It’s been nearly 10 years since 1-800-SWEEPER burst onto the power sweeping industry scene in August of 2011. Armed with a vision, a powerful vanity phone number and the support of 22 sweeping company owners, Mike Lucht began what remains to be the only co-op organization in the sweeping industry. Headquartered in Toledo, OH, 1-800-SWEEPER now boasts 40 buying group Vendor Partners and 55 Member Partners representing market coverage of over 95 area codes across the United States accounting for 18 of the top 20 metro markets and 50{cd9db56748df391b131010c0c880113f42d56e29626b6ebf74877cbc020d5b1a} of the country’s population. “When we launched the organization, there was no play book to guide us and we weren’t sure how it was going to be received in order to attract enough like-mind company owners to make it work,” says Lucht, President of the organization. “It’s been a work in progress, and we’ve made some great strides over the last 10 years, while building many strong relationships along the way. No one expected it was going to be easy, but the challenge has been an extremely rewarding experience.”  But make it work they did, and 1-800-SWEEPER is proud of their accomplishments and the contributions they have made to the businesses represented in the group and the power sweeping industry in general.

Launching the 1800sweeper.com website in October 2011 was the first step in getting the start-up organization off the ground and introducing the brand.  What began as a service directory of sweeping companies across the country quickly grew into something much more. Today, 700 pages later, it is not only a market resource for service contractor information, but also provides educational content on the sweeping industry as a whole; including the various types of equipment recommended for specific job applications, the different services each Partner company offers, as well as employment opportunity pos

tings resulting in the creation of the highest revenue producing website in the industry. The value of the service requests over the past ten years has been very impressive. Partners have received over 32,000 leads conservatively valued at over $20,000,000.  With a 24/7 Call Center and the development of the 800 App, service requests can be easily responded to on an immediate basis. “Getting the service requests to our Partners the quickest way possible was important. It has been documented that the quicker the response the greater the chance is of securing the business. We believe providing a timely response and quality service is one of the reasons why clients choose us” says Ben Steyer, Executive Director of 1-800-SWEEPER.

There have been many other milestones and achievements along the way. The organization’s slogan is “More Than a Number!”, and that, it certainly is! Not only do they have the #1 website and vanity number in the power sweeping industry, but they have also created a successful co-op buying group for their Partners. Leveraging the combined buying power of the group is an integral part of the organization’s foundation. The co-op enables Partners to take advantage of exclusive discounts on the purchase of equipment and supplies needed to run and grow their business, as well as earning rebates in return. Andy Williams, Business Development Rep for 1-800-SWEEPER, says “We strive to have vendors in the group that our Partners find beneficial. Vendor Partner agreements with Schwarze, ELGIN, Keystone Plastics, NAPA and many more are instrumental to our Partners and their growth.” The original intent and goal of the organization’s business model was to have all Partners’ membership fees covered by the savings and rebates they receive from the buying group and numerous Partners are doing just that! We bring a lot more to the table than just service leads, which are designed to be provided FREE.”     

Another attractive benefit of being a 1-800-SWEEPER Partner is the annual Sweeper Summit. “We’ve all gone to industry trade shows that are predominately geared toward paving contractors. So, we decided it was time to create our own, just for the power sweeping industry. The educational content of the conference has been well received, and the addition of the outdoor, hands-on Equipment Expo was the icing on the cake. It’s a lot of work planning the event, but it’s been well worth it in the end.” says Carolyn Bell, Director of Marketing for 1-800-SWEEPER. “The Sweeper Summit began in 2012 as a small Partner meeting in Detroit with 20 people. Today the event is a full-blown industry specific conference with over 200 attendees and outdoor equipment displays – attendance grows every year and attendees love the outdoor venue. It’s been a great addition!”   

While these last 10 years have been a growing and maturation period for the organization, and the whole industry for that matter, Mike Lucht feels they have found their footing, “Our executive team is ready to take on the challenges ahead, in the years to come. We have introduced many new programs to our Partners and the sweeping industry over the years; the Sweeper Sim – our sweeper operator training simulator, the National Pavement Maintenance Leadership Academy (NPMLA), the 800 Foundation; which recently raised over $60,000 for the Veterans Matter organization, along with the other innovations mentioned earlier. We will continue to evolve and move forward, bringing new ideas and innovations to the industry. We’ve only revealed the tip of the iceberg.”

1-800-SWEEPER, the nationwide service alliance of independently owned power sweeping companies, partnered with the Veterans Matter organization to support their initiative to house homeless veteran’s this past Holiday Season.  1-800-SWEEPER was honored to support their initiative by sponsoring a charitable campaign, the 800 Challenge, beginning on Veterans Day – November 7, and running until December 31, 2020.

1-800-SWEEPER Partners solicited friends, family and business associates while promoting employee participation to meet the challenge of which Partner could raise the most money.  All donations went directly to Veterans Matter to help homeless vets and their families secure permanent housing. The National Homeless Veterans Housing Program is a collaborative effort with the Veterans Administration, which provides medical & mental assistance as well as employment training for those in need, giving veterans a fresh start and domestic autonomy. This organization does not receive funding from any large corporations, ALL funding comes from individual donations from Americans like us.

