Mercedes-Benz Vans Owners' Spotlight Case Study 1

ABSOLUTE INTERIOR Come fire or high water Absolute Interior responds to some of the worst nightmares for home and business owners – floods and fires. And those nightmares require a prompt response from owner Aldi Cibuku and his team, to restore damaged property and get people’s lives back on track as quickly as possible. To do this, Cibuku relies on a fleet of 10 Sprinters and a Metris to get equipment and crew swiftly and safely to damaged locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Starting out as a small carpet cleaning business, Cibuku kept doing heavier-duty jobs to keep up with customer demand, building up to the complete reconstruction of homes and buildings. Today, Cibuku has firmly established his company as a trusted restoration and renovations business, servicing both residential and commercial buildings.

But fires and floods abide by their own schedules, so Absolute Interior works around the clock. When it’s the dead of winter, and a main pipe bursts in Toronto’s core, Cibuku’s crew needs to get to the job, and fast. “When we

get the call, we have to respond within the hour, and we have had problems in the past, especially in Canadian winters, when trucks won’t start. Ever since we got the Sprinter, we’ve never had that problem,” explains Cibuku.

Not only is the schedule demanding, but so are the work environments – city traffic, tight parking spots, and lowhanging garages. As soon as the Metris became available in Canada, Cibuku jumped at the opportunity, “We service the condominium industry and parking is a big issue in the city, and there’s ample underground parking – the

Metris helps us out with that.” Thanks to the Metris cargo van’s mid-size, Cibuku’s drivers can fit into underground parking, allowing them to respond to emergencies in any city space.

devastating.” And responding to an entire flooded building requires a large amount of industrial equipment –demands that are perfectly matched to the Sprinter and Metris. “We can fit about 80 air-movers in one Sprinter extended cab, and about 60 humidifiers,” explains Cibuku.

Absolute Interior’s fleet is not only out-manoeuvering constraints on time and space, but also business costs.

Gordon has seen substantial savings since switching from domestic vehicles to Mercedes-Benz vans. “We’re looking at half the cost in fuel alone. With so many vehicles on the road, it’s a big impact on the business financials,” explains Gordon.

Emergencies such as an entire floor of a 120-unit building submerged in water, resulting in dramatic damage to all units. General Manager Lorraine Gordon describes the scene, “When you see that in person, it’s scary. To actually see water flowing into 120 people’s homes, it’s pretty

For Absolute Interior, the Mercedes-Benz brand is not only a symbol of quality, but one of safety and trustworthiness for their customers, especially when having to enter homes under sensitive or stressful circumstances. According to Gordon, “Our branding, along with the vans, shows we’re a professional and established company – it’s giving that security to homeowners.”

Responding to fire and water emergencies across the Greater Toronto Area, Aldi Cibuku and his Absolute Interior team cover a lot of ground. When the call comes in, they depend on Mercedes-Benz Sprinters and the mid-size Metris to get them there. See how we’re helping them go further at FuellingBusiness.ca.