Morclean Company News

Vapour steam cleaners

Unfortunately the phrase "steam cleaner" is used as a generic term for all types of cleaning equipment to such an extent that we have to add an explanation of the differences between Vapour Steam and High pressure hot water on our web site pages, literature, and even quotations.

Despite this we are delighted with the progress we are making in the development and marketing of our Vapour Steam cleaner models. Such names as NCL, ADAS, Guildford Europe, Kellogg's, Waukesha in the UK, and numerous customers in the US and Australia, have purchased Morclean steam cleaners. We feel sales in the future will increase especially as end users' perceptions and understandings of exactly what vapour steam can and cannot do - improve.

Submitted by Peter Morley (Technical Sales)

Quality Issues and ISO 9000

In my job as customer service my day to day duties can include anything from a farmer needing a part for his pressure washer, or steam cleaner to assisting with overseas shipping to one of our distributors in Australia, Dubai or America. Another telephone call is another customer and our professional approach to customers even welcomes customer complaints. Our ISO9000 procedures mean that all complaints are logged and a solution is found to the problems.

Submitted by Debbie Burgess

Service and Training Dreaming of exotic locations

How much more could we take? Training on new products, stocking our stores department with spares and accessories, and our industrial premises at bursting point. We have taken on board new Specialist Vacuum Cleaners, hazardous dust Vacuum Cleaners, Vapour Steam Cleaners, and this has meant re organising our stores and service area.

The new stores areas here at Morclean have enabled us to re-stock spares for Vacuum Cleaners and Vapour Steam Cleaners, and the new service bay means we can bring larger heavier pressure washers trailers and skid mounted units via fork straight lift into the service area before working on them.

Submitted by David Challans (Service Engineer)

I dream about some of the locations Morclean have recently been shipping machines to... Steam Cleaners to Australia, Vacuum Cleaners to Dubai and another pallet to yet another State in America. When I first joined Morclean the customer base was certainly national with the majority of clients been based in the UK. Invoice and Statement production now sees paper work depicting clients all over the world. So where would I really like to go?

Whilst we have sold Steam Cleaners and Vacuum Cleaners to Nigeria, Pakistan, the Ukraine, as well as vapour steam cleaners to Australia, I suppose I would be fairly confident in saying I would like to follow the cleaning equipment we recently shipped to Miami. No doubt taking the cruise ship from Florida along with the boxes of Vapour Steam Cleaners we sold to NCL would be a good choice!

Submitted by Ann Davies (Accounts Dept)

Vapour Steamers go to Australia

In my role as Sales Admin part of what I do is to ensure that literature is always available to the sales team and quotations etc. are always sent out on time. After external training I now also look after the export of Vapour Steam cleaners and Specialist vacuums overseas. Our shipping agent's documentation, commercial invoices, and other requirements, as well as our overseas clients anxiously requesting literature, certainly make for a busy day.

Recent changes to out IT and colour copying facility here at Morclean has also enabled me to superimpose new distributor's, logos and art work into existing literature. Most recently we prepared literature for 'Vapour Jet Australia' for their initial stock order. Vapour Jet Australia are our newly appointed exclusive distributor for the whole of Australia.

For all Vapour Steam enquires in Australia, please contact aus-steam@morclean.com

Submitted by Kirsty Statham. (Export Sales Admin)

W H Hoover

Mr W H Hoover has got a lot to answer for. The very first real Hoover was invented in 1907 by a gentleman called Murray Spangler. Aggravated by his asthma, while cleaning dust from rugs with a broom, he decided to invent something to find a solution to the problem. Unbelievably Spangler used a tin soap box, a fan, and a pillow case, along with a broom handle. The odd looking resulting contraption actually managed to take dust away from the air.

Spangler's cousin, Susan Hoover, tried the machine and then gave the idea to her husband W H Hoover who bought the patent from Spangler in 1908. The inventor, Spangler, was retained as a partner and soon had 6 employees assembling 6 units a day in the corner of W H Hoover's leather goods shop. By 1909 Hoover were engineering and designing new units and introduced the "Beater Bar" in 1926 - prompting the memorable advertising slogan "It beats as it sweeps as it cleans"

Unfortunately the word Hoover has become yet another generic name for cleaning equipment. No doubt your house-hold appliance "vacuum cleaner" is called a Hoover in your own home. But even large "Blue chip" companies contact Morclean asking for an industrial Hoover, large Hoover, specialist Hoover or even hazardous Hoover!

