Biz Of The Month: Ambassador Building Maintenance

OF THE MONTH

Ambassador Building Maintenance . . . A Shining Example Of A Successful Family Business

By Dave Hall

Launched in 1960, Ambassador Building Maintenance remains one of the oldest family-owned cleaning service companies in Essex County, serving clients in the commercial, industrial, residential, health care and institutional sectors.

Bill Kruger established the company while he was working as a school janitor and eventually stepped away from his full-time job to take a leap of faith as a small business owner alongside his wife Edith.

Today, the company is owned and run by Bill and Ingrid Taylor along with their sons Karl and Scott.

Karin Kruger, Karl’s aunt, is company President.

“My grandfather on my mother’s side, started it all in his basement and landed some small jobs, which became bigger jobs and he’s the reason we are here today after 60 years,” explains Karl, the company’s Chief Executive Officer.

And as with most small businesses, each of the Taylors has been employed in various aspects of the company over the years.

“We all did pretty much everything at some point in our careers,” says Karl. “We’re very proud of what we have achieved over the years, because there aren’t a lot of companies that have been in the same family for 60 years.”

With 125 employees, the company’s clients include small shops and businesses, all the way up to large industrial companies. Client workplaces range from 500 square feet to over one million square feet.

The company takes great pride in providing safe and clean workplaces, which allows its clients to continue producing goods at a time when COVID-19 protocols are top of mind in every workplace.

“There’s a risk that comes with every job, especially in today’s climate, but we believe we are doing our part to help our community’s economy while at the same time providing a sense of security to workers,” Karl states.

During the initial months of the pandemic last year, Ambassador workers cleaned and disinfected Walkerville’s Hiram Walker Distillery, thus allowing the company to change its bottling and manufacturing lines to start producing hand sanitizer.

Once the company assessed its clients’ needs at the beginning of the pandemic, it switched over some of its services to more heavily focus on disinfecting and sanitizing.

“We’ve been offering those enhanced services for eight to 10 months now and expect to continue doing so in the future,” asserts Karl. “Everything has changed and successful businesses must continue to adapt to those changing conditions.”

Ambassador offers complete cleaning services, ranging from multiple shifts per day in the same plant to weekly cleanings. The company also cleans carpets, upholstery and windows, in addition to providing mat services.

And while many of Ambassador’s cleaning products have become more environmentally-friendly because of regulations prohibiting the use of stronger chemicals, much of the cleaning processes remain the same.

“We still have vacuum cleaners and sprayers and we still have mops and brooms, but we offer a more diverse selection of cleaning solutions today than in the past,” Karl mentions.

He adds, “We clean everything from touch points such as light switches and door knobs all the way to large machine and packaging lines. It’s a pretty broad spectrum and we can handle whatever a client needs.”

In past years, the company also offered its services to customers in Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton and many places in between.

“We decided to scale back a few years ago and focus on growing our business in Windsor and Essex County, but we have the potential to grow and we may expand again in the future,” Karl says of the company’s future business plans.

Ambassador operates 24 hours a day seven days a week and is a member of the International Sanitary Supply Association and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

It supports a number of charitable causes including the Canadian Cancer Society, House of Sophrosyne and the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Ambassador is located at 628 Monmouth Road in Windsor. For more information, visit: Ambassador-ca.com.

Ambassador Building Maintenance has been offering quality service and contract cleaning for over 60 years. Pictured is CEO Karl Taylor, shown from left with members of his team — Chris Mailloux, Manager; Jayson Hardaker, Sales Manager; Scott Taylor, Office Manager and Tom Sasson, Night Operations Manager — standing by their fleet ready for 24/7 service. Photo by Rod Denis.