HEFTER cleantech floor cleaning systems are about as far from the bucket and mop as party poppers are from the space shuttle. “We use innovative technologies as a platform for outstanding product design and manufacturing,” says Managing Director Thomas Stangl. “As a result we are able to offer superior user benefits to our customers and maintain our leading position in the premium cleaning products segment.”
HEFTER cleantech was founded in 1993 to market and distribute the products manufactured by its parent company HEFTER Maschinenbau, which has been operating in this particular niche since 1963. The company is responsible for worldwide sales and service of the company’s high-tech cleaning equipment.
Sales in Germany are carried out by a direct field sales force while the company uses a network of sales partners and distributors in its export markets. Exports account for 50% of turnover. The strongest export markets are in Scandinavia, Russia, China, South Korea, the Benelux countries, Switzerland and Austria, but the company is also active in the UK, Italy, France, Japan and the USA.
“Our customers are companies with high quality premises and high standards of cleanliness,” says Mr. Stangl. “We work with the food industry, hospitals and care homes specifically but have clients in virtually all branches of industry.” One area which is relatively undeveloped is the supermarket sector, and this is to be the focus in the short term.
HEFTER cleantech prides itself on the numerous innovative and patented features integrated into its cleaning equipment. An example is retractable wings that can widen the area cleaned in a single sweep at the touch of a button. The company offers both walk-behind and ride-on systems of varying sizes as well as specialized systems for cleaning escalators.
Design and development takes place in Germany while manufacturing is carried out in a factory in Hungary. “We are the youngest company in our niche in Germany but have a well-established position in the market,” says Mr. Stangl. “Our advantage is the quality and efficiency of our machines, which offer a long operative life and a high quality cleaning result.”
Rather than plumping for a cheaper option to save costs in the short term, it is the efficiency of these high-quality machines that will save customers money in the long term.