JohnsonDiversey, Inc., a provider of commercial cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions, is changing its name to Diversey, Inc., and JohnsonDiversey Holdings, Inc. is changing its name to Diversey Holdings, Inc., both effective immediately.

The corporation’s operating companies are also changing their legal names to reference Diversey, a name that extends back to 1923, with the formation of Diversey Corp. in Chicago. It eventually became known as DiverseyLever, and in 2002, Johnson Wax Professional acquired the company from Unilever NV. The combined company was known as JohnsonDiversey, Inc. until this name change.

Concurrent with the name change, the $3 billion-a-year company is adopting a new corporate identity, branding and tagline, “for a cleaner, healthier future.”

“Today represents an important milestone in the history of our company,” said S. Curtis Johnson, Diversey’s chairman. “Our new identity and tagline captures our people’s passion for helping to make our world cleaner, healthier and safer for future generations.”

Diversey President and CEO Ed Lonergan added, “Simplifying our name to Diversey and adopting a meaningful, unified global brand image derives from our commitment to provide our customers and their employees with superior and sustainable cleaning, sanitizing and hygiene solutions. Our new brand strengthens our ability to communicate the benefits of our high quality products and services.”

The corporation’s new name and brand are captured in a new logo that includes the Diversey name and a stylized water lily— a reflection of the company’s heritage of environmental leadership. The bright, clean and contemporary qualities of the new mark connote the spirit of the brand.

In selected applications, the logo appears with the new tagline “for a cleaner, healthier future,” further strengthening the message of the company’s purpose. The new logo and tagline are two elements of a broader rebranding of the organization that will touch every piece of communication worldwide.

Diversey’s new identity, branding and tagline will be introduced in a phased approach over the next two years. Diversey will showcase its new brand at upcoming industry shows and customer events, including the largest trade show for the cleaning and sanitation industry, ISSA Interclean, to be held April 26-29 in Amsterdam.

Diversey will also host a daylong summit on climate change for its customers and business partners just prior to Interclean, a further demonstration of its concern for sustainability and environmental issues.

To learn more, visit www.diversey.com.

Ecolab 4Q Profits Increase 45 Percent

Pricing, cost-savings actions and favorable raw material comparisons helped Ecolab Inc. to record sales and a 45 percent increase in profits in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The provider of cleaning, sanitizing, food safety and infection prevention products and services reports a fourth quarter profit of $116 million, or 48 cents a share, on sales of $1.6 billion, compared to a profit of $80 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $1.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Net sales increased 5 percent in the quarter; but measured in fixed currencies sales rose 2 percent, and excluding the impact of a change in distributor incentive programs and acquisitions and divestitures, fixed currency sales increased 1 percent.

Fourth quarter 2009 sales for Ecolab’s U.S. Cleaning & Sanitizing operations rose 4 percent to $676 million, led by double-digit gains from Kay and Healthcare. Ecolab’s U.S. Cleaning & Sanitizing operating income rose 29 percent to $125 million.

U.S. Other Services sales declined 3 percent to $109 million in the fourth quarter. However, operating income increased 14 percent to $16 million.

Sales of Ecolab’s International operations, when measured in fixed currencies, rose 1 percent to $701 million in the fourth quarter. Canada and Asia Pacific enjoyed strong sales growth. Fixed currency operating income increased 5 percent to $64 million. When measured at public currency rates, International sales increased 8 percent and operating income grew 13 percent. Currency translation had a favorable impact on net income growth of approximately $3 million for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Ecolab reacquired 1.2 million shares of its common stock during the fourth quarter under its share repurchase program.

“We are proud of our accomplishments 6 Building in 2009,” said Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab’s chairman, president and CEO. “The severe global recession had a significant impact on our foodservice and hospitality markets and customers, and made it one of the toughest years in memory for all of us. We took aggressive actions in response, working closely with our customers to provide them with effective cost-saving solutions for their cleaning and sanitizing needs, driving hard to win new accounts, reducing our costs and streamlining our processes.

“While we do not expect a significant rebound in our end markets in 2010, we have seen a clear bottoming. We have moved fully onto offense and will drive to achieve superior results for our customers and shareholders. We are focused on delivering double-digit earnings per share growth in 2010.”

The company has assets of $5 billion, and liabilities of $3 billion.

CRI Expands SOA Program

The Carpet and Rug Institute has expanded its Seal of Approval testing and certification program by adding two new testing categories and expanding the existing extractors and deep-cleaning systems testing programs.

Introductions to the program include a new Pet Odor and Stain Category, a Platinum Level for Extractors and Systems, and an Energy Efficiency Rating Option for Vacuums.

