Gilberts entrepreneur says there's a science to clean
George Heuvelman, co-owner of Enviroclean of Illinois Inc. in Gilberts says he wanted his carpet cleaning business to be more than just a cleaner. He uses biology to properly approach how to sanitize. And he's earned patents on various devices to keep things sanitized.
While his company marks its 30th year, he has added three patents and more are pending, he said.
One device he developed helps to rejuvenate the brushes used to scrub carpets. Another is for a so-called hozooka, a device that sanitizes hoses with high-pressured sprays of hot water. It keeps hoses cleaner so they don't cross contaminate allergens or other substances from one location to another.
"When you think about it, biological contamination removal or remediation is the healthy part of cleaning while cosmetic improvement is the appearance part of cleaning," Heuvelman said.
He has even had one of his three daughters, a molecular cellular biologist and chemist, help develop solutions that attack certain proteins and other substances in order to properly sanitize, he said.
"There is never 'hoping' or 'wishing' when cleaning, all cleaning (jobs) have a cause and a proper solution based in science and chemistry," he said.
Heuvelman founded the company in 1985 with his wife, Cathy. It was originally C&G Cleaning, a residential maid service, which later transitioned into a carpet, flooring and upholstery cleaning firm. They also are active with the Lioness and Lions Club in Burlington and the Hoof, Woof and Meow organization for animal rescue, he said.
But over the years, working up to 100 hours a week was tough. He was determined to have the company succeed and differentiate itself from others in the industry.
The company has since expanded and moved into a facility in Gilberts in 2010. It has again outgrown its location and a second location is being considered, possibly in Naperville, he said.
He also has been exploring the possibility of franchising the company and changing the name to Healthy Carpet Cleaning.
"It just describes more of what we are," he said.
Traveling to New York
Kathleen Keith Hansen, director of marketing, and Barb VanSomeren, vice president of marketing for Glenview-based Beltone, were among the winners of the 2014 Chicago Innovation Awards who rang the Nasdaq closing bell last week in New York.
FastTracks
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