Janitorial Services Business Overview & Trends

Janitorial Services Business Overview & Trends

According to the Small Business Administration, in 2012, the US janitorial services and carpet cleaning industry (also referred to as Building Maintenance Services (BMS)) consisted of about 50,000 janitorial companies and about 9,000 carpet and upholstery cleaning companies with combined annual revenue of about $35 billion. Major companies include divisions of companies such as ServiceMaster and ABM Industries, private companies such as UGL Unicco and Stanley Steemer, and franchisers such as Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System and Jani-King. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies generate about 30 percent of revenue. Janitorial services generate most of the revenue for the industry.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Commercial real estate occupancy and income growth drive demand for cleaning services. The profitability of individual companies depends on good marketing. Large companies have an advantage in serving customers with multiple locations. Small companies can compete effectively in local markets, especially for small business and residential customers. Both segments of the industry are labor-intensive: for janitorial services, average annual revenue per employee is about $35,000; for carpet cleaning about $70,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Janitorial services account for about 90 percent of industry revenue. Janitorial work includes general services, such as cleaning, trash pickup, floor polishing, and the specialty services of cleaning carpet and ducts and washing windows. Operations consist of crews cleaning commercial, industrial, and residential buildings by hand or with the help of basic equipment like floor polishers.

Carpet and upholstery cleaning firms account for about 10 percent of industry revenue…