Jim & Jacinda Willingham
Jim & Jacinda Willingham own and run New Day Window Cleaning in Lubbock, Texas. They organized the first and only
"Southwest Window Cleaners Seminar" in December of 1988. There, the International Window Cleaning Association was formed. Jim and Jacinda contacted quite
a few manufacturers and they were very supportive. About 35 people showed up. But that was all it took to get the ball
rolling. Rod Woodward was one of the Attendees as well as Marty Racenstein of JRacenstein and Michael Smahlik of Ettore.
Jim was a member of the International Window Cleaning Association Board of Directors for several years. The next year they had the International Window Cleaning Association convention in Lubbock
Texas and about 300 window cleaners showed up.
Jim Willingham has traveled the world both learning and teaching window cleaning. Jim became the representative for
JRacenstein and the Water Fed Pole systems. He traveled all over the U.S. and gave demos. He also recorded quite a
few video presentations for Racentsteins on-line catalog.
On a personal note, Jim and I spoke several times about Master Window Cleaners of America and e-mailed often. He was to host the Master Window Cleaners of America seminar
in October of 2008 in Lubbock Texas. I was fortunate to get some excellent advice from Jim.
The window cleaning industry wasn't molded by giants, but shaped by visionaries with the courage to go forward.
Jim Willingham passed away April 10th 2008.
Jack Nelson, Director, Master Window Cleaners of America
Reference: American Window Cleaner Magazine Various Issues
Henry and Barbara Unger
Unger Enterprises, Inc. is an international company with offices in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom,
and Brazil. They have been manufacturing professional cleaning tools for over 30 years and take pride in developing
innovative and unique tools that help professionals save time. Unger manufactures in the United States, Germany,
and in Brazil. They provide over 80 countries with our products.
The company was founded in 1964 by Henry and Barbara Unger in the attic of the home of Barbara's grandmother in
Hamburg, Germany. Originally, the company manufactured only window cleaning products. To become The Market Leader
in the Sanitary Supply and Retail Cleaning Fields (the company's mission), Unger expanded its product line. In order
to accomplish this mission, Unger develops quality, innovative products and provides superior customer service to both
end-users and distributors
From the moment Unger was started over 35 years ago, it has endeavored to:
- Count its customers as its most important asset.
- Let the marketplace judge the quality of its products.
To this day, the aims of the company are the same. Unger's success is primarily due to bright, talented people who work well together ensuring the company reaches its goals.
Unger Professional Products
Ettore Steccone
Born in 1895, Ettore Steccone came to this country from Italy in 1922, small of stature but possessed of that unique combination of stubbornness, ambition and ingenuity that has meant success for so many immigrants to this country. He tried his hand at this and that, returned to Italy for a brief while, and came back to Oakland with bride Emma in the early 1930s. They worked together in the janitorial business, with Ettore washing exterior windows and Emma cleaning homes and offices.
But Ettore, who became a familiar site on Oakland's streets astride his Indian motorcycle with a ladder and bucket, wasn't satisfied with the heavy, cumbersome Chicago squeegee most window washers used. So, like many a dreamer in this area, he tinkered away in his garage. He would clean by day and perfect his squeegee by night. His innovations revolutionized the squeegee business. He came up with a streamlined squeegee, with a single rubber blade held in place by a pair of clips rather than a number of screws. Window washers dangling many stories up could easily change the rubber as it needed replacing, sometimes several times a day.
Just how Steccone got people to try his new squeegee is the stuff of company legend. In 1938, Steccone paid a visit to the largest supplier of window-cleaning tools in the United States, in New York. The owner refused to buy Steccone's squeegee, so Steccone challenged him. He bet George Racenstein the finest hat in New York that Racenstein would place an order for the squeegees within the month.
The camel-colored Borsalino hat resides in a glass case in the Ettore boardroom. The wily Steccone had given away his tool to window washers, telling them to ask for it at the J. Racenstein Co.
Ettore Productus Company
J Racenstein & Co.
(“JRC”) is a preeminent distributor of window washing supplies, tools and equipment in the United States. JRC has been in the business for over 97 years and is nationally recognized as the comprehensive solution to the window washing cleaning industry.
A brief history… Joseph Racenstein started the business in 1909. The business started in the lower east side of Manhattan. During that time, Joseph peddled cleaning supplies directly to office buildings. He took orders for the day, went home and filled the orders and delivered the supplies generally the next day. Joseph was always in the distribution side of the business.
Joseph had two sons Irwin and George Racenstein. George and Irwin both joined the family business. In the 1930s, George bought Irwin out and ran the business for the next 40 plus years. George focused his selling efforts along the Atlantic seaboard and concentrated in the New York area.
George Racenstein’s son, Marty joined JRC in the 1950s as a salesman for the business. Marty was a consummate salesperson always out on the road visiting clients. Marty loved his window washing customers and spent all his time developing long lasting customer relationships. So much time was spent developing customer that in 1978, Bob Ertel was approached by George to join the company and work with him to improve the operating portion of business at J.Racenstein.
In 1980 Bob Ertel bought out George and he and Marty became partners. Marty Selling and Bob supporting the sales. Bob’s prior background was in retail and he felt that the business needed a catalog which was a hot and kept the business flourishing through the 80’s and 90’s. Bob Ertel retired in 2005 selling the business to long time friend Cameron Riddell, and Steve Blyth.
Since transition J.Racenstein has been busy. A warehouse and sales office was opened n California in 2005. This with the addition off some great sales people has our phones covered from 8am to 8pm Eastern time. J.Racenstein was happy to have the legend, Jim Willingham elect to join the team in 2006 and he intends to help us continue to serve our current and future customers.
J Racenstein & Co.
Rod Woodward
Rod was born in Bend Oregon in 1950. He pasted away in 1989. He was 39 years old. He did more in those
39 years than many of us could or would do in 100 years. To say Rod was a visionary would limit who he
was. I never met Rod, but we are kindred spirits. He had the courage that many of us do not have.
Now a history of Rod Woodward. Rod created the American Window Cleaner Magazine. First as a newsletter,
then it expanded. AWC Magazine brought together, window cleaners, suppliers and ideas. Before he created
the AWC Magazine, he worked in a good many other jobs. He worked in his family's janitorial business, he
worked in a lumber mill. He started his own window cleaning business in Portland Oregon and later moved
to San Jose Cal. to do high rise work. He moved to California and worked for The Ettore Corp. There he
invented the Super System for window cleaning. The Super System redefined what the squeegee could be.
Before the Super System you needed either several different squeegees for different size window or a
screw drive to change channels. With the Super System, you flip a lock and change channels in seconds.
In between all of this, Rod ran a school for window cleaning and Before his passing, he had moved to Georgia.
Gary Mauer
In 1977 Gary Mauer began his window cleaning business in Oconomowoc Wisconsin.
In 1996 Gary started something that no one had thought of yet. E-mailing window cleaners.
He called it The Window Cleaning Network. It was the first and now the largest online group of
window cleaners around the world. www.window-cleaning-net.com
The window cleaning network connected window cleaners from around the world to help solve one another's problems.
It grew to a point where Gary decided it was time for a get together and he created the Picnic which is an annual event in July.
See Events Page
Because of The Window Cleaning Network, hundreds if not thousands of window cleaners have solved
problems easily, become more professional and the industry has become more respected.
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