Ryan Demar of Tennant Floor Care Equipment- Coming Out Of A Pandemic

Robotic Cleaning Machines with Ryan Demar

In this episode, Jerry Bauer, podcast host and the Account Manager of ChemStation, talks with Ryan Demar, Factory Direct Account Manager at Tennant Company, a recognized leader of the cleaning industry. Tennant is passionate about developing innovative and sustainable solutions that help customers clean more spaces more effectively, addressing indoor and outdoor cleaning challenges. Products include equipment for maintaining surfaces in industrial, commercial, and outdoor surfaces.

 Ryan talks about the fastest-growing markets in the cleaning industry, how the robotics cleaning machines came to life, how they work, the number of times they clean floors, and the robotic rental program. He also shares some insights on the effects of Covid-19 on the company and the future of cleaners. Tune in to learn more on this and other exciting topics!

Timestamps

[01:18] About Ryan Demar

[02:00] The fastest-growing cleaning markets today

[03:03] How long has robotics been out?

[04:52] How the robotic cleaning machine works 

[06:16] The number of times robots clean floors

[07:54] The robot rental program

[10:30] The effects of Covid-19 on the company

[14:01] The future of cleaners

[15:34] The equipments that use little chemicals

Notable quotes

●     “When you first teach a robot how to clean the environment, that is going to be in, you will have to interact with it.”

●     “The minimum time for a robot to clean a warehouse is once a week.”

●     “All technologies have to be the right fit. A screwdriver is a great tool but you cannot use it to nail.”

●     “You cannot use water to clean surfaces with water insoluble materials like grease and animal fat.”

 Resources
Tennantco.com

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Jerry Bauer
Hospitality Cleaning 101
Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com

Transcript

Ryan Demar Of Tennant Floor Care Equipment Company

www.tennantco.com

Jerry:  Ryan, how are you doing? 

Ryan: Good, Jerry. Thanks for having me.

Jerry: Thanks for joining me today. And we spoke for a couple of minutes before, and we have met before and not in person. And of course, we're on a virtual call today.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself as well as the company you work for?

Ryan: Sure. I represent Tennant Company. I'm one of the industrial AMs. I handle a territory, basically Worcester to Boston South Shore. I deal with all the dirty mean nasty places out there that need to be cleaned. So, manufacturers, parking, distribution, warehouses, logistics, things of that nature.

And then we have a secondary channel that handles kind of all the commercial things. So, a lot of the places you touched upon you know, hospitality, professional buildings, residential like hospitals, stuff like that. 

Jerry: So, I was on your website, which I will give the people the address afterward. It’s just full of information. 

Which market is the fastest growing today Industrial or which items are the fastest growing today?

Ryan: Sure. So, it's kind of interesting. And I'll give you a kind of few points to the answer here. On the Industrial side, we enjoy roughly 50-56% of the market in the U S market share right now, and we have since the beginning of time, cause we kind of started the industry 151 years ago. 

The commercial side hadn't been as large of a focus and so that has been a growth sector for a while. But really what we're seeing now is with this kind of topsy-turvy world that we've all found ourselves in over the past few years, things have changed and there's been such a prevalence in e-commerce that on the industrial side, warehousing logistics are just through the roof.

You know, everyone has a new Amazon building in their backyard, but there's also all the pull-through business that comes from that as well. And all we’ll say is replicants are companies that are trying to do the same thing. So, on the industrial side, it's that e-commerce warehousing and logistics area.

And then commercial, in general, has just grown exponentially. And that's largely been pushed by our robotic innovations as we are the leader in robotics. At this point with more units, more ground cover, more hours captured than anyone else in the industry. Despite the fact that we weren't first to market.

Jerry: How long has robotics been out? Because I was on your site today, and I, saw the robotic, what I would call ride on it still has the seat and stuff like that. So I imagine it's interchangeable somewhat, but how long has that totally been out? 

Ryan: Yeah, there are two things there. I would say robotics really hit the scene, especially for us, in 2019, as far as a real solid offering.

That was the first year that we had launched our initial platform, which is a commercial kind of crossover scrubber in a robotic version. We expected it to be popular, we just didn't know how big of a hit it would be. We expected maybe a production run of 200, 250 units, give or take. Then the first order that came in, I think was a little over 2000 units or so. 

