water. Which was good, because there weren’t any!’
An old manor house in Redhill, and Michael’s biggest job to date, involved three nine-hour days working on carpets and hard floors. But it was effortless with the Blazer; with only three feet left of hose provided with the Blazer GT, he still had full suction on the fourth floor.
Michael favours Prochem chemicals: ‘I like Multi Pro, that’s a superb product on carpet. So are Babric Restorer, Prespray Gold, and Fibre & Fabric Rinse in the tank. Solutions designed to get you out of trouble are fantastic, too: Stain Pro, Solvall and Solvex are all excellent.
‘I feel I’m buying the best and I do look after the machine, cleaning it down every weekend and servicing every one hundred hours at Prochem, where the support from the Service Support Team is first rate.’
Michael keeps traditional marketing down to taking three half-page advertisements in county magazines.
His big success has come from networking meetings with BNI and trades site checktrade.com where he has scored 650 customer reviews. ‘Both come at a price but you get your money back and more if you get the job done properly,’ says Michael.
And more commercial work is on the horizon, too.
‘I’ve just cleaned a hotel locally and on a domestic job the other day the customer asked whether the machine could clean jets at Biggin Hill aerodrome and I said ‘Yes, gladly.’ It turned out he was a facility manager for the airport!’
Taking advice worked for Michael – and for his relative. As a result of Michael’s experience, he has just bought his own Blazer GT.
http://www.checkatrade.com/MichaelHeyburn/
-ends-
Issued August 2015 on behalf of Prochem Europe Ltd by
petermuir public relations
Whiteleaf Business Centre, Buckingham Industrial Park, Buckingham MK18 1TF, UK
tel 00 44 (0) 01280 308010 www.pmpr.info
About Prochem Europe
Founded in 1974, Prochem Europe Ltd. is a British manufacturer of cleaning and maintenance products for carpets, fabrics and floors. Chemicals solutions are made at the company’s headquarters in Chessington, Surrey and are available through an extensive network of national and international distributors along with its carpet, fabric and floor cleaning equipment, accessories and spares. Britain’s leading commercial provider of training to professional cleaners, Prochem Europe also offers a range of industry-recognised training courses for carpet, upholstery and floor cleaning and maintenance at Chessington, covering the latest techniques and maintenance methods.