CONTRACTING
Cairns cleaners keep it eco-friendly A husband-and-wife team is using environmentally friendly products and services as a point of differentiation to put the heat on its rivals in tropical Cairns. Cameron Cooper reports. Living in the idyllic and sometimes leisurely far north that had been operating for more than a decade and had about Queensland city of Cairns – the gateway to the Great Barrier half a dozen employees when they took it over. Reef – you could forgive Abelia Cleaning owner Tony Carter for Within a short period they ramped up the client list and taking an easy-going approach to business. Not a chance. employed a workforce of more than 50 staff, before the With his wife and finance specialist Suzanne Homer, he has impact of the global financial crisis in 2008 led to the business been running a successful house and commercial cleaning stabilising at today’s staff numbers of 30 to 35 depending on business for the past 14 years and has actively embraced contract volumes. innovation in the form of environmentally friendly cleaning Abelia has a strong presence in the Cairns market, servicing products and services. a mixture of clients spanning the commercial, domestic and Abelia Cleaning has Level 2 ecoClean medical centre areas. Carter says the local accreditation and uses non-synthetic market is reasonably busy, although being biodegradable cleaning products wherever a tourism city Cairns can be an “up and “Being your own possible. In 2011, the business won down” economy. business you do the state-wide award for Excellence “But we’ve been lucky, probably because in Environmental Management in the we’ve been dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s, the hard yards. You ecoClean category as part of the Building so we’ve been able to keep the ball rolling.” Service Contractors Association of Tony and Suzanne have also resisted clean toilets and Australia (BSCAA) Queensland awards. any temptation to engage in a race to the mop floors. We It has continued to embrace green bottom on pricing in a market where some practices such as water and energyoperators seek to “undercut fiercely and decided that was saving cleaning methods and the efficient see what happens after that”. a really good way management of waste water, winning four “We have to make a living out of it,” he other ecoClean gongs in recent years as says. “We’ve got to keep staff working. to let staff see that well as a High Commendation for the So we try to maintain our structures and business last year. attract a good clientele. And because of our you’re not above Tony Carter says offering eco-cleaning product offering, we attract people who are what they’re doing.” services is very important for the willing to pay a fair price for a good job.” business. “It’s the future – having an environmentally sound practice.” Focus on staff and clients He adds the cleaning industry as a whole should get the message Treating staff well and ensuring that all penalty rates and across to operators and clients to welcome greener products and entitlements are paid has also paid off for Abelia Cleaning. While “not see them as something that’s going to cost them money”. there is a big backpacker presence in the retail and hospitality Practices such as the safe disposal of waste water, the reduction sectors in Cairns, Tony and Suzanne only employ permanent or of hazardous chemicals, energy conservation and recycling full time employees, and they do not subcontract as they believe simply make sense. such a practice only causes problems. “All of those things are important to all businesses,” Carter says. “We employ someone with the idea of keeping them. That’s what our customers prefer – they like to have the same cleaner Long and strong history week in, week out.” Tony and Suzanne decided to give up their jobs in hospitality and Paying attention to the particular requirements of clients bookkeeping, respectively, to buy Abelia Cleaning, a business has been the other component of Abelia Cleaning’s success in 20 INCLEAN September/October 2018