Submitted by Robert Smith (Technical sales)

Concept of Interlok - back to basics

I once read an article written by someone who subsequently claimed to have dreamt the content of the article while sat on a railway platform. Two minutes of inspiration, while waiting for a connection, inspired him to grab the first available piece of paper where upon he went onto draft his ideas. His inspiration resulted in one of the most famous brand names and logo in the market place today.

My own moment of inspiration, was not so famous or romantic, and came to me at 3.30pm in the afternoon while asking the impossible in our warehouse. We are persistently asked for specialist vacuum cleaners with unique voltages Hz, filtration and various power supply and special requirements. And you want it there sooner than yesterday! How could we procure such specialist units at off the shelf delivery times and prices?

The principle of Interlok came to me long before we decided on a brand-name and logo. The basics are, that the base, the cylinder, and power head on most of our vacuums are the same or similar diameter. Rather than attempting to stock one of the 150 plus models of vacuum units we sell (albeit the order is always for the one that we don't stock) we found a novel way of instantly assembling special units. When we receive an order for an Interlok vacuum, we take the base, insert the filter, and add on the required power head. The bases range from 9 to 200 Ltrs. Filtration units include wet, dry, oil, swarf, hazardous, and other fine filters, and the motor heads range from 1, 2, or 3 motors in various voltages or driven by compressed air. We think the combination and model range is unlimited, and the principle of locking pieces together in this way means we can meet extremely tight deadlines, at standard off the shelf prices.

Submitted by Peter Morley (Technical sales)

An ever changing world

Compressed Air Driven Vacuum Units

There is no need to change my job, the job is ever changing! New regulations in connection with water reclaim and recycling, environmental issues, and water by-laws mean here at Morclean we are forever keeping up to date with latest legislation and demands. Meeting the standards of other European countries, we are continually developing our range of water reclaim units along side our manufacturer. Sales of water reclaim units have now exceeded the relevant numbers of drive through and brush wash equipment sales figures. Converting and refining existing sites and projects has become a busy part of our business.

I am very proud to be associated with Morclean and to be part of its policy to be always looking for new opportunities and ideas. Our first simple water reclaim ever sold in the UK was to handle water from a standard jet wash. More recently we supplied more sophisticated units including units that filter oil, chemical, salt and water, as well as plastic pellets from road going tankers. In conjunction with our vacuum boom water recovery system and water capture system we also use the Morclean pump out vacuum to discharge and convey liquids.

Submitted by Christine Cheung (Technical Admin)

It's now 15 years since I started out as a service engineer for Morclean, repairing and servicing cleaning equipment. My background was the repair of Vacuum Cleaners, mostly conventional units. Here at Morclean, our management team have taken a more pro-active approach in searching for new products, opportunities, and ideas.

One of the more recent additions is a full range of Compressed Air Driven Vacuums for use in volatile, hazardous, and explosive areas. We are again driven by our customers needs and this new range of Compressed Air Vacuums brings new opportunities and new clients to Morclean. Our latest new addition is a huge 200 Ltr capacity single or twin venturi Air Vacuum. These two models of 200 Ltr units complement the range of Compressed Air Driven Vacuums ranging from 10 to 45 Ltrs, and are also available as an Interlok built product.

Submitted By Ian Bridges (Service Manager)

Traditional Pressure Washers

I once attended a sales meeting where the manufacturer claimed "one day every home will have a Pressure Washer" They continued to claim that one day "the pressure washer would be as common as a household Vacuum Cleaner" I, and the others at the meeting, were sceptical. However as new products come into the market and small Pressure Washers are seen in the high street at £39.00, where do we see ourselves in the High Pressure water cleaning market? Initially we needed to be clear which markets we were to concentrate on and why.

Our High Pressure customer base can be sectioned into 4 categories; Number 1; Hobby and domestic. Number 2; Consumer and commercial. Number 3; Industrial. Number 4; Specialist. There is no doubt that our interest lies with the third sector - industrial High Pressure Cleaners. The hobby and domestic market is obviously flooded with cheap imports and budget price machines. Hire Shops and multi-national stores have diluted the market place with cheap off the shelf Pressure Washers.

