Unger Excella Floor Finishing System Earns an A+ from Killeen Independent School District
For any school or educational institution, heavy foot traffic is a given. While students and teachers see clean, gleaming floors, what’s not normally seen is the behind-the-scenes floor finishing process and the time and labor used to achieve the appealing results.
The Challenges of a Traditional Floor Finishing System
When Texas’ Killeen Independent School District sought out a new floor finishing system, not only did they want a commercial finishing kit that would deliver the highest quality results, but they also wanted a solution that would improve efficiency and lighten the physical load on their custodial team across its 53 schools. Having used a mop, bucket and wringer system to apply floor finish to the school floors for decades, the team understood all too well the challenges that accompany the traditional method of floor finishing:
- Cumbersome amount of individual tools needed;
- Time consuming process of moving furniture;
- Stripping multiple coats to finish; and
- Exorbitant drying time between coats.
A Safe, Efficient Floor Finishing System Alternative
Roy Harris, Cleaning Services Specialist at Killeen Independent School District for 34 years was instrumental in evaluating other commercial finishing options to replace the district’s outdated method. Harris managed a team of 354 custodial employees and maintained 32 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 6 high schools and 4 special campuses, so he thoroughly understood the improvements they required in the selected floor finishing system.
After evaluating multiple, more modern solutions, the district selected the Unger Excella™ Floor Finishing System. Not only could the system provide the finishing touch for a wide variety of floor surfaces within the schools, including wood, gym, and commercial floors, but it could also significantly improve process efficiency and alleviate the physical strain on custodial staff.
The Unger Excella’s superior ergonomic design offered Harris and his team the safest and most efficient floor finishing option. Independently verified to clean and finish floors twice as fast as traditional methods, the Unger Excella was attractive in its ability to decrease the time needed for custodial staff to execute the job thanks to the system’s advanced features:
- Adjustable height pole, 48″-65″, with liquid dispenser
- Dual swivel handles and S-curve pole self-guide that allows staff to clean faster with less effort
- Swivel head to clean hard to reach areas without moving furniture
“The drying time between finishing coats are cut in half, or less. We’re able to completely finish floors and have time left for other tasks instead of long waiting periods of drying time!”
Results that Everyone Can See and Custodial Staff Can Feel
After introducing the Unger Excella into the district’s arsenal of school cleaning equipment, it was clear that Harris and his team selected the right floor finishing system for their needs. “In the past six months we’ve tried multiple backpack finishing systems and none of them met our expectations like the Unger Excella™ has,” states Harris. “Our employees and I have such great admiration for this system. The Unger Excella™ Floor Finishing Kit eliminates the need for mops, buckets and wringers while allowing for a drip free wax application.”
The kit enables the district’s custodial team to finish floors in classrooms without having to remove all of the furniture and allows them to restore, or burnish and re-coat the floors, instead of stripping multiple coats of finish. According to Harris, the coats of finish are evenly thin, so drying time between coats are cut in half or less, allowing for reduction in labor. Harris added, “We’re able to completely finish floors and have time left for other tasks, opposed to the long waiting periods of drying time.”
Harris reports that his team no longer suffers from painful backs, arms or wrists from swinging the heavy wax filled mops/applicators. The ergonomics of the handle has proven attractive to some of his smaller employees as well because they no longer go home with muscle fatigue and body aches, resulting in a tremendous overall increase in productivity. The Unger Excella™ has also simplified employee training in floor finish application.
“On behalf of our department and the Killeen Independent School District, we say “Thank You” for introducing us to such a fine piece of equipment that has proven to make our job more efficient, and the results are immaculate.”
The Unger Excella is suitable for use on all hard floor surfaces and for spot mopping, wet mopping, dusting and floor finishing applications. View all the Unger Excella Floor Cleaning and Floor Finishing Systems.