Jerry: Wow. 

Ryan: So, you know, there was a number of years prior to that of getting to that point where that unit was ready to go. But that kind of changed everything on its ear. And we quickly developed two more units, one on the industrial side, which is the only industrial scrubbing robot in the world right now.

And then a secondary ground-up a platform that was for smaller spaces to kind of bookend that initial offering that we had in the T seven AMR. 

Jerry: So, I assume, and I'm just by looking at them, maybe it's not the proper word, but I would think that most people don't know are they considered like hybrids where you can go either way with them because occasionally a rider going to have to jump on it to park it or something like.

Ryan: No, it’s a good question. So, there's a term that's come out that, that we like to throw around a lot. That they're what we consider COBA. So, the idea is at least as of right now, things are always evolving, but the idea is it's a teacher repeat system.

So, when you first teach the robot, how to clean the environment that it's going to be in, it requires interaction from a user., But also there are lots of times where things happen and then take a grocery store, for example. They may clean, you know, twice a day, the entire facility. But how often does something spill, drop, get sticky, whatever and there's a small patch of the area that must be cleaned. You don't want to run an entire route for a cleaning robot to get, you know, a five-foot radius.  So, there are plenty of opportunities to use both in manual, as well as you know autonomous mode. We generally try to get clients to like an 80-20 or an 85-15 of the time being autonomous and then the 20 or 15% for all you know other things that pop up.

Jerry: Right Now, I've been in a share of industrial warehouse facilities in each one I guess is a little different. But how often do they clean their floors? Is each place different? Because of course, I see some that look like they've cleaned them like last fall.

And then you see others where, you know, they definitely do it daily. Is there anything normal? I'm not talking. a manufacturing facility, but just more of a warehouse, how often should they be cleaning their floors? 

Ryan:  So, I, I almost look at that as two questions. How often do they, and how often should they? 

Jerry: Correct?

Ryan:  It's going to run the gamut and your observation about last fall is not a faulty one. I occasionally will talk to folks that think that quarterly rentals are sufficient to clean a warehouse and it simply isn't. And there are health, and safety reasons. And then just bottom line, dollar reasons as to why that is.

But most places that I'm working with are minimum, absolute minimum are cleaning once a week. The majority I would say are cleaning on every other day or daily basis. Today there are more and more site visits of customers that are coming in and want to kind of see what's going on. There's more and more emphasis on employee safety.

There's more realization that you know it's only dust, but it affects downstream HVA system, HPAC systems, radiators on four trucks and pallet jacks, additional maintenance on wheels and pallet jacks. There are all these kinds of downstream, identifiable things that happen if you're not cleaning correctly.

Jerry Right. So, I realize it's all different, but you brought up a point that I did see on your website. Do have a rental program on then as well?

Ryan: So yes and no. We do in certain geographics. So, we do have a rental near our manufacturing plant, which is a Minneapolis. 

Jerry: Okay.

Ryan: Outside of Minneapolis. So that kind of geography does. The rest of the country. we work with basically all the biggest rental houses, and they are all set. We're seeing more and more of them open solution centers. And fortunately, we have the lion's share of that business of those placements. So, we have a handful of partners all around the country.

There's, you know there are two right here, two solution centers between Worcester and Boston South that have a slew of our products available. 

Jerry Makes sense. 

It's the company you're selling it to the person who rents it and let them do their thing within stopped like that. you have different service trucks out in the area as well. 

Ryan: We do again in my geographic again, that relatively small spit of the world between Worchester and Boston we have eight trucks on the road that are servicing our customers. They go on site, and I'll point out, we're the only manufacturer in the world that does factory-direct service. Everyone else is through a distribution channel or ship it to some center somewhere. So with us, it's just a totally different level of service.

It goes back to why we control so much. We just offer something no one else does and service is a massive portion of that offering. 

Jerry: It does differentiate you from many others because I know that's extremely important. I've worked where I did a lot of floor care of what I guess you'd call the commercial area though.

The side-by-side used in the nursing home, where we put are applying the stripper and the wax and when that the piece of equipment down just throws everything off. It throws the floors, the maintenance off, and then you always hear these nightmares. Well, I've got to go to this person to go to this person. they go to this person to get that 50-cent part. You know, there's has to be a better way. So having eight trucks out in a, what I consider a small geographic region, it's large in many ways, but you know, in, in the relationship in all New England, wow, that's more than impressive.

