C&W Services won one of three janitorial contracts awarded by the Port of Seattle for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, adding the world’s 28th busiest airport to the roster of major airports it serves. The Port broke up its previous exclusive contract for janitorial services into multiple contracts to increase performance and small business opportunities. C&W Services, partnering with Whayne Enterprises, a small, minority-owned business based in Denver, was the only large business to be awarded work at Sea-Tac, and will be transitioning employees from the former provider. C&W Services will operate in South Satellite, Concourse A, Concourse B, and public pre-security areas such as the ticketing and baggage claim areas.
“C&W Services is pleased to be part of the new janitorial contract for Sea-Tac Airport and is committed to partnering with the Port of Seattle on their mission to provide world-class service to travelers,” said Paul Bedborough, Chief Executive of C&W Services. “We are excited to add SeaTac to our portfolio of major airports we support in the U.S.” C&W Services provides similar services to Boston Logan International Airport and Miami International Airport.
“We have been introducing innovative new ideas and technologies such as robotics and sensors at Logan and Miami Airports,” Bedborough said. “The ability to bring those innovations to Sea-Tac was an important part of the value our new client saw in C&W Services.”
“While we’re working with several corporations and institutions to bring the efficiency of robotics to the mix of cleaning options, airports are particularly exciting clients to partner with,” said Holly Borrego, Senior Director of Cleaning Services for C&W Services. “Robots are an ideal way to clean large public spaces with minimal oversight, and passengers enjoy watching the machines in operation.”
Business development lead Hal Sherman agreed that C&W Services’ established industry leadership helped Sea-Tac become comfortable with our firm. “Milagros Dias, who oversees Miami Airport, was part of the team that presented our capabilities to Sea-Tac. She showed deep understanding of the specific challenges airports face in managing cleaning tasks safely and effectively. It was clear we not only knew how to step right in at Sea-Tac, but that we could bring new ideas.”
According to Sea-Tac, the new contracts will improve customer service, accountability and provide revenue opportunities for more small and disadvantaged businesses. The four new contracts cover different parts of the facility, but each will increase performance standards, project an increase in labor hours and the number of jobs and will include employee retention and labor harmony provisions to protect workers.
“We see this as a win-win-win for passengers, workers and small businesses,” said Lance Lyttle, Managing Director at Sea-Tac Airport. “This contract will improve quality and performance to provide world-class service to our travelers, reward the companies with the best performance, increase the opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses and build in protections for valued workers.”
The other winning bidders included PRIDE Industries, a non-profit social enterprise based in Roseville, California that creates jobs for people with disabilities and veterans, and Evergreen Building Services, LLC, a small, woman-owned business based in Mill Creek, Washington. In addition, Whayne Enterprises won an independent bid to operate independently in some non-public areas of the airport.
Credit Port of Seattle image by Peter Shelton.