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    Where once stood the internationally renowned vinegar works of Hill, Evans Co Ltd. now stands a more modern landmark, the Cushman & Wakefield managed St Martins Quarter, a £75 million shopping complex unveiled in 2012 that sees some 35,000 people pass through it each week, with further development to the site planned in the near future.

    This historic part of Worcester has a very interesting past as Hill, Evans Co Ltd established themselves here back in the 1830’s and soon became the world’s largest producers of vinegar. They continued to expand the site over the following decades to the turn of the century, building numerous external buildings which can still be seen today, as well as underground ‘Vaults’ used for storage, which span over 14,500 sq ft and make for breath-taking viewing.

    A man who knows this site like the back of his hand is Rob Carling the full time Cleaning Supervisor for the estate. Originally from Birmingham, Rob moved to Worcester over 20 years ago to work as a Chef before applying for his cleaning role at St Martins Quarter 5 years ago after hearing of the vacancy from a friend. Rob’s bubbly personality and work ethic shone through and once hired by his previous employers immersed himself in every aspect of his cleaning duties, as well as the unique history of the site!

    Following on from our successful tender with Cushman & Wakefield where St Martins Quarter was part of a 16 contract portfolio win in April 2019, we were absolutely delighted to welcome Rob into our team. Contract Manager, Jane Shields first met Rob during the critical TUPE consultation process period and was immediately taken by firstly his immense enthusiasm for St Martins Quarter and its decorated past, and secondly his knowledge of the cleaning duties that are carried out on-site each day.

    As an organisation we are totally employee orientated, ‘our people are our business’ and we understand that it is our frontline cleaning staff that play the most important role in our long term success and we fully appreciate the need to incorporate new staff joining our organisation whether that be via TUPE or not, into our unique company ethos. Rob was able to see this operate at first hand, commenting:

    “I did some research before meeting Jane and other key members of the we clean management team, as I wanted to know what kind of organisation I was potentially joining. By checking out their website plus social media activity and speaking to friends and family back in Birmingham I learnt that they had a very good reputation and weren’t the same as many other cleaning companies. They put the Operative first which I really liked.”

    As Location Manager for this mixed retail shopping outlet Rob together with his team of 4 week day / weekend operatives play a pivotal role in the daily maintenance and upkeep of this popular, public venue. For Contract Manager Jane Shields it was critical that Rob and the team were provided with the right tools for the job from the very outset which included the supply of an Industrial Pedestrianised ‘Green Machine’ Sweeper specifically designed for the upkeep of outdoor shopping malls. In addition Rob was provided with a fully portable Industrial Jet washer for the wash down of paved areas particularly important when dealing with the aftermath of a busy Worcester nightlife weekend, whilst the Glasdon Spaceliner TM assists with the ongoing collection of waste and other debris.

    All the team were provided with brand new corporate uniform together with specific Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure the maximum protection for the staff in line with our comprehensive site Risk Assessment of the complex and the cleaning methodologies involved in maintaining cleaning standards across all areas. 

    Rob was incredibly impressed and delighted with the extent of materials and equipment provided by we clean at the start of the contract and genuinely appreciated that such support would allow him and the team to consistently meet the diverse cleaning specification at St Martins Quarter commenting:

    “My shift here starts at 6 in the morning where I’ll generally be out with the Pedestrianised Sweeper or jet washing the pavements or shop fronts down whilst it is nice and quiet! However, later in the day I’ll be out litter picking, and it gives me a real sense of pride to know that I’m contributing positively to a part of the town that I love so much. I really enjoy my job, not only from a cleaning perspective but also the constant interaction with the public and the other various stakeholders across the complex, I genuinely want to represent the company in the best possible manner.”

    So if you’re ever passing through St Martins Quarter, be sure to keep an eye out for, Our Man about Town!

     

     

     

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    We have been providing a daily cleaning service to Black Country law firm Higgs & Sons since March of 2015, within their newly refurbished Head Office situated on The Waterfront, Brierley Hill, as well as their sub-office in Bridge House, also on the Waterfront.

    Overseen by our Black Country Contract Manager, Lynn Gill, we have a Location Manager and a team of 7 Cleaning Operatives working 6pm-8pm, Monday-Friday in Higgs’ Head Office, as well as 2 Operatives in their sub-office.

    Contract Manager, Lynn Gill with her team of Cleaning Operatives at Higgs & Sons Head Office.

    As a public facing, professional institution, Higgs & Sons expect a top-quality cleaning service, and standards have to be exemplary. Since our inception in 2003, we have always strived to meet such standards, and are confident that this is what we deliver to each and every client.

    With this in mind, we were incredibly pleased to learn that we achieved a score of 96% in the recent on-site audit carried out by our client contact, Teresa Hughes.

    Director, Paul Concannon joined Lynn to present the team with chocolates to thank them for their ongoing commitment to delivering these excellent standards, and achieving such a fantastic score. Paul commented:

    “This excellent audit score is a result of consistent hard work by Lynn’s cleaning team, and a particular thanks goes to Adrianna Winiarczyk, our Location Manager within Higgs’ Head Office. Originally from Poland, Adrianna has settled into life in the UK and alongside brilliantly carrying out her Location Managers role she is also studying for a law degree. Well done everybody at Higgs!”

    Director, Paul Concannon pictured with Adrianna Winiarczyk, Location Manager and Lynn Gill.

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    As a 10th generation, family-run organisation, Salts Healthcare has been helping people live longer and happier lives for over three centuries. We are immensely proud to have formed a long-term relationship with Salts, providing them with Daily Cleaning Services since 2004, when we were initially awarded the contract for their Head Office at the time, on Lord Street, Birmingham.

