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Figuring it out

Sweeping contractor profile

Dave Fisher, Hannah Smith, Tom Kuhns, and Lesa Kuhns (from left) with Capitol Sweeping Services' new infrared repair machine, the contractor's next step in bringing services in-house to help stabilize cash flow, keep employees busy, and become even more essential to its customers.

Capitol Sweeping Services sweeps up to 100 parking lots each night, using between nine and 11 parking lot sweepers depending on the night from a mix of 16 vacuum units made by Elgin, Nite-Hawk, Schwarze Industries, and Tymco. Seven Mobile mechanical sweepers perform construction and street sweeping.

While relying heavily on word-of-mouth advertising, Capitol Sweeping Services does what it can to foster those positive feelings, attending and exhibiting at area trade shows, using direct-mail and fax advertising (to an extensive database developed over 20 years), and experimenting with two TV ads on the local FOX 61 station.

Tom Kuhns says Capitol Sweeping believes in visibility, so equipment is "number one." It gets painted on an as-needed basis and each vehicle is outfitted with bright yellow Capitol Sweeping decals. "We really brand ourselves with our logos on our trucks and with all our trucks on the road,� he says. �We do it for the same reason UPS paints all its trucks that ugly brown: It works."

In each of the two years since Capitol Sweeping brought catch basin cleaning in-house the contractor has cleaned more than 13,000 catch basins each year � roughly 11,000 on roads with the balance in parking lots. "Every customer is just getting on board with catch basins and many of them don't even know they're supposed to be cleaning these things," says Tom Kuhns.

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The story of Capitol Sweeping Services is one of transformation and adaptation. It's a story of what happens when a mom-and-pop contractor pays close attention to its market, and what happens when the couple has the foresight to plan and the guts to make changes on the move. It's the story of a successful contract sweeper who works to command market share, which enables it to dominate within regions and pick up even more accounts.

"We keep our eye on the ball and are able to make changes immediately within our market and within our company," says Tom Kuhns. "That's really what has kept us moving ahead and helped us gain market share."

Celebrating its 22nd anniversary this year, Capitol Sweeping Services is a minority-owned business, with Lesa Kuhns, president, running the day-to-day operations; husband Tom is vice president; and Dave Fisher is operations manager and the company's first full-time salesperson.

A member of the North American Power Sweeping Association, Capitol Sweeping Services runs a Shopping Center Maintenance Division, a Road Maintenance Division, and employs 22 employees full time, year round (employment can double during peak season).

Headquartered in South Windsor, CT, Capitol Sweeping covers the entire state, plus Rhode Island and western Massachusetts. Capitol Sweeping generates 65% of its revenue from litter sweeping, 20% from road sweeping (including catch basin cleaning), and the balance from line striping, pavement repair, snowplowing, and power washing.

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