Ryan:  Yeah, we, again, we have, we have a massive footprint. We are, we're fortunate to have a lot of, you know, excellent customers. But they also are demanding, so we need to be there for them. And that's, what's required. I wouldn't be surprised if, in the next couple of years, we see another truck or two added to the area, to be honest with you. 

Jerry: Now how have you been, it's a twofold question. How have you been in the company been affected through COVID what are the biggest things that have changed?

Ryan: Nothing at all. No, I'm kidding. It's I mean, there’s all the obvious and universal ones that people are dealing with, you know, lifestyle disruptions, virtual walk-throughs looking for new ways to connect with clients off-site financial department. So, there's a disconnect in getting things through and over the finish line.

Labor shortages, disruption to supply chain. You name it, we've seen it.  I'd like to think we've done a very nice job at navigating. It. There are a bunch of things that we have done. I'm happy to say throughout this entire time, we, experienced really no layoffs. We had plenty of work to sustain us.

But what we've seen recently last year till now, is an incredibly massive uptick in lead times, which is partially labor and supply chain, but also massive demand. 2021 we've already seen. And it's kind of all on all metrics, not only demand but calls in service call in a parts order. Everything is a clip, the 2019 numbers.

So, we came back quickly, and now we're just trying to you know, to row as fast as we can to stay ahead of the wave.  

Jerry: Right. I have not tried it yet, but you have actually done a virtual walkthrough where someone's holding a camera or holding a phone and taking you through their facility.

Ryan: I have done it a few times. The first one I had to do was in March of 2021. As you know, this area of the country, Boston specifically shut down very quickly. 

Jerry: Correct. 

Ryan: So I had a client that was in kind of dire need. They knew they needed a solution. They identified it as a strategic point that had to be addressed for that.

And then all of a sudden, nobody could come in. So we had to kind of tow the line. So yeah, we did a virtual conversation, virtual walkthrough, FaceTime’s, and amazing thing. We were just, you know, phone to phone and he kind of walked around his facility. He was the president of the company, believe it or not, the walked and walked me around, and that's that.

Jerry: We actually sold the customer during COVID with photographs.

Didn't do the actual iPhone or anything like that, where it was a walkthrough. Sold the account, and then it came down to the day we had to install. The service man-manager arrived, the delivery man arrived with the chemicals and stuff like that. Then I arrived because I was trying to oversee it.

The general manager of a large brewery came out and met us all. and he said the service guy can come in. The delivery guy comes in. It's been great meeting you here in the parking lot, but you cannot come in. So yeah, there were still places that. Because we deal with different food facilities that manufacture they just don't want you on property.

Ryan: Yeah. I actually had a similar experience where I was doing an onsite demo of a machine and I had to meet the facilities director in the parking lot. Give him a hands-on demo of a walk behind sweeper that was to be used inside his liquor distributor. 

Jerry: Wow. 

Ryan: So that he could then bring it into the building and then I had to leave and then come back to pick it up at once they were done with it. That was kind of a first for me to

Jerry: Identical situation.

So, my next question is because of the pandemic and Covid, and as we hopefully are coming out of it. With your customers, as well as your prospects. how big of an effort do you see on being cleaner.

Ryan: I'm seeing it in a couple of different ways. One on the part of the influx of calls that we're getting are people that have kind of neglected that area for a while. They've had an older machine; they know they need to upgrade, they want to redo that program or revitalize it. They think starting with a new machine for the guys or the gals that are running it is going to be helpful. But another thing that we're starting to see, I personally have seen more first-time buyers to the market. I had a client that I met with, I can now say a client because he recently has acquired a new walk-behind for his auto shop.

But this gentleman was in his mid-sixties. His father had owned a cleaning company like 30, 40 years ago or something and had used Tenants back then. This particular gentleman had never had a scrubber for his shop and decided that now, you know, with a renewed focus on things, he built a new building that he had to do it.

And he said, the only thing he would buy would be a Tenant because of his father's relationship. But it was kind of funny that there was like that 30- or 40-year gap where his father literally cleaned buildings. So, this individual understood the value of it but didn't get there until now something pushed him over the edge.