A new pet odor and stain category has been added to the Seal of Approval Solutions program, joining the existing spot remover, pre-spray and in-tank solutions testing categories. The new protocol will test products marketed specifically for pet stain and odor removal on their ability to remove tracked-in dirt, urine, feces and vomit stains and related odors.

As with the other SOA Solutions testing platforms, water is the benchmark against which products are tested. For malodors, trained personnel test multiple samples of each pet stain and odor product, using a program developed by General Motors to test the odors of various components in automobile interiors.

On a scale of one to 10, where 10 is odorless and one is “intolerable” odor, Asbury says a product must score “three levels better than plain water” in order to pass the testing.

“There is extreme demand in the marketplace for these kinds of products,” said CRI President Werner Braun. “Having three pets of my own at home, I appreciate the value of a product that works.”

Another enhancement to the Seal of Approval program is the addition of the Platinum Level of performance for the Extractors and Deep-Cleaning Systems programs. The Platinum level is reserved for the equipment or equipment plus cleaning solution combinations that remove ninety percent or more of available soil.

Carey Mitchell, chairman of CRI’s Cleaning and Maintenance Issues Management Team and Director of Technical Services for Shaw Industries, said the platinum level was added to recognize superlative performance. “The Seal of Approval program encourages improvement,” Mitchell said. “When we have companies that have re-engineered their products and equipment and we see these kinds of results, that’s what the Seal of Approval, is all about.”

The Energy Efficiency Rating for Vacuums option for the SOA Vacuum testing program came about in response to a major retailer’s interest in labeling its vendors’ vacuums according to their energy efficiency.

The new energy testing evaluates a vacuum’s energy use in relation to its cleaning effectiveness, and can be performed as an optional test or as part of the regular Seal of Approval vacuum testing.

Asbury noted that, for large commercial operations like hotel chains, office complexes and conference centers, switching from low-efficiency to high efficiency vacuums would significantly lower energy consumption per each vacuum used, resulting in substantial cost savings over the course of a year. CRI President Braun says he expects testing under the new energy program will begin in the very near future, possibly in the next two to three weeks.

Visit www.carpet-rug.org for more information.

BCC Calls Hospital’s Poor Care and Hygiene a Local Failure

The British Cleaning Council has reacted to a British government inquiry outlining the failings of hospital care in Mid Staffordshire, which found that the hospital had routinely cutback on cleaning and provided a substandard level of service as it focused on hitting government targets.

The inquiry criticized the poor hygiene standards as patients contracted C. difficile infection. Patients were routinely neglected or left “sobbing and humiliated” by staff at an NHS trust where at least 400 deaths have been linked to appalling care.

Published reports says that staff shortages at Stafford Hospital meant that patients went unwashed for weeks, were left without food or drink and were even unable to get to the lavatory. Some lay in soiled sheets that relatives had to take home to wash; others developed infections or had falls, occasionally fatal.

The report, which follows reviews by the Care Quality Commission and the Department of Health, said that “unimaginable” suffering had been caused. Regulators said last year between 400 and 1,200 more patients than expected might have died at the hospital from 2005 to 2008.

Andy Burnham, the British Health secretary, said there could be “no excuses” for the failures and added that the board that presided over the scandal had been replaced. An undisclosed number of doctors and at least one nurse were being investigated.

“This report has uncovered a fundamental failure by the hospital to ensure patients received the standard of cleanliness and hygiene they need,” said Steve Wright, chairman of the British Cleaning Council. “While this was ultimately a local failure, it is vital that steps are taken to ensure that it is not allowed to happen again. Although the events were unacceptable, they do not reflect the efforts of the thousands of cleaners who work in the healthcare sector and serve with dedication and professionalism as they strive to reduce hospital acquired infections.”

The Care Quality Commission, which led the inquiry, said Mid Staffordshire was now safe to provide hospital services, but confirmed that it intended to place conditions on its registrations to ensure standards were met.

Andrew Large, chief executive of the Cleaning and Support Services Association, said, “The conditions evidenced in this report are deeply distressing and totally unacceptable. There is no excuse for the willfully poor hygiene standards provided by this trust, and NHS patients deserve better.”

Building Services Management Publishes 100th Issue

This is the 100th issue of Building Services Management magazine, which began covering the commercial cleaning and maintenance industry in December 2001.

Published by OTI Communications Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., BSM now has a circulation of 30,000 professionals who service commercial, industrial and institutional buildings across the country.

