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CONTACT:
COMPANY CONTACT:
Belinda Banks
S&S Public Relations Coverall Cleaning Concepts
908-685-2300
561-922-2690
belinda@sspr.com
marcik@coverall.com
Janitorial Franchise Owner Turns Inventor with Back-Saving Doorstopper
New
Device Inspired by Work with Coverall Cleaning Concepts’ Customers
FARMINGTON, MN (July 17th, 2007) — After many years in the commercial cleaning business,
Coverall Cleaning Concepts Franchise Owner Robert Duff had recurrent aches and
pains from bending over every time he had to use a doorstopper to prop a door
open. To solve the problem, the owner/operator
of Coverall Cleaning Concepts’ Franchise out of the
Hitting the market for the first
time this month, “Duff’s Doorstopper” consists of a traditional wedge-shaped
rubber base with a separate 30” screw-in handle available in a collapsible
version that fits in a pocket as well as a non-collapsible version that can
hook onto a cleaning cart. When the
handle is attached, the doorstopper can be placed in and removed from any door
with one hand while standing up straight, reducing bending-related strain on
the back, legs and knees.
Duff, 40, is selling his
invention at www.duffsdoorstoppers.com.
His marketing efforts will be directed
at the 9,000 other Franchise Owners in the Coverall Cleaning Concepts network
as well as hotels, other janitorial services and consumers with physical
infirmities.
“I invented this product for
myself, partly because I have only one good hand, but I discovered that my
cleaning colleagues had similar complaints about conventional
doorstoppers. They hurt their backs from
the repeated bending, and they have problems maneuvering their cleaning
equipment while sliding the doorstopper under the door,” Duff says. “I knew there had to be a better solution.”
Born with a mild case of cerebral
palsy that has primarily affected his left hand, Duff began cleaning commercial
offices and buildings for a living at the age of 16 as part of a job training
program for individuals with physical disabilities. He went on to earn an accounting degree from
Duff’s father-in-law also owned
a Coverall Cleaning Concepts franchise, and Duff decided to follow in his
footsteps. In 1993, Duff and his wife Rosetta purchased their own franchise and
began building a clientele. Today they
have accounts ranging from corporate offices and multi-tenant office buildings
to banks and senior citizen coops. The
Duffs and four employees clean five days a week from 8 pm to 2 am.
Over the years, Duff not only
had physical difficulties in using doorstoppers but also got billed several
times for accidental door damage caused by vacuum cleaners, garbage receptacles
and janitors’ carts he propped against the doors while putting the doorstoppers
in place. Gradually he devised an
alternative design.
By 2001, he had a prototype that
he began using in his own cleaning work and showing to friends and associates at
Coverall Cleaning Concepts. Over the
next few years, encouraged by the positive response, he applied for a patent,
found a manufacturer in
“I didn’t set out to invent
anything or start a new business. I was
just trying to make things easier for myself,” Duff says. “If I can do the same thing for other people,
that’s a bonus.”
About
Coverall Cleaning Concepts
Founded in 1985, Coverall Cleaning Concepts is one of the world’s leading commercial
cleaning franchising companies with a worldwide network of more than 90