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PROCHEM CASE STUDIESAll ship-shape at Rolling Stock Islands are ideal locations for truckmount cleaning businesses. Just ask Adam Bennett; he is about to order his third Prochem truckmount for his company, Rolling Stock. You have to fly or sail to find him first, though. Rolling Stock operates out of Palma, the capital of the Spanish island of Majorca, with plentiful accommodation for charter holidaymakers plus a major port for luxury charter yachts. And the boat business is Bennetts business. "Anything to do with boats really," says Adam "We provide a full service, ranging from chandlery to yacht painting. Cleaning is one of our more recent ventures and its a natural development." Adam, who hails originally from Nottingham, arrived on the island in 1986 as a 19-year old back-packer looking for work. His future business partners, Bernadette Tiltman and Mark Conyers were already newly employed on a yacht and Adam joined them. "That put the three of us together. We progressed further in the island yacht industry and worked on some of the Mediterraneans finest yachts," he says. Marriage to a Danish girl on the island put paid to Adams voyages. "I became shore-based and formed Rolling Stock with Bernie, Mark joining us later," says Adam. It was 1998. "We could see that the yacht business was a good one to be in so we started with a yacht painting service, specialising in luxury yachts," says Adam. "The next move was to buy Steamclean, an existing business, from a guy called John Stott, who had been trained and equipped in the UK with a Performer truckmount by Prochem. "John had just started the company. He was chief engineer on big yachts and in the first year it was just he and I doing all the work. Now, we have employees to service the business and John today runs another of our businesses in the duct cleaning market." Rolling Stocks cleaning division expanded rapidly, acquiring another truckmount a Legend, and moving into the hotels markets. Top of the range Prochem Galaxy and Polaris portable machines plus all Prochem chemicals are also used by the company now. "And weve got so much work, we are now going to buy our third Prochem truckmount," says Adam. "Its all gone daft!" Its not all down to sunstroke the truckmounts power and novelty played a role in growing the Rolling Stock business. "The Spanish have not seen equipment like this," explains Adam. "Majorca is a small island and in some ways a little behind technologically. Everybody says wow when they see the Prochem machinery in action the results are absolutely fantastic wherever they work." The Rolling Stock team counts 35 people; the cleaning division employs five and is busy recruiting - but not Brits. While some managers in Rolling Stock are English, most employees are Spanish. "We have no British people in the cleaning division," Adam says. "They are used to UK wages and usually have high living standards here to pay. At the end of the day, this is a Spanish company and we are in Spain, not Britain." Rolling Stock has moved into hard floor cleaning since Christmas: "marble, terracotta, vinyls, there is no shortage of hard floor areas on the island," says Adam. The company has three shops, with offices over one of these, while its service division operates from two large workshops with a fleet of 15 vehicles. "We still had a floor over a shop empty," says Adam. So the team - their spirit of adventure undiminished - headed off to Bali and bought a 40ft container of teak furniture. "Now weve got a furniture showroom," reflects Adam, adding, almost ruefully: "its also doing very well. Were about to order another container-load!" Sensing by now that every Cleaning Specialist reader must be packing his bags and heading for the airport, Adam cautions against hasty relocation. "We are settled here, have a good business, and do everything by the book. We have a specialisation in the yacht business because we know about yachts and the business behind them. Were there, but we have still made mistakes. "Most guys come here fresh: without any specialisation, usually under-capitalised and with little knowledge of Spain and how it works, especially the legal system. Property is very expensive, you have to get kids sorted out with schools, learn another language. Its an awful lot of work before you actually start any business! Another factor in Rolling Stock businesss successful move into cleaning is that the business is not seasonal. "We are always on the go holidays are a problem in that we cant take any!" Rolling Stock is embarking on a major advertising campaign in the yachting press, including one that goes to every large yacht owner in the world. Back on the island, a sales rep is visiting all the hotels, selling in the Rolling Stock service. Then there is the idea of expanding to Barcelona on the mainland. "We have already worked there, taking a truckmount on the ferry," says the indefatigable Adam. One thing is clear the partners of Rolling Stock are now even less likely to be enjoying what the island of Majorca offers the rest of us: a good holiday! Web watch www.rollingstock.es
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