Reliability Leads to Growth for Stripe-N-Sweep

By Allan Heydorn
Created: January 18, 2011

How relationship building, quality work, and smart management decisions helped Houston-based Stripe-N-Sweep grow despite a tough economy

The Stripe-N-Sweep crew (from left) Operator Larry Williams; Theo Walker; night supervisor; and operators Eddie Johnson, LiQuori Maryland, Emanuel Uzuegbunam, Eduardo Hernandez, Brian Thomas, Lewis...
The Stripe-N-Sweep crew (from left) Operator Larry Williams; Theo Walker; night supervisor; and operators Eddie Johnson, LiQuori Maryland, Emanuel Uzuegbunam, Eduardo Hernandez, Brian Thomas, Lewis Perkins and Leslie Armstrong. Not pictured are Theoran Walker and Eugene Johnson.
The dashed blue lines indicate where Stripe-N-Sweep's operator was on this particuolar parking lot on a particular date.
The dashed blue lines indicate where Stripe-N-Sweep's operator was on this particuolar parking lot on a particular date.
Les and Diane’s daughter, Becky Rocha, runs the office, handling a variety of inside work including web design and updating, and she designed the company’s new logos as well.
Les and Diane’s daughter, Becky Rocha, runs the office, handling a variety of inside work including web design and updating, and she designed the company’s new logos as well.
Despite the economic recession Les and Diane Armstrong have overseen three years of growth in their 25-year-old sweeping business.
Despite the economic recession Les and Diane Armstrong have overseen three years of growth in their 25-year-old sweeping business.
Stripe-N-Sweep's GPS provider shows this overview of all its sweeping routes on a given night -- in this case the llightest night of the week.
Stripe-N-Sweep's GPS provider shows this overview of all its sweeping routes on a given night -- in this case the llightest night of the week.
Stripe-N-Sweep added one or two Masco sweepers a year in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 until they reach the current total of nine. “Then we started rotating old trucks for new trucks, replacing...
Stripe-N-Sweep added one or two Masco sweepers a year in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 until they reach the current total of nine. “Then we started rotating old trucks for new trucks, replacing them to help maintain productivity and job quality as the units wore down,” Les Armstrong says.

Les says operators first thought the GPS was going to be a tool to fire them. “But as I explained to them many times it is a multi-purpose tool to help us keep track of where the vehicle is at night. It helps in case the vehicle is stolen, which thankfully has never happened, and it can help us figure out if a driver on a particular area is going the most direct route from one center to another center. We can show a driver on a map that another route is shorter. It’s a good training tool,” he says.

Les says that in its original package the GPS plan had a door censor, which Armstrong wasn’t interested in, so he asked if they could move the censor to the ignition switch on the sweeping unit so they could tell when the sweeper is running and they were able to do that.

“That’s been especially useful for the gas excise tax refund,” Diane says. “It helps track usage of rear engine on the truck.”

Employee Leasing: “One of the best things we’ve done”

Another step Stripe-N-Sweep took to improve and ease overall management, keep costs down, and improve cash flow was turning to employee leasing, which Diane says the contractor learned about at a National Pavement Expo show.

“Employee leasing is truly one of the best things we’ve done for our business over the years,” Diane says. “That gave us a way to get us out from under some of the work and helped put us on the path we’re on.”

She says the company contracted with its first employee leasing firm in the early 1990s and the current firm, Employers Resource, has helped in numerous areas, including workers’ comp insurance.

“Before we hired Employers Resource the company had very high workers compensation premiums that rose significantly each year. But once we went with Employers Resource it really dropped the rate we were paying for workers comp,” she says. “Now we write one check a month and that’s it, they handle everything else.”

She says the employee leasing company also has a Human Resources department so many HR questions are often referred to them or at least the department can offer guidance.

“It’s very, very helpful and I’d highly recommend it for a small business of any kind,” Diane says.