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For more than 30 years, Scioto Services has been at the front of the building services industry, offering central Ohio businesses an arms-long list of programs guaranteed to keep their the Special Services Division was born.
“Special Services was started because many of our customers asked for our help in resolving some of their other pressing issues. Like most things, the division was started with a need,” said Steve Niswonger, vice president of business development.
He added, “Since we were already in our clients’ facilities for cleaning purposes, it is cost effective for us to complete projects. Offering multiple services was also another way for us to add value to our clients.”
The division, which has grown to 20 associates, is headed by David Laase, who joined Scioto Services in 2005 as a project specialist.
“As director, I oversee projects as well as sales and installations for the division. We are a multi-faceted division, and involve ourselves in many things ranging from floor projects and concrete work to even snow plowing,” Laase said.
Laase says their work is not for the “fainthearted” because of the nature of the tasks the division is asked to perform and the time in which to do them.
“The quick response requires a lot of long hours, and we don’t have the luxury of time on our side. We have to know what to do and go do it. You have to be able to do some quick research—learn, adapt, and apply it.
“A lot of our jobs are unique. We do things and take on responsibility that a lot of other people and companies won’t. We are 24/7,” Laase said.
Laase also pointed out he and his associates “don’t have a typical day. On one day I may find myself driving up to 300 miles. There’s not much we won’t tangle with.
“My job is a non-typical one with long hours, but I’m the type of person who thrives in stressful situations. I really enjoy the floor work, and through hectic at times, not knowing where the job will take me from one hour to the next.
“The majority of the things we do are time sensitive. We are not given a lot of flexibility. We are given a lot of parameters and constraints that we must work within. For example, we painted the ceilings of a large production area and polished the concrete floor at the same time to meet a client’s time schedule,” he said.
On another occasion, Laase tackled “one of the worst floors” he had ever seen. The end result was “a client thrilled with our work,” and self-satisfaction in knowing “our hard work was appreciated.”
Laase said, “One of the most rewarding products we offer is Encase, which is a grout restoration product. It is rewarding because you can take a horrible looking floor and make it look beautiful over night. The same holds true in cleaning equipment. It is rewarding to make a piece of old equipment look new again.”
In addition to tile restoration, the division is involved in hard surface floor care, carpet cleaning, high lift cleaning, cryogenic cleaning, concrete installation and repair, concrete grinding and polishing, painting, and applying epoxy floor coatings.
“Despite the downturn in the economy, the past two years were good ones for the division,” Niswonger said. “The change has forced us to learn from what we have done in previous years to make sure we are prepared for the future from a manpower, training, and communication standpoint.
“When you show value and flexibility to complicated and time-sensitive tasks, your customers remember you in the good times and the bad times. Our overall volume of ‘specials’ has not been affected. In fact, we are actually busier with repeat business and from ‘word of mouth.’”
Scioto Services, a Gold level sponsor of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter, employs over 1,000 associates in Ohio. In addition to its Marysville headquarters, the company has offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Mansfield.