San Antonio Sweeping Services (SASS) does it all. Their widely diversified pavement sweeping fleet represents one of the greatest varieties of pavement services offered anywhere in the industry. The SASS Owner, Brian Cooper, launched the startup with parking lot cleaning and striping services back in 1995. He kept the name but later changed the business model, to discontinue the striping and focus fully on sweeping services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, 30 years later, the SASS pavement sweeping service equipment line is one of the most complete, if not the<\/em> most comprehensive, in the entire country. There\u2019s no niche that the company doesn\u2019t serve, from small Tennant propane sweepers for industrial floors to agile ODRA parking lot sweepers, to the largest highway sweeper trucks. The business model also features state-of-the-art industrial power washing equipment that recycles water as it operates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The company currently has over a dozen employees, plus Brian, his wife, Shannon, VP, and Kevin Black, General Manager. Cooper works from his home office in Austin, Texas, doing the business\u2019s accounting, administrative paperwork, answering the phone, writing contracts, etc. Per Brian, “My wife has a pretty good feel for everything going on in the business. We\u2019ve got three kids. She\u2019s a stay-at-home mother and<\/em> VP of the company. She comes in and does filing, paperwork, takes calls, and does other work. On top of it all, she\u2019s a wonderful stay-at-home mom to our three kids.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Black runs the day-to-day field and maintenance operations based at the company\u2019s shop and office facility about an hour away in Boerne, Texas, which is around a half-hour north of downtown San Antonio, the center of the company\u2019s primary market area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian estimates that SASS probably services around 75 accounts per month on average. The business\u2019s annual gross revenue has increased 20% each year through the past 3 years. As a result, SASS has bought 4 new sweeper trucks this year, 3 ODRAs and 1 NiteHawk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked what accounts for this extraordinary growth in 2024, both Brian and his GM Kevin reflect humbly. Brian’s perspective goes to his vision for leadership, \u201cWe\u2019re not as concerned about hitting a home run with every new contract. We\u2019ll take a base hit.\u201d Kevin adds, \u201cOur goal is to keep everybody working and happy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned, the SASS business model accommodates anyone<\/em> who needs pavement sweeping, in contrast to the industry norm, which trends toward serving niche markets. SASS\u2019s business, per Brian, is about 25% routine parking lot sweeping maintenance, with NiteHawk and ODRAs. About 60% is highway asphalt milling cleanup. The other 15% is construction site cleanup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, SASS has 12 sweeper trucks, including 3 ODRAs (one awaiting delivery), 2 Elgins, 5 Tymcos, 2 NiteHawks, 1 Schwarze, and 3 Tennants. Asked why the company has chosen to add 3 ODRAs out of the 4 new sweeper trucks purchased this year, Kevin answers, \u201cBecause they\u2019re easy to operate, and it\u2019s a very versatile piece of equipment. It can be used for parking lots, milling cleanup, heavy debris, etc. The vacuum works well, but it has a mechanical broom that is very<\/em> strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian adds, \u201cWe choose a truck based on what we\u2019ll be doing with it. But we\u2019ll always stay with the Isuzu, Tymco, and ODRA chassis because they\u2019re easier to work on, and we can swap parts back and forth with others of their kind that we already have. Since we have a large inventory of parts for all of those, we can usually get one up and running pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe take care of everything in-house,\u201d Kevin explains. \u201cWe have a large inventory of parts on hand and we have a mechanic in-house. We don\u2019t take anything to a shop at all. We do everything from small to major repairs daily. We might not do washings daily, but each sweeper truck is gone over and cleaned every day before it goes out on another run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daily maintenance is critical. It keeps the trucks running longer. We have a Tymco that we\u2019ve had since 2006, and it is still running great to this day because we strive to be thorough with the daily maintenance. The trucks are greased, oil is checked, and parts are replaced as needed. Downtime is mostly caused by errors like maybe a driver taking a corner too sharply, or someone forgetting to do this or that maintenance task, etc.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian adds, \u201cOn a construction site, there\u2019s not always a clear path to what should be swept. There are unknown hazards, and sweeper truck tires tend to find those hazards. It\u2019s a learning process for customers and drivers. The trucks don’t break down from being a truck, but from a driver hitting the side of a dump truck, or some damaging debris, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn Texas,\u201d Brian continued, \u201cpreserving the environment, including protecting waterways in good condition, is a priority. We use the Cyclone brand pressure washing machine that sucks the water back out, and we then take it to a facility to dump instead of going down a drain and into the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We use the Cyclone pressure washers for services to construction companies and property management companies, parking garages, etc. We have a couple of trailers with 1,000-gallon water tanks, with high-pressure pumps that go from 2\u201d to 1\u201d pressure. Sweepers can\u2019t pick up light dust, so we can wash it off the pavement, and we can help anywhere where there\u2019s a need for pressure washing of