And I feel like that is happening a lot that there are people that may have thought about it, but always kind of pushed it down, the totem pole or did it make it an area of focus. And now you have people there that can't help but have to address it.

Jerry: So. now, one of my final questions is because I am in the chemical industry.

I noticed on your website, there's different equipment that you sell, that you really reduce chemical or use very little. Is that something fairly new? I mean, or do those that work well for you? 

Ryan: Honestly it works excellent, but like all technologies, it has to be the right fit and you know, a screwdriver is a great tool. 

But you're not going to use it to nail in a nail. Same idea with our ECH H2O technology. It is a technology that we patented. We're the only ones in the world with it and it uses only water to clean floors, clean surfaces work very well. However, because it is only using water. It's not sufficient for a certain application.

So, things that are not water-soluble. So, if there's a facility that has heavy in grease, clean like fluid animal fats are sites that you can't use that, or you would use it depending on the layout of the facility and how pervasive those things are in the facility. You may use, what's called our severe environment option that couples with that ECH tool, which allows for onboard chemical and ECH duo with one toggle of a button, the machine will automatically turn off the and start to dispense the concentrated chemical into a really dirty area for anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes at a clip.

And then we'll cycle back, so it can kind of help in these areas that have that but aren't filled with it. But if you're working with a 70,000 square foot machine shop, that's cutting oil left and right. It's not the right solution,

Jerry: Right- Yeah. It probably would work very well in many warehouses where they're not manufacturing in.

Ryan: It does for sure. You know, any sort of dirt and grind that isn't those petroleum-based products or animal fats. It works quite well in, and there are a lot of industries that favor it because you get far longer run times out of it. A tank of water using ECH dwell versus conventions.

ECH tool machine will run two to three times as long, which means fewer empties and refills, less downtime, less loss of productivity. It uses 70% less water. So, when we start to talk about lean lead certification, green sustainability stuff, like. It's part of the conversation, but again, it must be in the right environment, the right application.

So, when it works, it works awesome. And when it doesn't, we are very upfront about steering clients in a different way. And that's actually part of how I came to meet you. Folks at ChemStation station were looking for a solution to couple with our machines. When ECSU isn't a fit. 

Jerry: Well, we respect and appreciate the support you've given us, and I hope to make it more mutual as we go through this beginning of the new year, the last two years has been very unusual for both of us.

How would people try to get a hold of you in the future? I know that you are just in a geographic region, but at the end of this or my notes, I'll put down your website. Do you mind going in and giving a phone number or an email that somebody wants to reach out to you directly from New England?

Ryan: Yeah, absolutely. And, and despite the fact that I cover particular geography, I have helped clients as far as let's see, we were in some near Washington, not too long ago, I was helping out a counterpart of mine and we do cover the whole of North America let alone the United States with guys like me.

So, I quarterbacked a bunch of those scenarios, not a problem at all. 

Jerry: We both worked for nationwide companies, and you have to do it because the person you're helping here moves six months and it works back and forth. You must work outside your geographic, regional to assist.

So how would people reach out to? 

Ryan: So, if you want to get me directly, the best is my cell phone, which is (781) 941-4415. 

You can always reach me on my email which is just Ryan.demar@tenantco.com, or you can go straight to our website. You can click on a machine or you can just say request and follow request demo, whatever it may be.

You just put in your contact info, the desired number, where your business is located, and it'll get routed to the appropriate person. I actually had an experience with that which one of the major higher ed universities in Boston earlier this week, the gentleman entered in a request for contact on our website. I got, called him, he told me he had answered it in five minutes earlier. So, we try to respond to those quite quickly. 

Jerry:I appreciate this very much. at the end of this, afterward, people will listen and get in show notes. The information you've given me, and I hope you have a great day and a great weekend coming up and continue to stay safe.

Thanks for having me, Jerry. All right, take care. Thank you. Bye now.

Jerry: Thank you, Ryan, for joining Jerry today and we wish to thank you the listener. If you like the information we are sharing here, please subscribe, like, and share. The opinions shared on this podcast are Jerry's and he [00:20:00] will be responsible for them.  

If you have any questions, ideas or comments or would like to become a guest, please send an email to Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com.