However the down side for this is customer service. Most consumer outlets, supermarkets, and even hire centres, do not service the products they sell. Most distributors cannot compete with the prices that these outlets sell their Pressure Washers for. Unfortunately it is our opinion that the dream and vision to have a Pressure Washer in every house, and to be as common as a Vacuum Cleaner, has not come without its problems.

So where do we see ourselves in the next 10 years? As opportunities to market smaller Pressure Washers has declined for the reasons above, we at first had to react - but now drive the shift in concentration for our benefit and our client's benefit. We had to change, but now having a demonstration area, a training area, the provision to finance larger installations and a massive product range, we are now even better equipped to deal with the professional end user. We are dedicated to providing High Pressure cleaners, Steam cleaners, sales, service, hire, and back up support Nationwide to a host of UK 'blue chip' and multi national organisations. Our Trade Counter, our provision of spares and our equipment knowledge is still here for the domestic and small commercial buyer to enjoy. However the advent of cheaper, and cheaper, machines has meant that Pressure Washers have joined hands with other commodities in our ever increasingly throw away society.

The result is that as fewer, and fewer, smaller pressure washers are brought into our Trade Counter for repair, more and more must find their way to the skip. However many of our clients are realising that a serious professional pressure washer, or steam cleaner, should be an investment and in the long term a more prudent choice and a more reliable machine is more cost effective in the long term.

Submitted By Rob Smith

Cleanstart - the way forward

We receive on average 15 to 20 enquires per week from end users wanting to start up in business, as either a carpet cleaner, car valeter, drive and patio cleaner, or kitchen cleaner. These businesses can be lucrative ones, to those that work hard, and we recognise that the choice of equipment and endless list of machines available in the market place must be quite daunting for a new starter.

So how can we help with this?

Again, we have taken a pro-active and innovative approach to this problem. We have created Cleanstart, which are packages of cleaning equipment especially put together for new business starters. The products are grouped in the four categories mentioned earlier. In each category there are 3 choices of Cleanstart cleaning packages. Each package contains a machine, or machines, suitable for the task. An appropriate range of accessories, consumables, detergents and chemicals, are included. In fact everything the end user needs to start up his or her business.

What is unique about this product is that each Cleanstart package also contains a Cleanguide (for the appropriate usage) so that the new starter has everything he or she needs to immediately use the equipment, and to start their business. By the end of this year (2003) we are also introducing Cleanbiz. Cleanbiz will give advice on starting, forming, and running your own business, and has been written and validated externally by professionals. In short, a Cleanstart package from Morclean, whether it includes vacuum cleaners, carpet cleaners, steam cleaners, or pressure washers, will enable the end user to open the box and start his or her new business having everything in place to do so.

For more details contact us for a comprehensive list of Cleanstart packages. The packages are designed as earlier mentioned around carpet cleaners, car valeters, patio and drive cleaners, and kitchen or catering cleaners. New Cleanstart packages will be introduced as and when the market dictates, and we would welcome any new input, ideas, and comments about the existing Cleanstart packages. Prices range from £500.00 to £2000.00 and are discounted when brought as a package in this way.

Submitted by Peter Morley

New chemicals and consumables

Most of the equipment we sell actually dispenses chemicals or detergents as part of the cleaning process. I have a lot to learn, and I am fairly new to the business, but I am delighted to be part of the new plans and the challenge of marketing and selling our new range of chemicals and detergents here at Morclean.

To make it easier for our clients we have categorised the new range of chemicals and detergents into 4 distinctive sections, and I have even colour coded the containers, drums, literature and even the price lists to show which category they fall in.

Vapour steam cleaning section

Our bacterial hard surface cleaners, multi surface cleaners, shower and tile cleaner, heavy duty hard surface cleaner, bacterial cleaner, oven cleaners and degreaser fall into the food and vapour steam cleaning section. These are colour coded green.

Floorcare Section

The carpet and extraction detergents, floor cleaners, carpet fresh, machine floor cleaner, heavy duty machine floor cleaner, fabric/carpet spotter, carpet pre-spotters are colour coded red and are categorised as floor care section.

