NCW data center janitorial company, iPro Building Services, to turn 10 with hefty resume

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According to Eaton, the company started with one employee and one client. This year, the company has 110 employees and 220 clients, with 10 million square feet cleaned nightly across three states.

Wenatchee Valley resident Eaton said he was prompted to open iPro after working with another commercial cleaning company that wasn’t adapting to the “ever-changing cleaning industry.”

“I knew that if I wanted to continue to grow in this business, it would have to be on my own,” Eaton said. “I wanted to create something where there was a need, as well as a business that was recession proof — the janitorial industry is a $90-billion-dollar-a-year industry. Offices have people; those people create trash, track in dirt, use supplies and they don’t have time to clean themselves.”

iPro Building Services tailors its daily and nightly scope to work with the individual client, Eaton said. The company offers monthly, quarterly and yearly services that range from window cleaning to a certified specialty services team. Office, medical facilities, industrial facilities and data centers are on the company’s roster.

“Data center cleaning is a complex process — there’s a lot to it. Data centers cannot shut down; it would have major consequences to businesses, not just in the U.S., but around the world,” Eaton said. “Our teams have gone through extensive training and certification processes to learn the ins and outs of this type of cleaning. Basically, we have state of the art equipment, as well as specific types of cleaning chemicals that are approved for data server room environments. Honestly, it’s quite the process and there are only a handful of companies that are certified in our state to do this kind of work.”

According to Eaton, data centers are often at least an 100,000-square-foot warehouse, filled with data servers, and iPro is tasked with cleaning each server, as well as every inch of the floor. For instance, HEPA filter backpack vacuums are used to pick up unwanted particles on the floor and subfloor.

Eaton said he couldn’t identify Fortune 500 companies the company has worked with due to non-disclosure agreements, but “think of the largest technology companies in the world and iPro is probably there cleaning.”

iPro has also jotted down “TV appearance” on its resume, after being featured on the show “Bar Rescue” in three episodes. The show followed along host Jon Taffer as he remodeled struggling bars. iPro stepped in and “we cleaned up the mess,” said Eaton.

“It was a fun experience that helped get our name out on a national level,” Eaton said. “Did it help our business grow tremendously? No, but it did lead to some great clients that we still service today.”

Eaton also said he spearheaded local networking group, The Entrepreneurs Edge, that includes three other local business owners. The group of “like-minded entrepreneurs that have walked the path and know what the next steps should be in starting a new business,” Eaton said, usually meets monthly to talk shop with a new business owner for free.

“We want to focus on working on your business, helping that new business owner think differently and give them fresh ideas to take back with them,” Eaton said. “Entrepreneurs Edge is currently working with the owners of the new pro basketball team, The Wenatchee Bighorns.”

Those interested in the entrepreneur group can call the iPro office at (509) 668-1511.