We’d like to thank our Partners that took the time and committed to raising money and participate in this worthy cause. 1-800-SWEEPER Partners raised $61,495 towards housing 80 veterans! $1000 in cash, or an equivalently valued prize of their choosing, was offered to the Partner who raised the most donations amongst the organization. The winner of the contest was Charles Joseph of All Care Sweeping in Kansas City, KS, who chose the cash prize and then  graciously donated the $1,000 back to the Veterans Matter organization. Ben Steyer, Executive Director of 1-800-SWEEPER said “$60,000 is a lot of money and the fact that we are able to assist in housing 80 veterans is awesome! Our efforts and donations made a significant difference in some very deserving lives”.  Twenty-five, 1-800-SWEEPER companies participated in the 800 Challenge as well as some 1-800-SWEEPER Vendor Partners. “We want to thank those Vendor Partners for stepping up and showing their support. We are grateful for our Partners, like Keystone Plastics and Smucker Manufacturing, for their support of this initiative”, says Steyer.  A formal check presentation will be scheduled in the upcoming month with Ken Leslie, Founder of Veterans Matter, in Toledo, OH.

November 11, 2020, Toledo, Ohio: 1-800-SWEEPER is excited to announce their partnership with Veterans Matter to raise money for our homeless veterans with the 800 Challenge campaign. Veterans Matter is nationwide 501 © that aids in getting veterans in housing and back on their feet.

Homeless veterans need us right now, more than ever. We are inviting the nation to take the 800 Challenge and end veteran homelessness this Holiday season.  Beginning November 11^h and running until December 30^th, we are asking for donations to place our homeless military men and women into permanent housing.

The 800 Challenge is a fundraising effort created by 1-800-SWEEPER and is looking to raise $80,000 for the cause. 1-800-SWEEPER’s local Partner, Progressive Sweeping Contractors, will kick off the campaign in Toledo on Veterans Day, November 11^th via a series of eblasts, social media posts and print media coverage.

Ben Steyer, Executive Director of 1-800-SWEEPER says, “giving back is paramount to our organization’s culture. We fully support our veterans and look forward to raising a lot of money for the 800 Challenge.”

If you’d like to get homeless vets off the street and into permanent housing this holiday season, visit www.veteransmatter.org/800challenge  or text the keyword 800Challenge6 to 71777. 

About 1-800-SWEEPER:

1-800-SWEEPER is a nationwide service network that brings independently owned sweeping companies from coast to coast under a unified marketing, purchasing and service structure. We are environmental experts and are committed to enhancing the communities we live and work in. We are available 24/7, 365 days a year. To learn more, visit at: https://www.1800sweeper.com.

About Veterans Matter:

The National Homeless Veterans Housing Program is the result of collaborative innovation integrating technology, housing, and the community; with the medical, mental, and employment services provided by the VA; that creates evidence-based results for our  veteran heroes in need, returning them to domestic autonomy. In other words, we bring people together to house as many homeless veterans as we can, as fast as we can in VA supported permanent housing, giving them a fresh start!

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to affect people and businesses across our country, 1-800-SWEEPER and our Partner service providers want to share with you our plans to protect our employees, customers and operations during these difficult times.

Based on guidance and input from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and best practices from other health officials, our sanitation service work is continuing.

We are committed to keeping your roadways, parking lots and city streets safe and clean even during this unprecedented time.

We have, however, also taken steps to protect our employees and the community to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority. For that reason, we have increased the quantity of PPE (personal protective equipment) for each of our drivers and other employees based on guidelines outlined by state departments of health and other government agencies.

We will continue to follow their guidance and take appropriate measures as needed, including:

• Monitoring inventory to identify any potential risks to client employees.
• Limiting non-essential vendor visits to our offices.
• Employees are being encouraged to conduct meetings by phone or video conference wherever possible.

…

1-800-SWEEPER has partnered with John Lankford of Premier Executive Forums to develop and implement a new leadership curriculum specifically designed to develop leaders for the power sweeping industry. The leadership training program is offered through the National Pavement Maintenance Leadership Academy.

Sweeping company owners and managers who attended the November 2018 Sweeper Summit and Equipment Expo Leadership Conference were introduced to John Lankford as our Keynote Speaker. A key takeaway from John’s presentation: “No organization will ever outperform its leadership team.”

In feedback from a Sweeper Summit survey, 95{cd9db56748df391b131010c0c880113f42d56e29626b6ebf74877cbc020d5b1a} of attendees identified with John’s statement that: “Training leaders to lead my business and increase profitability is important to operations and business sustainability.”

Recognizing that most of our sweeping company Partners and their employees have not had any formal leadership training and that most leadership courses and workshops wouldn’t adequately address specific nuances of the power sweeping industry, the 1-800-SWEEPER Board of Directors partnered with John Lankford to create the National Pavement Maintenance Leadership Academy. Lankford is a nationally recognized executive coach and speaker having earned a reputation in the business world for his corporate and entrepreneurial experience leading businesses and individuals on a path to success.

John is leading NPMLA, assisted by Julie Kowalski, a highly accomplished performance strategist and speaker with over 30 years of hands-on experience blending management and performance technologies to drive results.

NPMLA provides attendees a complete leadership curriculum specifically designed to develop leaders for service providers in the power sweeping industry.

The academy kicked off on February 15th and 16th in Detroit and continues throughout 2019.  NPMLA training will have 3 sessions held “on-location” with additional training through a combination of online classes, e-learning and individual and group coaching and mentoring sessions. Click here to see the complete curriculum outline (PDF)

As board member Giovanni Recalde put it: “We are all busy and often we feel like we cannot afford to be without one of our key people, but if we don’t start developing leaders within our organizations now, our competitors will.”

We encourage our members to take part in this unique and vital training. If you have any questions, see npmla.com or reach out to Ben Steyer via phone or email.