Husband-and-wife team Adan Barrera and Noemi Montiel say that love was the spark that started Spark Cleaning Solutions, LLC.

Making floors shine is one of Spark Cleaning Solutions, LLC’s specialties.

Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Spark Cleaning Solutions, LLC (Spark Cleaning) was born from love. The spark that Co-Founder and Owner Noemi Montiel felt for her now-husband and business partner, Adan Barrera, when they first met was enough to set her on a path that led not only to her future family but to a career she never expected.

This love story began in 2009 when Noemi and Adan started dating. Adan had been working with his brother at a commercial cleaning business as a subcontractor since 2003. Noemi, who had no plans for marriage or a career in professional cleaning services, says, “I fell in love with this guy. So, in order for him to have more time to go out with me, I would go help him with his work.”

At that time, Noemi was working toward an accounting degree having recently finished her associate degree. She sensed that there was so much potential in Adan’s business beyond his subcontractor gigs as she started to get more involved. “I’m more on the admin side of the whole thing,” she says, “not so much hands-on. But in order to be a boss, you need to be an employee first. I would clean, scrub floors, vacuum, take out trash, get to know what offices look like. I learned what you do and what you don’t do. And then I started talking to people, the customers … and I liked it. I asked him, ‘Why are you a sub? It’s so easy to talk to people. Why don’t we go to work for ourselves?’ “ Adan was on board and encouraged Noemi to leave her job as an account assistant to start the business. Within three months, Spark Cleaning was up and running at full speed.

Sparkling Service

Today, Spark Cleaning (officially founded in 2013) continues to provide quality service to the northeast Wisconsin region, including Green Bay, De Pere, Ashwaubenon, Wrightstown, Suamico, Howard, Hobart, Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and communities in between.

Noemi shares, “Spark is a full cleaning service solution, with a team that has the experience, skills and the innovative equipment to customize every job according to your needs and schedule. We offer maximum value and we strive to help every client find their spark.”

Noemi and Adan built Spark Cleaning from the ground up and with a hands-on approach right from the beginning. Adan says, “When we started, there were days I had to work all day because I started with just one employee. Then there were two, then three, and then we started to bring on more. We have a great team because we don’t have a high turnover. In fact, we still have people here from when we founded the company.” Noemi adds, “Adan’s leadership and his ability to have that one-on-one communication with our employees does make a big difference. He still goes out and trains people; he’s been able to maintain a real connection with the employees.” Spark Cleaning currently has 48 people on the team.

She adds, “Spark’s referral and word-of-mouth business is booming. We’ve also had tremendous success building new relationships through The Blue Book Network’s virtual meet-and-greet events, which have allowed us the opportunity, as a small company, to connect with people we never would have met on our own.”

A Clean Approach

Certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise and a Minority Business Enterprise, the company provides a range of post-construction, building maintenance and janitorial services for residential and commercial properties, including move-in and move-out cleanings, flipped houses and apartments, schools, medical and dental offices, banks, storage facilities, manufacturing facilities, general office buildings, factories, bars and restaurants and more—with a special emphasis on floor care, where Adan is really able to put his past industry experience to work.

He says, “I especially love to do the floors because there you can truly see the before and after of your hard work. I want them to shine.”

As far as floor services go, Adan and his Spark Cleaning crew can handle anything from ceramic tile and grout to VCT (vinyl composite tile) finishes and carpets, which, Noemi adds, may have been damaged for many years but “Adan can bring them back to life.”

Adan speaks proudly of the company’s commitment to being a good steward of the industry, noting, “Spark Cleaning Solutions consistently leads the field in initiating the use of more efficient cleaning approaches. This includes environmentally responsible chemicals, simplified chemical mixing centers, enhanced vacuum filtration systems, lightweight and maneuverable equipment, and an ongoing investment in specialty equipment.”

High Ideals and a Service-Centered Philosophy

Clients run the gamut, from apartment complexes such as Meadow View East in east Green Bay and The Element Apartments, a luxury building in Ashwaubenon, to corporate offices for Imperial Supplies and American Logistics, management companies, real estate agents, law offices, schools, medical facilities, foundries and a range of other commercial enterprises.

As a relatively small family-owned business with hands-on leadership, Spark Cleaning is positioned to focus on every client’s specific needs. Noemi says, “We’re big enough to have employees but small enough where we can still make sure that the quality is always there. Our name is branded with our quality. We can give our clients confidence because they’re meeting with my husband or with me. We’re always the face of the company.”

When asked to express the company’s driving ideals and philosophy, Adan quotes Spark Cleaning’s mission statement, which is to “satisfy our customers’ needs on a daily basis while providing the best combinations of quality, price and delivery. We accomplish this by continuously improving and developing our system of operation. Our goal always is to make your facility sparkling clean.”

Noemi confirms, sharing that the company focuses on a number of factors to ensure that Spark Cleaning’s quality is consistently maintained—from 24/7, year-round availability to a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all its services. She says, “We hire local janitors or cleaners based on strict policies, provide training to the cleaners based on industry-specific commercial cleaning policies and we make sure our team is licensed, bonded and insured to give our clients the confidence they need. Everyone at Spark Cleaning is honest, friendly and reliable.”

Furthermore, all medical office cleaning services are approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The company’s expertise in high-traffic environments, such as medical offices and banks, is especially important now in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

One such longstanding client is The Center for Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery, located in Neenah, Wisconsin. Noemi reveals that working with the facility’s Clinic Administrator, Leah De La Hunt, has been an excellent lesson in doing things the right way in terms of establishing immaculate work habits. Noemi remarks, “We’ve been working with Leah for nearly eight years, and she’s helped instill in us a very high standard. Since the facility is an aesthetics group, everything has to be beyond spotless. Leah showed us the value of a ‘white glove’ standard, and we bring that to every job we do.”

Now in particular, with cleaning services being recognized as “essential,” the leadership of Spark Cleaning Solutions recognizes how important the team’s work is in keeping clients safe. The company’s customers understand, too. Noemi says, “It used to be that we were looked upon as just a service for janitorial work. But now, even cleaning door handles is at the center of everyone’s minds. We’ve always made that a part of our service, but these days, in light of the COVID-19 situation, clients are looking for that extra assurance.”

She adds, “We were always doing touchpoints, and we have the experience to ensure there’s quality—and spark—in every detail.”