Steel City Strong: Colker Janitorial Supplies Celebrates 50 Years

By Harrell Kerkhoff
Maintenance Sales News Magazine

Officials at Colker Janitorial Supplies include, front row (l-r): Greg Colker, VP Operations; Sandy Hanberry, CEO/President; Lynne and Alan Colker, Founders. Back row (l-r): David James, Sales Manager; Jeff Tishko, VP of Sales; and Bill Hanberry, CFO. (Photos by WDO Photography)

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, Colker Janitorial Supplies has been a fixture in the heart of Pittsburgh, PA, for its entirety — starting as a supplier of natural sea sponges and chamois cloths and then transforming itself into a leading jan/san distributor for a variety of end-user clients.

Officials at Colker Janitorial Supplies have been busy as of late reflecting on the company’s past achievements, while also looking forward to a future that includes helping customers keep a myriad of away-from-home facilities clean and safe.

“Satisfying people’s needs by answering their questions and becoming a resource and partner is very important to us,” Colker Janitorial Supplies President & CEO/Co-Owner Sandy Hanberry said, during a recent interview. “Through today’s technology there are multiple ways for people to get in touch with our representatives. Our focus, as a distributorship, is to be as responsive as possible. Providing a positive experience for our customers is incredibly important — from the initial interaction to the delivery of the product.

“The objective is to have all customers — both large and small — feel important. Every member of our organization plays a key role in making sure that happens continually.”

Woman-owned since its founding in 1974, Hanberry said Colker Janitorial Supplies is more than a wholesale distributor offering leading brands in the janitorial, facility maintenance, industrial cleaning and food service industries. The company also offers expert advice to help customers with smart solutions that extend beyond the box — including on-site cleaning consultations and training programs.

Now in its second generation of woman-led leadership, Colker Janitorial Supplies is a certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) with the Pennsylvania United Certification Program (PA UCP).

“We have a steadfast commitment to meeting our region’s cleaning and janitorial needs,” Hanberry said. “Colker Janitorial Supplies remains committed to helping our customers sparkle and shine, as we have for over 50 years.”

The distributorship’s main facility has always been in Pittsburgh’s famous Strip District. Bordering the city’s downtown, this neighborhood has been referred to as “Pure Pittsburgh.” The one-half square mile Strip District is full of ethnic grocers, produce stands, meat and fish markets and sidewalk vendors.

“Our company started 50 years ago in a little storefront location that continues to be part of our current facility. Over the years, we expanded in this location. That included the purchase of a warehouse that was next to our original site,” Hanberry explained. “We now have 20,000 square feet of warehouse space at our Pittsburgh location.”

For nearly 10 years, Colker Janitorial Supplies has also operated a second facility in Indiana, PA, a city located approximately 46 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The location includes an office and 13,000 square feet in warehouse space.

“We are one of the few janitorial supply companies remaining in the City of Pittsburgh. One benefit to that is many of our customers enjoy working with a local company. The same is true for our Indiana, PA, location, which is located about an hour and a half from Pittsburgh,” Hanberry said. “There is less walk-in traffic at the (Indiana, PA) location, but we encourage people from both areas to visit us and see what we have to offer.”

The overall service region of Colker Janitorial Supplies encompasses a radius of approximately 140 miles, with most products being delivered to customers via the distributorship’s own trucks and drivers.

“We’ve expanded our service region over the years to include more of southwestern Pennsylvania,” Hanberry said. “There are also national clients of ours who receive products through UPS delivery.”

One big event scheduled for September 12 at the company’s Pittsburgh facility is a 50th Anniversary Customer Appreciation Day. The open house will include vendor showcases, product demonstrations, giveaways, door prices and sponge cake — the latter in recognition of the company’s roots as a natural sea sponge supplier.

“We are excited about that event and hope to see a lot of our customers. Several of our vendors will discuss various topics, such as sustainability, chemicals, paper and more,” Hanberry said. “The main goal of the open house is to thank our customers for allowing us to celebrate 50 years, and to also let them know we look forward to helping them in the future.”

A Valued Mentor

The current success of Colker Janitorial Supplies is driven by the distributorship’s proud history. In 1974, Hanberry’s mother, Lynne Colker, purchased Samuel Westerman Import & Export, a small family-owned business that was founded in 1916 and sold natural sea sponges and chamois cloths in the Pittsburgh area. Renamed L.M. Colker Company, Inc., soon after the purchase, Lynne Colker began to expand her sponge and chamois cloth business to include specialty cleaning products namely for window washers, commercial cleaners and other small businesses.

Over the years, Lynne Colker met the many challenges of being a woman business owner in a male- dominated industry. She continued to grow her company into one of the region’s leading wholesale distributors of commercial cleaning supplies, serving customers working in a range of industries.

