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October 2 2023

Commercial Floor Cleaning Robots and the Distributor Who Knows They're the Future

The commercial cleaning industry is on an uptick thanks to the continued development and construction of commercial buildings and a lingering interest in heightened sanitation in the years following the pandemic. But the industry wouldn’t get very far without someone to supply the cleaning tools and products used each day.

That’s where commercial cleaning suppliers come in. The US commercial cleaning supply industry is a valuable market, most recently measured at $22 billion. Cleaning and janitorial services—whether in-house or contracted—rely on suppliers to provide not only the time-tested and reliable, but also the latest and greatest, in cleaning products such as tools, chemicals, and machines.

One product in the “latest and greatest” category is the autonomous floor cleaning robot. While the first consumer-grade robot vacuums (i.e., Roomba) rapidly shot to popularity when they came out twenty years ago, it’s taken decades longer for commercial floor cleaning robots to be seen as anything more than an expensive, unreliable novelty. It took Walmart famously announcing its adoption of robotic floor scrubbers in 2018 to really rocket the concept into the mainstream.

Today, thanks to advances in camera and sensor technology, software, and the Internet of Things, commercial floor cleaning robots have come into their own, and are quickly being adopted not just by large retailers like Walmart, but by nearly every facility type under the sun, including hospitals, schools, casinos, hotels, malls, airports and more.

At Pringle Robotics, we specialize in developing and supporting service robots for people-facing industries. We partner with the highest quality manufacturers, selecting only the very best robots to integrate with our software, our industry-leading support team, and our brand. And in that quest for the best, we settled upon two outstanding autonomous floor cleaning robots to perfect, adapt to our platform, and add to our product lineup.

The CC1 and CC3 are the next step in the evolution of the autonomous floor cleaning robot. Neither bulky nor unwieldy, these two powerhouse performers sacrifice nothing when it comes to cleaning prowess—all without resembling a zamboni that’s gotten lost outside the ice rink. Both models are sleek and compact enough to be put to use in a variety of settings that might be a tight squeeze for bulkier robots, but easily go head-to-head with their hulking counterparts when it comes to performance.

The CC1 is possibly the most versatile autonomous floor cleaning robot on the market. With the ability to vacuum, sweep, mop and scrub, CC1 can handle nearly all types of hard flooring and commercial carpet. It can also be used manually for spot cleaning. When paired with an optional workstation, CC1 will self-charge, empty itself of refuse and dirty water, and refill with clean water, ready to keep cleaning as long as needed. And because of its compact size, it can be used in locations unsuitable for larger robots or walk-behind machines.

The CC3 is an industrial-grade floor scrubbing robot for hard floors. Larger than the CC1, but still quite compact for its class, this workhorse BoT can cover an impressive 15,000 - 20,000 square feet of flooring per hour. CC3 has both wet and dry cleaning modes for scrubbing and sweeping, and is ideal for most types of hard flooring like hardwood, marble, epoxy, concrete, stone, etc. It also self-charges, empties and refills itself and operates completely autonomously to get the job done. Both BoTs provide detailed cleaning reports and are completely safe to use around people and during peak business hours thanks to advanced object avoidance technology.

And while all of that’s easy for us to say, we wanted to get the perspective of someone on the front lines of commercial cleaning. Jim Sinn has been an Account Manager with Dalco Enterprises for over 35 years. Minneapolis-based Dalco, a division of Imperial Dade, is one of the nation’s premier providers of commercial, institutional and industrial facility maintenance, cleaning supplies, and equipment. Jim has been able to offer floor cleaning robots to his cleaning and facility maintenance clients since 2019, and became a Pringle Robotics distributor partner earlier this year. We were lucky enough to sit down with him to hear about the benefits his clients are seeing when they incorporate robotic floor cleaners, common objections, and the future of this technology within the industry.

What is the general state of awareness of or interest in robotic cleaning solutions among your customers? Does this vary by vertical/industry?