Vehicle wash section

Aluminum cleaner, cockpit cleaner, wash and shine car shampoo, plastic bumper dressing, rubber cleaners and auto fabric shampoos are colour coded blue and are part of the vehicle cleaning section.

Specialist

Acid based brick and patio cleaners, drain cleaners, odour masks, pressure wash 10, pressure wash 10 with wax, pressure wash 15, and pressure wash15 with wax are colour coded black and are categorised as our specialist section.

Each section is categorised to also fit in with the machinery we sell day-to-day. Our Cleanstart packages are colour coded the same way, and rather than the customer receiving a price list containing hundreds of items, descriptions, part numbers, and quantities, our price lists are easy to follow, colour coded and contain simple to follow descriptions of what the detergents and chemicals can be used for and what they are recommended for.

More importantly our chemicals and detergents can be obtained via mail order; Simply buy 2 cartons (2 x 5 Ltrs in each carton) of any product, and we will deliver to any UK mainland location free of charge. Buying 20 Ltrs of chemical and detergent in this way means the end user receives trade prices, and the car valeters, carpet cleaners, kitchen cleaners or patio and drive cleaners can be left to do what they are good at, they can be left to run their own business without the bother of having to re-order, stock, and collect their chemicals and detergents. Morclean chemicals and detergents, in the categories above, are delivered to your door. Each supply also contains a Fax-back re-order sheet to make it easier to re-order with minimal fuss and effort.

Submitted by Debbie Burgess (UK Sales Admin)

New US Partner Agents steam ahead

Since working hard with their new US based partner agents and their development of new vapour steam cleaning units, Morclean are pleased to announce an increased sales and distribution network in the US. Recent units placed include steam cleaners and vapour steam cleaners to major food manufacturers and vapour steam cleaners to Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Work continues with Morclean's partner agents who handle enquiries for vapour steam cleaners across all the US states. The network of agents have developed a new range of vapour steam cleaners, especially designed for US markets. Contact them at; usa-steam@morclean.com

Demanding delivery times - we press for new deals

On the look out for new products

Investment at home

Vacu-boom water retention and capture

Increasing legislation when controlling liquid effluent has led us to source a capture system for spill or wash containment. Used in conjunction with a pressure washer or steam cleaner the Vacu-boom system is connected to one of our pump out vacuums to discharge the water safely.

Submitted by Ian Bridges (Service Manager)

Keeping up with demand for development in the UK

An increase of business in the UK and overseas especially in the specialist vacuum cleaner and vapour steam markets has lead to investment at our offices and premises in office and packing equipment, essential to maintain deliveries. Added security and additions to the building itself has also complimented the investment.

Submitted by Kirsty Statham (UK and Export Sales)

New product launch for the UK: Development of 'Interlok' branding for the UK Market

Critical delivery times also mean difficulties matching supply with demand - and stock levels - especially for hazardous or specialist vacuum cleaners.

We have now developed a new range of machines branded 'Interlok' where basically the 3 major components of a bespoke vacuum cleaner (the base, filter and head) are all interchangeable so they can be assembled quickly, resulting in quicker build times and delivery.

Submitted by Maggie Hughes (New product design & branding)

Building with 'Clicks and Mortar'

The Morclean website has grown again having recently undergone its fourth expansion since its inception in 1999. Colloquially known as a 'clicks and mortar' site, its success builds on the foundations of an established and successful business who are looking for new ways to expand its customer base.

Submitted by Wendy Jervis (Website Design - The Net Effect)

Morclean is an ISO 9001 registered firm and our quality administration systems have been assured and approved to the standards and guidelines of BS EN ISO 9000:2000 for the sales, service and hire of industrial cleaning equipment. Our registration no. is 94/121120 and our standards and guidelines are externally audited by CIS.
The Net Effect

Please note that many models described on this website are bespoke, and as such cannot always be accurately depicted. All photographs and illustrations displayed on this website are representative of model ranges or a model series only. Individual models and specifications may vary from those shown. Please contact us if you require clarification or individual specifications of any equipment. Morclean reserve the right to update and amend the specification of our equipment and accessories without notice and in the interest of the customer. Images or specifications must not be reproduced with express written consent from Morclean Ltd. Any prices quoted are subject to VAT @ SR. E&OE