“My mother was a stay-at-home mom when she bought the business. Both my father (Alan Colker) and my mom grew up in family businesses and had engineering backgrounds. The latter is how they met,” Hanberry said. “Most window washers 50 years ago used natural sponges and shammies and depended on suppliers to provide them with those products. My mom was able to supply such items during the day while my siblings and I were in school. Eventually, she expanded the business organically by also supplying cleaning chemicals and related products as demand dictated. My father eventually joined the business as well after he retired from his previous career, helping augment the company’s success.”

Of course, as is the case with many small, family-run enterprises, Hanberry and her siblings found themselves helping in a variety of ways at a young age.

“I remember coming to our facility just about every Saturday as a young child with my dad. We would sometimes have sponge packing parties. That is how we made money in middle school, packing sponges for our parents. I also recall as a child picking pieces of sponge off our newly washed clothes, as my dad would use our washing machine to also wash sea sponges,” Hanberry said, with a laugh.

Hanberry’s brother, Greg Colker, who is now Chief Operating Officer/Co-Owner at the distributorship, added that as he became older, many of his friends also started working at the business on a part-time basis.

“Many years later, I still get together with some of those friends, and we start talking about working at the company,” Greg Colker said. “There are many great memories of those times.”

As a child, Hanberry didn’t envision herself working at the family business when she became an adult, but after getting married nearly 30 years ago and living in Boston, MA, with her husband, William (Bill) Hanberry, the two eventually joined Sandy’s parents to help run the distributorship, soon to be followed by her brother Greg.

“The idea was for my husband and I to help at the company for just a couple of years, but we are still here. My husband is now the CFO,” Hanberry said.

Eventually, Jeff Tishko also joined the business. He is currently Vice President of Business Development/Co-Owner, while also serving as President of the DPA Buying Group.

Now retired, Alan and Lynne Colker recently participated in several videos posted on the company’s Facebook page, recounting the history of the distributorship. One video shows the 93-year-old Alan Colker demonstrating the best way to cut a sea sponge while using a table saw, all the while discussing how we learned such an unusual trade many decades ago.

Hanberry gives her mother a lot of credit for starting a business while also being a full-time mom with young children.

“I am very fortunate that my mentor growing up was my mother. She has always been a great role model, demonstrating to me what is possible. I was never told I couldn’t do something because I was a woman. That confidence has greatly helped me throughout my business career,” Hanberry said. “Over the years, I have driven and unloaded delivery trucks, while also learning how to become successful in sales.

“My parents put all types of situations in front of me and then showed confidence I could handle those situations. I am very grateful for that strength they helped develop.”

Hanberry credits her parents as well for teaching the value of customer service and finding the best ways to meet client needs.

“I have also learned, while working in the cleaning industry for as long as I have, that there is always new information coming along that can help you remain relevant in this business,” she added. “And, as a business owner, it’s important to surround yourself with good people. We have been very fortunate over the years to have great employees at Colker Janitorial Supplies. Many of those employees have worked at our company for a long time. If you treat employees like family, they in return, will become very loyal to the company.”

Such loyalty helps in many ways, such as when current employees are willing to recommend to the company good people to hire for open positions. That has been very beneficial during today’s tough hiring environment, according to Hanberry.

She noted the cleaning industry can be hard to grasp for new employees, especially when starting a sales position.

“I tell people who are new to this industry that they’re never going to know everything. It’s next to impossible. The keys are to first grasp the basics and to always be honest,” Hanberry said. “There is a huge learning curve involved, and it’s a constantly changing industry — involving better chemicals, better ways to clean floors, etc.

“That is why we (at Colker Janitorial Supplies) often start new sales professionals with in-house positions rather than immediately sending them out on the street. That helps new hires better understand our industry at a more reasonable pace.”

Providing The Personal Touch

Customers of Colker Janitorial Supplies come in many sizes, and no customer is too small for the distributorship.

“We work with universities, school districts, facility managers of all types, contract cleaners, municipalities and counties. Some of our customers operate woman-owned businesses, which we can relate,” Hanberry said. “Along with supplying a wide variety of products, we also service equipment from both of our locations. That includes floor machines, vacuums and walk-behinds. We provide such service in-house and at a customer’s location. It’s a service our distributorship has provided for years and includes recent expansion of those capabilities. For example, we are currently working with Allegheny County (PA), inspecting their floor machinery inventory to see which machines are worth repairing and which ones need replaced.”

The distributorship also installs and services warewashing and laundry systems for customers.

Expanding its service offerings is one way that representatives at Colker Janitorial Supplies can keep business flowing, which is especially important in a time when not all types of jan/san-related work is flourishing.

