WelcomeWelcome to the latest edition of the IFM Comac Newsletter.Currently we are looking towards certification in ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 with the integrated management system in place sincethe end of January. This system has seen a few changes in our workingpractice to ensure customer satisfaction, continual improvement, pollutionprevention and injury prevention. It is hoped that certification will beobtained by the end of April in accordance with legislation.

This month we completed the modernisation of the cleaning equipment atMount Lourdes Grammar School, Enniskillen. Last year the school movedfrom old fashioned mopping and buffing operations to use automaticscrubber driers. Impressed by the savings and improved results the school has now purchased 4 further Vispas and a Simpla scrubber drier to complete the transformation.

For any of your feedback or comments please get in touch and let us know about your machine experiences.

AHCP ExhibitionIFM Online UpdateTitanic Signature BuildingUpcoming EventsNew StaffE3 Based ProjectA Visit from Giampaolo Ruffo

In this issue…

Industrial Floorcare Machines Your professional floorcare solutions expert.

NEWSLETTERISSUE 2APRIL 2012

The TitanicSignature Building

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It was all hands on deck for the opening of the newTitanic Signature Building, in Belfast, Queen’s Island,with the launch taking place on Saturday 31st March.

With the Titanic Signature Building driving aninvestment of a £97 million world-class visitorattraction only the highest quality of cleaningmachines would do. We have supplied a range of our most efficient and user friendly machines to thisproject including the Abila 50BT, the Simpla, theMotorscrubber as well as 3 Vispa 35 scrubbingmachines.

The Signature Building is one of six key tourismprojects to enhance the Northern Ireland tourismoffering. The Titanic’s Dock & Pump-House, H&WDrawing Offices, SS Nomadic, Hamilton Dock and the Slipways have all been restored and revitalised to transform the Titanic Quarter into a celebration of Belfast’s legendary history. It is a privilege to bepart of this restoration and partnership.

With the award of the cleaning contract to MountCharles Group nothing was going to be left to chance.Manager Jonathan McKinlay selected Comac Abilaand Vispa models for their reliability, performance andalso for their low noise and aesthetics as the cleaningwill be carried out around the clock.

People will be blown away by the new TitanicSignature Project and all of us at IFM are playing our part in keeping this building up to scratch with our machines and excellent customer service.

An Engineering Feat for the 21st Century!

CUSTOMER COMMENTS“The back-up and service from IFM are both excellent. We chose the Simpla and Vispa because we already had them but both these have made our lives a lot easier.”Una Ditaranto, Mount Lourdes Grammar School.

“We have trialled a host of machines and found the Abila 50 met our needs.”Diana Boyd, Methodist College, Belfast.

IFM Comac OnlineWith IFM’s online activity increasing it is important to keep up-to-date with the newest technologies. Invest NI held a cloud computing talk, on 10th November 2011, presented by a company called Whisple Cloud Services. We found it veryinformative and a chance to learn more about this newservice – a service hosting over a network. Cloud computing isbeing seen as the next big trend by IT professionals and can bedefined as a type of computing that involves delivering hostedservices over the internet and relies on sharing computingresources rather than having local servers or personnel devices.

We are already taking part in this new cloud computing servicethrough Twitter and Facebook but there are so many otheradvantages. Increased security is one, as the server is backed up regularly as well as being situated off site.Another is that all employees have access to particular documents from anywhere, so engineers could haveaccess to machine wiring diagrams whilst on site. More consideration is needed but cloud computing does seemthe way forward.

What’s On at IFM?CHRISTMAS PARTYIt feels like ages ago now, but we would like to thank everyone for joining us at our Christmas Party– it was a great success.

AMSTERDAM SHOWComac SpA play a major part in the ISSA Intercleanshow and this year is no exception. The leadingEuropean event takes place in Amsterdam from the 8th-11th of May 2012. A few of us here at IFM are attendingthe event and looking forward to seeing the impressivecollection of cleaning technologies on the market.

NEWS FROM DUBLIN OFFICEGer Doherty from our Dublin partner ICE will be takingpart in the Laurels Charity Crew Charity Cycle fromGalway to Dublin on the weekend of April the 20th insupport of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin.

It’s a 220km cycle over two days and will be completedby approximately 220 people all raising much neededfunds for the hospital.

The Children’s Medical & Research Foundation is theprincipal fundraising body for Our Lady’s Children’sHospital Crumlin as well as the Children’s ResearchCentre and is dedicated to working to improve thequality of life for this and future generations of sickChildren.

With your support we can assist in ground breakingresearch into childhood illness and disease as well aspurchasing state of the art medical equipment.

As well as participating in the cycle ICE and IFM arecontributing by supplying logistical support for the event.

Each cyclist is trying to raise as much as possible so anydonations large or small would be greatly appreciated.

