David Sikes, owner of Sikes Paper in Atlanta, sees the downturn in the economy as a regionalized problem. His growth in the Atlanta area is "well up, without a recession in the South, for our products," he says, which include janitorial, safety and maintenance products. Their major customers are office buildings and healthcare facilities, including hospitals.

Sikes has added services to boost sales and customer loyalty. Manufacturers and distributors of janitorial products are collaborating on safety and training to help customers learn about cleaners and other chemicals.

"We do a fairly large amount of in-service training with regard to OSHA and EPA, in conjunction with suppliers," Sikes says. That focus on safe use of janitorial chemicals is a boost to Sikes' sales of safety products, which he says operators of cleaning equipment should use.

Examples of safer products are touch-free restroom appliances, which are increasingly popular as customers seek to add safety and convenience for their employees and save money on supplies. Touch-free flushing has been available for many years, but recently products for touch-free soap and paper towel dispensing came on the market. Hands-free automatic water faucets dispense a preset stream then shut off. Metered dispensing capabilities conserve water, paper and soap products, lowering costs considerably.

Metering equipment called dilution control systems also help customers save money by making sure the exact amount of water and chemicals are mixed for the job, such as floor care, Sikes says.

Linda Silverman, owner and vice president of Maintex, Inc., in City of Industry, Calif., says her company, which manufactures chemicals and distributes many lines of janitorial products, is having a strong sales year despite the economy, as well. Selling in a slowdown, says Silverman, means adding more value to products and services, as well as creating new products.

"Selling in a slump means you have to sell solutions. Cost is not the only consideration, although customers everywhere are trying to keep costs down. We make our products easy to use, and provide complete training on use, safety and compliance," she says.

Safety products and janitorial products go hand-in-hand, Silverman says. Maintex handles lines of personal protection equipment like gloves, masks and aprons. They are integral to teaching end users the safe way to handle cleaning and disinfecting chemicals.

"We train in OSHA, HAZMAT, and DOT, providing customers with whatever is needed, like Material Safety Data Sheets," she says.

Like Sikes, Silverman sees automatic equipment as a way to boost sales while adding the safety of non-touch dispensing to a customer's restrooms.

"Another hot product in the industry is a new, under-the-counter dispenser filling system that fills dispensers from separate, large reservoirs that maintenance employees fill from locations outside the room. And, many firms in the industry are supplying automatic dispensing and dilution control systems that are proprietary for their chemicals," she says.

Maintex develops new chemical products in its laboratory, and that keeps the company growing because new products are one way to keep the sales edge, she says.

"We're looking at a pretty good year for 2001, even though the slump means layoffs that reduce employees using our products ... margins are getting compressed as people are looking for ways to cut costs."

Keeping accounts by adding services and reducing errors is one of the top concerns for her company, Silverman says, and is one of the main problems that needs to be addressed by the industry in general.

Writing the President's Message in a recent issue of JanSan Online, an International Sanitary Supply Assn. Web site, she notes that errors, delays and poor service can ruin relationships.

"Many lost accounts are the result of delivering the wrong product, inaccurate billing and poor customer service. Sloppy execution results in poor performance on the playing field and lost sales in the distribution field. No distribution company can afford the loss that results from careless errors," she says.

Distributors are selling new products made of ultra-strong, absorbent-sheet materials. The products are touted as reusable wipes, and marketing campaigns stress the "green" impact of products that are reused as well as recyclable.

One manufacturer of absorbent sheets has several new, long-lasting products on the market. Using technology that bonds absorbent paper to high-strength non-woven cloth, the maker claims six of seven customers prefer the products to the maker's older ones.

Wiping materials like these are available in several weights and may be treated with anti-microbial solutions.

These products combine the attractive traits of lower cost per unit and less material going into landfills, according to the maker. Apparent benefits to customers simply make the products easier to sell, especially as upgrades to the items customers use now.

Also, more emphasis is being put on teaching customers about the concentration of chemicals to use in cleaning solutions. According to Silverman, over-concentration of chemicals in a solution will actually make the cleaner less effective than the correct concentration.

New products that automatically dispense the correct amount of concentrate into a cleaning bucket are a growing source of revenue, as well. Customers save time by not having to measure and keep track of dilution tables, which are kept for reference in most janitorial closets. This kind of product can be sold separately or with orders for cleaner, she says.

Dermot Pelletier, general manager for Ro-Vic, Inc., of Manchester, Conn., is using a "back-to-basics" approach with his customers to focus on their basic needs and add services intelligently. Ro-Vic sells janitorial equipment and supplies, chemicals and safety equipment. The company offers flexible terms in contracts, allowing customers to choose items a la carte.

"Customers are more educated today and look for those items they specifically need. They expect to pick and choose, so if our new products and services make the value clear, they buy from us," he says.

The company's sales strategy for the last year, according to Pelletier, has been to target specific markets, then specific customers in those markets, and finally to tailor their approach to meet specific needs at the customer. The strategy helps employees find the customers most likely to buy, he says.

Ro-Vic has programs for vendor managed inventory, consignment and consolidated billing. "When we evaluate a customer plant we seek to understand their productivity, personnel levels and hours of operation. We teach new and better ways to utilize products," he says. "When we concentrate on this back-to-basics approach, we can sell despite the economy. It is true that in the last six months we have seen a pullback in larger equipment purchases, but it is starting to loosen a little now."

Among other things, Ro-Vic has found a new use for an old application for floor care. According to Pelletier, customers are saving a large amount of time and labor to strip and clean mineral floors by using diamond grinding and honing techniques with heavy scrubbing equipment. Large "auto-scrubbers" can polish marble and granite much faster than the slow machines normally used for the process, he says.

In short, finding new products and services to add to his company's repertoire will keep old customers happy and attract new business. Like so many distributors today, Ro-Vic is in the middle of changing computer systems to add faster and more accurate information to their knowledge base.

"Value for the price is an overriding concern today," he says. "All customers, no matter the size of their budget, want a piece of the value pie. The customer that sees we recognize his true needs and understand how to meet these needs will enter into value based, long term agreements. Ro-Vic continues to evolve and mature, to better present and support agreements that will keep our organization viable into the foreseeable future."