various other kinds of surfaces in San Antonio too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We asked about marketing and sales for San Antonio Sweeping, and we discussed other topics below. Brian tells the story from here: We get requests to provide bids, and we look on the computer for those opportunities, and we do go out physically to make sales calls, but not much because we\u2019re usually so busy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n We haven\u2019t needed to do much for marketing. People have heard of us. It\u2019s all word of mouth. We\u2019re all over Austin and from there, throughout south Texas, and we\u2019re in parts of central Texas. It\u2019s worked for us. We\u2019re blessed to have the business we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have logos on our trucks with the office number, and that\u2019s really where we get most of our business, from worksites. Our guys wear work shirts with our logo, and the newer style with gray reflective strips all have the logo. We give mugs with logos to job supervisors who may be in a position to steer business our way. Asphalt companies may wear our shirts, and they work together with other contractors. So, they\u2019ll tell others about us, and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I talk to pretty much everybody who calls in for service. If it\u2019s a company we do regular service for, I\u2019ll go out and talk to them, or call, or text them, to make sure everything is looking good. I\u2019ve reached out to every one of our customers. I speak with them on the phone multiple times per year. If our driver finds there\u2019s a problem that\u2019s not normal sweeping, they\u2019ll send pictures to the office. But, we have GPS with photos. They [the drivers] login and fill in the required information after every shift, so we\u2019re always aware of any issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We learned a lot through COVID, such as \u2014 we don\u2019t need as many people if fewer can do it. It\u2019s been working. After COVID, we seriously sat down and looked at everything<\/em> we were doing and streamlined it all so that it worked best for everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think what we\u2019re doing is steady, manageable growth. As San Antonio grows and Austin grows, which they are, our customer base is growing as well. We\u2019re doing great the way we\u2019re doing it. I don\u2019t want to jeopardize that. I try not to take on a lot of debt. We don\u2019t want to grow faster than we can handle. We like to pay for things as we go. We keep growing as needed; if we need more to do the work, we get it. And, we want to be humble [not grow just to be bigger].<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hardest challenge has been finding and keeping good employees, especially since COVID. Salaries have been all over the place. Finding enough people who want to work for honest pay has been harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We offer a competitive compensation package. We just try to treat everyone fairly. And, around holidays, for example, the 4th of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., throughout the year, we give bonuses and gifts in appreciation, just to tell everybody they\u2019re doing great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For training and management, the newer ODRAs have cameras for the drivers to see out. The older ones do not, but the plan is to put them in there eventually. We do payroll and schedules through the employees\u2019 phones. But, no, we don\u2019t have cameras facing into the cabs of the trucks. We don\u2019t want to be Big Brother. If you\u2019re watching the drivers, it means we don\u2019t trust them, and we do<\/em> trust them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would say, know the business. Know the long hours it\u2019s going to take, and know the hard work it requires. But, know the rewards that make it all worth it. Know what you\u2019re doing. You\u2019re going to have to be<\/em> it all \u2014 mechanic, sales rep, sweeper truck driver, office staff, everything. Expect to work long hours. Or, you\u2019ll need to be rich or have Daddy Warbucks to finance you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin added, \u201cPlan, of course, but take it one day at a time. I hear a lot of people talk about how expensive the equipment is and the pay for drivers now. But, there\u2019s more. There are also the repairs, having people who can do those, insurance on the trucks, etc. It\u2019s an expensive business to be in and, as Brian said, there\u2019s a lot to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information about San Antonio Sweeping Services, San Antonio, TX, you can call (210) 695-5777 or visit<\/em> <\/em>https:\/\/sanantoniosweeping.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" San Antonio Sweeping Services (SASS) does it all. Their widely diversified pavement sweeping fleet represents one of the greatest varieties of pavement services offered anywhere in the industry. The SASS Owner, Brian Cooper, launched the startup with parking lot cleaning and striping services back in 1995. He kept the name but later changed the business …<\/p>\nSpectacular Growth of San Antonio Sweeping Services<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exceptionally Diversified SASS Sweeping Service Model<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sweeper Truck Maintenance at SASS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Environmental Preservation At SASS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Marketing and Branding for SASS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Quality Management at SASS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SASS Streamlining Post-COVID<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The SASS Team Management and Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advice for Industry Newcomers from San Antonio Market Leaders<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n