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@IFMComacWE HAVE JOINED TWITTER For businesses there are a number of to benefits to using twitter. For us they include: • Participation in Industry Conversation • Create Brand Awareness • Product & Services Promotions • Instant Online Feedback

A Visit from Giampaolo RuffoFor the people who do not know, Industrial Floorcare Machines andComac are both family owned businesses, IFM by the Cullen familyand Comac by the Ruffo family, so it was a get together of people whoare passionate about their customers, employees and products whenGiampaolo Ruffo visited us here in Belfast.

PICTURED (L-R): PETER VAN DEN BOOM, GERRY CULLEN AND GIAMPOLO RUFFO.

It was the early 1980’s that Giampaolo last visited Belfast as a young maninterpreting for his father and company president Giancarlo Ruffo. Muchhas changed in Northern Ireland since that time both in the political /economic situation and the cleaning industry however the basic principlesof Comac have remained. To create innovative floor cleaning equipmentthat has a high quality to price ratio, is kind to the environment and thatoperators want to use.

Another big passion for the Ruffo family is producing fine Italian wine intheir very own estate, Tenuta Chiccheri in Tregnago, Verona. Wines fromTenuta Chiccheri have made their name known andcan be found in many restaurants in Italy as well asother countries around Europe. Giancarlo Ruffo andGiampaolo have transferred their high standardsinto wine making and have produced top qualitywine from the Valpolicella DOC, sampled here at the Industrial Floorcare Machines Christmas Party.

For more information about Giampaolo Ruffo visit comac.it and keep watching our website,ifmcomac.com, for news and updates.

CALL US TODAY ON 028 9074 9669

AHCPExhibitionBy Anne Hamilton, Northern Trust

The Northern Ireland branch ofthe Association of HealthcareCleaning Professionals held anexhibition of cleaning productsand equipment at KnockbrackenHealthcare Park, Saintfield Road,Belfast on 31st January 2012.

Sixteen companies, affiliated tothe cleaning industry, includingIFM, took part in the exhibition.

With up to fifty AHCP membersand non-members attending theexhibition it was an opportunityfor networking and gainingknowledge of cleaning productsand equipment currently on themarket.

The exhibition was deemed asuccess by both suppliers andvisitors who attended on the day.

E3 Project SolutionsStudents from Belfast Metropolitan College joined our team to help with a new customer database project. This opportunity was developed by the college asProject Based Learning, giving students the chance to work alongside companies,Seeing their work become live and an asset to a business. Belfast Met opened E3which is a new Economic Development Hub, in February 2012, and the base for this E3 Project Based Learning Pilot.

It was worked on from 28th February – 30th March 2012.Throughout, the students were supported by BMC mentors andwere fully focused on the delivery of the project. Students have the chance to further develop professional skills and connect with the needs of employers.

The students joined us on the 29th February, here at our office, to get a feel for our business and the type of data they may need. It helped to visualise what they are working towards.

What will they do for IFM?The project will include the development of customiseddatabase that enables customers to add as well asaccess and edit machine inventory.

The database facility will be available online for customers to register andlogin, allowing them to access history of their machines within their sector. It will also have a function where service requests can be made and storedagainst each machine.

The main objectives of this project are; to provide a useful and user friendly service where customers can keep track of their machines, create a communication point between customer and IFM as well as introducingnew ideas to the website and online development.

This project creates opportunity for the students to develop IT skills that are very much relevant within the business as well as the chance to bring creativity to the project.

We met with the students on 16/03/2012 and great progress has been made with a workable test version up and running.

DATABASE FEATURESLogin / LogoutAdd a MachineReport a Service CallExport Machine HistoryEdit a Service Call

www.ifmcomac.com

New Staff at IFMLouise Rooney has been welcomedto the IFM family. Louise joined us in December 2011 and has becomean important part of the team.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WORKING FOR IFM?I get on well with my fellow colleagues and like the variety of my working schedule, making each day different and a pleasant working environment.

WHAT WORK ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?Working with customers is a big part of the job when answering phones and dealing with any customer requests. Assisting Linzi Cullen with invoicing and Administration is a key role.

DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT ANY NEW SKILLS SO FAR?My computer skills have improved dramatically and I feel an improvement in communication skills when working alongside staff members and customers.

WHAT HOBBIES DO YOU TAKE PART IN OUTSIDE WORK?One of my biggest interests is watching football and in particular Arsenal. I love the social aspect and the excitement of watching my team play. It does usually cause a few debates in the office.

Louise is the new friendly voice answering the phones to help with any enquiries you may have.

Get in touch…IFM ComacUnit 31-33, North City Business Centre2 Duncairn Business CentreBelfast, BT15 2GG.

Tel: 028 9074 9669Fax: 028 9074 9667Email: sales@cleanireland.comwww.ifmcomac.com

www.ifmcomac.com

YouTube.com/IFMComactwitter.com/IFMComac

PICTURED (L-R): LINZI, LOUISE AND EMMA.