Amano USA Holdings, Inc. JANUARY 10 www. bus- ex. com 213 The company sells these products through a distributor network that sells to contract cleaning companies who serve end- users like schools, retail stores, hotels, airports, shopping malls and hospitals. Lee reports that the company produces " green" chemicals that are environmentally friendly and that really work. " Generally, the world views green cleaning products as the ones that don't work very well. But we pride ourselves on the fact that our cleaning chemicals are among the industry's best." A recently launched product is the Amano propane-powered concrete- polishing machine that uses diamonds in the cleaning pad to deliver a high- gloss finish to concrete floors you might find in large retail stores like Costco or Home Depot. " Cleaning companies, like other companies out there, are always looking for ways to cut costs, and there is this growing concept for warehouse stores who find that clean concrete floors are acceptable to customers," explains Lee. " When you walk into one of these stores, you might feel like you're walking on water because of the high- polish appearance. By developing both the machines and the polishing system, we offer a cost- effective solution to our customers." Amano recently invested $ 3 million in an upgrade to the plant that manufactures these products, and Lee reports that he expects good growth in the coming years. He adds that the company is testing the system on other surfaces like tile and terrazzo to determine if the solution can be used to rejuvenate the shine on these surfaces. Within the next three to five years, Amano USA expects each of its divisions to achieve $ 100 million in revenues annually. " We had our biggest year ever in 2008, and we had five years of consistent growth up until then," Lee reports. " We're now holding our own, and I think if we can do that in these tough times, we should be well placed. We're in a very strong position with good products, good people, strong balance sheets and cash in the bank. We continue to invest heavily in new product development in this downturn."

takeoff for Preparing JetStream Ground Services partners with major commercial airlines, providing operations running smoothly and efficiently, as April Terreri finds out 214 www. bus- ex. com JANUARY 10