    Believed to be one of the oldest family run business in the UK, with ties running back to the 1700’s, they have grown exponentially over the past decade, mainly by being selective in the markets in which they choose to operate, and this has led them to employing over 600 staff and developing their business internationally.  Salts as an organisation focuses heavily on staff training and retention, looking to internally promote staff rather than recruiting externally, where possible.

    Over the past 14 years we have worked and grown with Salts providing services across their 3 separate operational premises, and are thrilled to have now been selected to work within their latest brand new, 94,500 sqft facility in Aston, a purpose-built hub which will house Salts Hi-Tech Manufacturing and Assembly operations, presenting an exciting challenge to the we clean Operatives on-site, who must adapt and ensure they meet the exact specification requirements set out by Salts on site Building & Facilities Team.  

    Neil Bromley, Head of Logistics, commented:

    “We have been delighted with the standard of the service provided by We Clean and are pleased to have built a long standing relationship over the last 14 years.”

    In order to assist with the opening of the new Facility the we clean Specialist Cleaning Team carried out an extensive Deep Clean of key areas within the building over an intensive 10-day period. High level works which included cleaning to air vents, gantries, suspended lighting and external / internal window cleaning was accessed using specific high level access equipment such as scissor lifts and cherry pickers whilst the manufacturing floor area was intensively scrubbed to remove dust and particulate matter with heavy duty ride on scrubber driers. Steve Rawlings, Director of Specialist Cleaning Operations who oversaw these works enthused about the new Salts Healthcare facility:

    “It was a real pleasure to carry out these critical works and play our part in bringing to life this amazing new facility developed by Salts Healthcare in Aston and it is particularly satisfying given the long standing relationship we have had with this client over so many years!”

    Once fully up and running, we clean will be working 24 hours Monday to Friday in order to meet the needs of Salts core manufacturing staff who will be working around the clock.  Therefore our 3 Full Time on site operatives will provide hourly inspections, cleaning and consumable product replenishment to the factory Washrooms and Changing Room Areas, whilst the main staff canteen area will be constantly cleaned to maintain exemplary housekeeping and hygiene standards throughout the day and night. In the early evening a team of 5 part time Cleaning Operatives will clean reception areas, staff and visitor washrooms and the extensive office space and kitchenettes located on the 1st Floor.

    A critical aspect of us being able to deliver an exceptional cleaning service on a consistent basis is our ability to tailor our own Internal Training schemes for Cleaning Operatives to meet the specific requirements of each contract location and this has been particularly relevant in meeting the demands of Salts Healthcare management and their aspirations for this new state of the art production and warehousing facility located alongside the A38 the main artery into our great city of Birmingham!

     

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    We last featured Keith Dixon, our Non-Executive Director, back in June of 2017, where we detailed Keith’s vast business experience, and the key values and skills he possesses to help drive we clean forward.

    We recently sat down again with Keith, as he has just published his 11th book, which he co-authored with none other than the footballing legend, Trevor Francis.

    As a lifelong Blue Nose, Keith was inspired to first write books when he realised there weren’t any books written about his beloved Birmingham City, something he quickly changed by self-publishing his first book in 2003.

    One in a Million, Keith’s latest book takes the reader through Trevor’s career in which he shot to fame as the youngest player to score four goals in a match, before continuing to break records as the very first £1 million footballer, a mind-blowing figure at the time. He then went on to have a glittering career, most notably at Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest as well as various other clubs, whilst also picking up 52 international caps for England. Trevor then stepped into the world of football management, where he took charge of Sheffield Wednesday, Crystal Palace and Birmingham City, who he took to the final of the League Cup in 2001!

    We spoke to Keith to gain insight into his time as an Author, and of course to find out more about his new best-selling book:

    So how did you become an author? What inspired you to begin writing books?

    “I became irritated when there were no Blues books, and so I was very keen to change this. My first book was written to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of St Andrews, and I’ve been fortunate to continue writing books, with One in a Million being my 11th!”

    How was the idea for this book generated? Was Trevor immediately on board or did you have to persuade him?

    “I was very fortunate to have Trevor’s contact details, and I approached him in 2017 to write the foreword for a previous book of mine, The Blues Insider, and to my surprise he said yes.

    So, a year later, I approached him once more to see if he would be interested in an autobiography on his career, although he was uncertain about this as he had already had two books written about him. I briefed him on a story but I really had to persuade him, as you can imagine he is a busy man but eventually he came around, and agreed to a book which would be chronological and encyclopaedic and talk about every aspect of his footballing career, including many fascinating revelations and it really does take the reader into every aspect of the game. It’s a proper football book!”

    Who chose the name for the book?

    “Trevor chose the name for this book, something which is usually done by the publisher, and we then worked tirelessly for 14 months, we’re both fastidious people and scrutinised over every word – of which there ended up being over 60,000!

    This book contains 100% truth, its exciting and gripping, and Trevor doesn’t hold back within some parts, where other people may not name names, Trevor does, which I really think adds to the book.”

    Can you sum up your overall experience of co-authoring this book with Trevor?

    “I’m really proud of this book and incredibly grateful to Trevor for giving up so much of his time and working so hard on the book, we both feel like we’ve really produced a great body of work, which is compelling and exciting, and hope that people enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!”

     

    To be in with a chance of winning a copy signed by Trevor Francis, ensure you ‘like’ our Facebook page, follow the instructions and answer the question on our Facebook post!