"BSM is a reflection of the ever-changing trends in the building services industry, the economy, and culture at large,” said publisher Ian Greenspan. “Matched by our growth over the past eight years is our continued commitment to provide our readers with information they need to maintain their facilities as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Debuted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, our first issue included accounts of the heroic efforts of victims of that infamous day, as well as the devastating financial and emotional effects the attacks had on this industry and society at large.

The attacks “unleashed new and unpredictable forces that have substantially raised the risk of a global downturn,” we quoted the World Bank as saying. That downturn could be seen in the building services industry at the time.

ABM, which had serviced the World Trade Center, lost nearly $100 million in revenues, which took years to recover through insurance claims. Kimberly-Clark Corp. said the attacks caused a $15 to $20 million drop in sales to hotels and office buildings, and Ecolab said the extraordinary events would present a challenge to earnings for the remainder of that fiscal year.

That first issue also carried features about the slip and fall prevention efforts of companies like Johnson Wax Professional, and this issue has a new item of the company’s second name change since then. It also includes another financial report form Ecolab, and more detailed information about caring for and repairing stone floors.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” said editor Chris Sanford, who with Greenspan launched the magazine. “Green cleaning is a major new trend and Johnson Wax Professional is now called Diversey (see page 6), but the economy is again struggling through a difficult time, and our readers still need information on improving their productivity. We hope to still be a reflection of such things in the future.”

OTI also publishes Facility Safety Management for the occupational safety and health industry. Greenspan said he and the company are grateful to its readers, contributors and advertisers who have made the success of the past eight years possible.

“Going forward, we hope that we can be as integral to their success as they have been to ours. Thank you.”

State Audit Blasts School for Janitorial Purchasing

An Oklahoma state audit into purchasing practices at one Tulsa County school district has revealed the school paid an average commission of 63 cents for every dollar spent on janitorial supplies, prompting the suspension of the school’s superintendent.

From July 1, 2004 through December 31, 2009, the Skiatook Public Schools superintendent utilized a “middleman” to purchase janitorial supplies and security systems the school could have purchased directly.

As a result, the school board suspended Superintendent Gary Johnson with full pay and benefits.

The move came a week after the veteran superintendent was called out in a state audit that detailed the district’s overpayment of more than half a million dollars for supplies over several years.

According to the audit, the school paid prices that were marked up from 100 percent to more than 450 percent over typical retail prices. Had the school purchased the items directly from the suppliers, it could have saved more than $564,000.

“You really have to scratch your head over why you would do this,” said State Auditor Steve Burrage. “This case falls right along the same lines of the investigation years ago that uncovered the horror stories of the federal government paying $750 for toilet seats and $695 for ashtrays.”

Skiatook Schools would fax an order to E&E Sales, which then relayed the order to an actual supplier with instructions to drop ship the items to the district. Realistically, Skiatook Schools could have faxed the order directly to the supplier and cut E&E Sales completely out of the transaction.

“By using this process, the school was paying $60 for an $11 trash can,” Burrage said. “Amazingly, the district paid $540 for three mop heads valued at $13.50. It happened because no one shopped for good pricing or compared the delivery tickets from the supplier to the invoices from E&E.” The actual supplier’s delivery tickets reflected its cost for each item and the order total. A quick comparison with the corresponding E&E Sales invoice would have easily identified the inflated prices the school was paying.

The school also failed to verify it received everything billed on an invoice before the school paid it. In one instance, the school had actually ordered three cases of mop heads but only received a total of three mop heads. The school paid the invoice for the three cases of mop heads. Superintendent Johnson, who also served as the purchasing agent, did not exercise any cost comparison steps in his purchasing practices and did not implement internal controls to verify that products ordered were actually received.

SCA Names VP Human Resources

SCA Tissue North America has promoted James Carmichael to the position of Vice President, Human Resources.

Carmichael, who will be based in Philadelphia, will oversee the company’s Human Resources teams and drive its programs and policies covering benefits, compensation, performance management, employee services, safety and labor relations.

Carmichael joined SCA Tissue in 2008 as Director of Employee Relations. “Jim brings three decades of valuable Human Resources, labor relations and paper industry experience to his new role. Over the past year, he has managed our progressive and positive relationship with the United Steel Workers, and he will continue to lead and remain closely involved with our labor relations activities,” said Don Lewis, SCA Tissue president.

Carmichael’s expertise includes labor and employment law and labor and human resources management. Before joining SCA Tissue, he held senior leadership roles at Greif Packaging, Westvaco, Georgia-Pacific and Smurfit-Stone.

He earned a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School and a graduate degree from Duke University.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, SCA Tissue is one of the three largest producers of Away From Home tissue products in North America.