Dealer Spotlight: Talking Development and Big Plans With Capital Power Clean Ltd's Managing Director

We’re nowhere without our amazing partners and dealers, so each quarter, we talk to one of our dealers about their business, their experience in the sector and what led them to skyVac!

Please introduce yourself.  

My name’s Tom, I’m MD at Capital Power Clean in Livingston, Scotland. 

What did you do before you started the business? 

Well, I’ve been in the industry for about 31 years and before I started Capital Power Clean, I worked for large organisations, selling pressure washers, vehicle cleaning consumables and larger machines for truck cleaning.

However, I consistently noticed that customer service was often overshadowed by pricing and margins, and I wanted to create a company where excellent customer service was the core focus, not an afterthought.

How did Capital Power Clean come about?

I realised that if I wanted to make a significant change in prioritising customer service, I needed to start my own business, where I could really put customers first, not just talk about it. So, I took the plunge and set up Capital Power Clean back in October 2007.

In the beginning, there were just three of us, based over in Broxburn. I clearly remember when news of the recession hit in December of that year, I was sitting at my desk, looking out the window at a single pallet of products, and had a little panic, wondering what I was going to do.

However, I quickly realised that I had nothing to lose, and I just needed to give things a go, and that commitment to our vision saw us through. We’ve been growing steadily ever since, building relationships with customers, broadening our product range and increasing the business year on year.

What’s been the secret to your success?

Our growth has been amazing, frankly, which I feel is down to a team effort. Percy has been a great support as my sales manager, Gill has kept us on the straight and narrow in an operational capacity and my daughter, Jolene, who is the Service and Office Manager, have each been instrumental in this journey over the years.

We've grown to a team of 14 and we are currently on a recruitment drive to expand further, by increasing the team by at least five. It’s the dedication of our team that has allowed us to fuel our growth and I couldn’t be more proud.

What are your plans/hopes for the next 5 years? 

We’ve got customers all over the UK now, which is brilliant – and we have recently branched out into exporting to Europe, which has been challenging - but I’m not one for shying away from a challenge. So we look forward to continuing this export branch of the business, and expanding further in the future – always keeping our core values at the forefront of our business operations.

When did you start selling skyVac systems?

We started selling skyVac products about 10 years ago; and we enjoy working with the Spinaclean team and have built a really good relationship. 

What is your favourite skyVac product?

Right now, it’s the Interceptor, it’s our skyVac bestseller that ticks loads of boxes for our customers - however we’re also enjoying getting to grips with the new Nitro and where it sits in the market as well.

What could we do better for you? 

Honestly, nothing springs to mind to be honest, you are great communicators, with fast delivery and amazing advice when needed. We particularly enjoyed the demos that Rob and Helen, from your Sales team, did for us when they travelled up last year for our Open Day – we LOVED those. So perhaps more of that when we arrange our next one?!