ForConstructionPros.com

Kevin and Viki Kroeger didn't want a turnaround situation when they bought into the sweeping industry in 1999; they wanted a successful company they could improve. By last year they had doubled the revenue, doubled the number of employees, and significantly increased the profit margin of DSS Sweeping Service, Dayton, OH.

"The company we bought was a good company in good shape, but it had kind of hit a plateau," says Kevin, president. "We installed some standard business systems, including job costing and employee management, that really had an impact."

Today DSS Sweeping Service, a certified woman-owned business with Viki as CEO, employs 16 people and operates five Nite-Hawk sweepers, three Tymco 210s, two Elgin AirCubs, an Elgin Eagle, a Sweeprite unit, and four Athey-Mobile sweepers. In 2006, 71% of sales were from parking lot sweeping, 15% from construction and street sweeping, and 14% from snow removal.

"Systems are important because they help you identify problems and can help permanently solve them," he says. "We try to identify the problem then solve it, not just throw resources at it and hope it goes away."

One of the first problems they tackled was employee management, instituting a system of team leaders.