“I feel the overall business climate is a little stagnant right now. For example, it seems customers involved in the industrial side of business are still booming, while the office segment has dwindled since more people are working from home,” Hanberry said. “It also seems the number of distributorships is dwindling within the cleaning supply industry. A lot of family-owned businesses aren’t going on to the next generation. As for our distributorship, we have purchased several businesses over the years to help sustain our growth.

“Another factor for continued growth involves our company’s personal touch, which is incredibly important. For example, it’s not uncommon for our sales reps to personally take items to customers, refill their air fresheners on location, etc. They are also good with customer training and answering questions. Our in-house customer service staff helps to support those efforts. We consider every customer important. Therefore, it’s imperative that we deliver products in a timely manner and recommend substitutions as well as new products that have recently been introduced. Many customers today are getting bombarded with so much information over the internet. It’s our job to help customers shuffle through all that information, sit down with them and create a plan for what best fits their individual needs.”

Helping customers focus on new ways of conducting business is also important at Colker Janitorial Supplies, such as addressing issues involving the use of more sustainable products and systems.

“That will be one of our focus areas during our 50th Anniversary Customer Appreciation Day. The term ‘sustainability’ is often misunderstood. When some people think about sustainability they often immediately think about ‘green cleaning,’ but it’s so much more than that,” Hanberry said. “It’s about looking at your carbon footprint, using fewer disposable products/throw-away items while making use of recycled materials. It’s a huge topic that I think needs to be addressed more.

“The Pittsburgh area is little behind when it comes to seeking sustainable options. On the other hand, more of our customers are taking care of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings. Therefore, as a distributor, it’s our duty to help those customers meet their sustainable needs.”

Lending its support to fight period poverty is also important for representatives of the distributorship. And it’s a timely topic in Pennsylvania as state officials have been busy making sure feminine hygiene products are offered freely in schools and public restrooms.

“We are working to educate customers to the issue and raising awareness about how many women, especially of school-age, may not have access to proper feminine hygiene products, and thus are missing school or work as a result,” Hanberry said. “The end result affects not only school and workplace attendance but also the overall economy.”

Focusing On The Next Half Century

Sandy Hanberry jokes that she doesn’t plan to still be working at Colker Janitorial Supplies 50 years from now. However, she is excited about what the future can bring for not only her company, but the overall cleaning industry in the years — and decades — ahead.

“I feel the future of our company is good. It’s important that we remain adaptive to change that continues to be felt within both the cleaning and overall business landscapes,” she said. “For example, we constantly are improving our different services to help our customers succeed. If they succeed, we will succeed. I am looking forward to what the future will bring.

“The main objective heading into the future is to provide products and services that customers need. For example, we work hard to make sure those customers who seek better floor matting options are getting mats that have been properly sized. It’s important to take the guesswork out of the purchase decision, so that the matting properly fits their floors. That is what a good distributor will provide and is something many people struggle with when they purchase matting over the internet.”

Another key for continued success as a distributorship is working with quality supplier partners that focus on maintaining strong relationships and superior communication.

“We appreciate those suppliers who are willing to give us, as a distributorship, their full attention. Proper communication goes a long way in achieving that attention,” Hanberry said. “One big issue is product exclusivity, allowing us to sell products not available from our direct competitors. That is something we continue to focus on with suppliers. The objective is to keep supplier relationships strong, so that the distributor and supplier are growing together.”

She noted one thing remains as true today and when her mother started Colker Janitorial Supplies 50 years ago — people still need help when cleaning away-from-home facilities, the importance of which was magnified during the Covid pandemic.

“We are always stressing the importance of cleanliness and the value of clean. It’s a focus that needs to continue in all areas of the industry,” Hanberry said. “The problem is, there are people in charge of facility maintenance who want to use products they see at supermarkets, often involving familiar brand names. It’s our job, as a distributor, to remind those people they are not cleaning a home. Cleaning a facility is different. We can show them how to save on costs and time by using products and systems designed for specific types of facilities. That can include odor control and proper floor care. Again, it’s all about helping customers succeed and overcome different challenges.”

Reflecting on her time spent thus far as a distributor, Hanberry said the decision to come back to Pittsburgh nearly 30 years ago and help operate the family business has been a good one.

“It’s a lot of hard work, but also very rewarding. The best part is seeing our customers grow over the years. Many of them are entrepreneurs, which I have a lot of respect for, as I know how hard they work,” she said. “It’s also been satisfying to see how much growth has taken place at our own business. A lot of that is due to the great people who have worked here over the years. Their talents, loyalty and hard work are greatly appreciated. It can take a lot of time and energy to help customers succeed, but our employees have always been very willing to make that success happen.

“I’m also grateful for my family. They have always been very supportive. My brother and I grew up in this business and we are still at it today. As kids, we counted sponges over the summer. At that time, we had no idea we would still be here, but it’s become a part of us — and that continues to be very rewarding.”

Visit colkerjanitorial.com.