Interest is generally high. Many of my clients are aware of this robotic technology from online searches. The problem is, a lot of cleaning robots on the market aren’t that good yet, and it can be hard to justify the expense. I’d say in terms of awareness, schools, hospitals and colleges know the most up front and are the most aware. This will probably evolve and other types of facilities and industries will catch up. This is a perfect time to look into robotics with companies having a hard time filling positions.

What benefits have you seen (as a distributor) from being able to offer this technology as part of your product line?

I’ve always believed that by selling the BEST thing that’s out there, you may not get a sale every time, but you show the customer that you’re the real deal and can be relied upon. You differentiate yourself by offering them top-of-the-line products that you believe in, like Pringle Robotics. When I steer them towards a CC1 or CC3, depending on their needs, it’s because I know they’re going to be happy with the results, the support team, the ROI.

What benefits have your customers seen from using floor cleaning robots?

Well, often initially when I talk to customers about robotics, they have that typical concern that they’ll have to lay people off if they start using a robot—even if they’re the ones who reached out to me because they’re interested. And of course, it always turns out that it’s just not the case. Most places can't fill open staff positions. And even if they’re well staffed, there’s still lots of work they can’t get to, not enough time. So a huge benefit is getting a tedious but very important job done automatically. Having robots to do the floors gives human staff more time. And the CC1 and CC3 do a great job, providing outstanding cleaning with very little human interaction. Especially here in the upper Midwest, we’re constantly getting snow, slush and mud dragged inside depending on the time of year, so having floors cleaned regularly is very important.

Are there any typical objections that you hear from customers in terms of buying or using robots?

They certainly question cost vs. value when they first see the price of a cleaning robot vs. a manual machine. But I encourage them to think beyond that comparison and instead look at cost vs. labor savings. For example, I was able to show a large school district that in less than two years, one of these robots pays for itself in terms of labor savings. And that’s not from laying off janitorial staff or anything dystopian. It’s in terms of not scrambling for subs, not having extra expenses surrounding recruitment, hiring, etc. Plus, there’s no way around it—cleaning floors by having a person manually vacuum, walk behind a machine, etc., is incredibly time consuming. It takes hours out of a janitor’s day. When a facility has robots take over those really time consuming, repetitive jobs, it lets the janitorial and maintenance staff focus on higher-value work.

What distinguishes the customers who are interested in this technology from the ones who aren’t?

Often it’s technical savvy and how advanced the business or facility is. I can see both sides. Some feel like if it ain’t broke, don't fix it. But the facilities that are looking to the next big thing, looking to save labor—they’re going towards robotics.

What problems are customers facing that are well answered by robots?

Labor shortages and personnel issues are the biggies. It’s really perfect timing since the workforce hasn’t replenished itself after Covid. Commercial cleaning requires a higher level of effort post-Covid, particularly in places like schools. These facilities are cleaning bathrooms at least two times per day now after Covid. The extra cleaning and attention to detail takes a big bite out of existing on-site labor. If autonomous robots can do the big jobs like floor cleaning automatically, it leaves a lot of extra time for the detailed work that’s also very important.

What feedback are you getting from customers who are using robots?

Feedback is really good. In some cases it takes a certain type of person to embrace the robot or be the “bot manager.” You sometimes need someone who likes tech, really cares about their job, cleanliness standards, etc. Once they get into the habit of using the robot, it goes perfectly. Changing norms and habits is the hardest thing.

How would you rate the overall quality of our products/service?

I’ve been so impressed with the quality of Pringle Robotics' products. And there's nobody better for service and support. Where else would the owner come and help with training and walk you through everything? Everyone at Pringle Robotics has been fantastic to work with. Everyone is working together to move the ball forward.

Have you had any positive or negative experiences with the CC1 and CC3 now that you’ve been supplying them to clients for a while?

Definitely no negative experiences! The positives are endless, the “wow factor” is off the charts when clients see the robots or start using them. If money wasn't an issue, everyone would have one. There’s a lot of people looking in couch cushions and squeezing their wallets right now to find the extra money to buy one of these bots because they’d all like to have them.

If you’re interested in learning more about what autonomous floor cleaning robots can do for your business or facility, get in touch!

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