Many businesses have taken a huge hit as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic disrupts the global and local economy. But not all industries are suffering.
For contract cleaning and restoration service Paul Davis, business is booming.
The company’s local franchise, which employs about 100 people across the state’s southeast and Fox Valley regions, has seen demand skyrocket for disinfection jobs due to COVID-19.
“It’s probably a 1,000%, or maybe 3,000%, increase of those jobs,” said Tyler Yaudus, director of business development at Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling of Southeast and Fox Valley WI.
Prior to the pandemic, fire, flood and water damage were the main drivers of business, and disinfectant jobs, like crime scene cleanup or biohazard removal, only came up a few times a month.
Now, Paul Davis is being contracted for both post-contamination and preemptive cleaning, and essential businesses are including the service in their emergency preparedness plans if and when someone inside the facility tests positive for the coronavirus.
“Being over-precautious is not a bad thing right now for employees to see that you’re taking care of the facility and that they’re going to have a clean environment shift after shift,” said Chad Holland, general manager of the mitigation and contents division for Paul Davis.
And in the case of possible exposure at a commercial facility, Paul Davis offers services to allow workers to safely return to work the next day. One such client was a medical device manufacturing plant that otherwise would have had to shut down and lay off its 40 employees, Holland said.
“Probably the most gratifying thing about what we’re doing here is keeping people getting paid,” he said.
