The market
The current global market for cleaning services exceeds $ 150 billion. Of this amount, more than 60 billion is generated in Europe and nearly 50 billion in the United States only. It is probably the most entrepreneurial and most demanding labor sector in the world, with growth rates around 10 % for consecutive years. There are 135,000 cleaning companies in Europe and 386,000 in the United States. Around the world, around a million companies offer professional cleaning services. The European cleaning sector employs 3.5 million people, including three -quarters part -time and on average 24 hours per week. Three out of four employees are women. The United States has just under a million people, which indicates that the size of sole proprietorships is indeed very small.
Cleaning services have benefited from rapid expansion due to the generalized use of outsourcing both by the private sector and by the government. In Europe, market penetration has reached almost 65 %, which means that two thirds of companies and agencies have chosen to subcontract their cleaning services instead of employing internal staff. Although there are hundreds of thousands of small businesses, large conglomerates have emerged like ISS in Denmark and Abm Industries Inc. in the United States. The SSI is present in 50 countries around the world and employs 485,000 people to manage some 200,000 business customers in business. Over the past decade, ISS has acquired more than 600 companies, which has fueled its growth strategy by professionalizing the sector.
The growth of cleaning and concierge services has catalyzed the development of related companies. It has led to strategic alliances between service providers, concierges and chemical products. Even if the workforce represents most of the costs by far, the cleaning services industry represents more than $ 30 billion in annual expenses in fixed assets and operation. This sector represents the largest application of the industrial franchise concept in the world with around 100,000 points of sale worldwide.
Innovation
Since workforce is the greatest expenditure, industry has invested in labor economics. Automatic distributors that dose the right amount of water with the right amount of soap, to automated building maintenance units that clean external windows, including the development of maintenance systems that pass from cleanliness to management health and environmental by introducing a new range of chemicals. The search for innovations is concentrated in automation systems and chemistry, which lightens the load of workers.
Wilhelm Barthlott, director of botanical gardens at the University of Bonn (Germany) began to map biodiversity around the world, it was fascinated by (1) carnivorous plants; and (2) The self -cleaning properties of organic surfaces. The first passion led to one of the world's largest collections of carnivorous plants, the second passion has enabled the development of self -cleaning surface technologies in industry. This effect is known as the "Lotus effect", which is based on hydrophobicity (water -repellent) combined with a surface design on the nanometric scale which considerably reduces the adhesion of particles. This eliminates dirt by tiny water droplets, as little as morning dew. This implies that it is not only reduced by workforce, but that the economic model eliminates the regular use of chemicals. One day, it could put bankrupt car washing companies, because the car will be made clean the day it rains.
The self-cleaning of lotus flowers has been described in Chinese and Japanese literature for hundreds of years. The field of self-cleaning has been of interest to Asian universities for decades. Dr. Emile Ishida, as Chief Technology Officer in Inax, the second largest Japanese producer of sanitary ceramics, observed how water flows through shells, dealing with hundreds of liters without ever getting dirty inside . He studied snails, maintaining their clear interior. He identified another surface drawing on a nanometric scale, different from the lotus flower, but also effective. This led to the development of a surface covering for the interior of the toilets which ensures an impeccable appearance. In fact, most toilet bowls stain over time, not by contact with human waste, but rather by the aggressive chemicals applied to give a clean appearance and a low temperature odor without friction. Physics and physico-chemistry replace chemistry and automation equipment. Unfortunately, most of the applications that have appeared are still based on fluorine chemistry. Other innovations are necessary to make this breakthrough really lasting.
