Chain reaction being cleaned out by COVID

WE DON’T ACTUALLY HAVE A LOT OF REGULAR CONTRACTS AND WHEN COVID CAME, IT KNOCKED 95 PER CENT OF OUR CONTRACTS OUT.

JOHN MASON

DRAMATICALLY impacted by the COVID-19 downturn, a specialist Far Northern commercial cleaning company has been forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to keep the business viable.

Directly following COVID lockdowns in March, Cairnsbased business Image Cleaning Corp felt a sharp decline in demand for specialty services such as glass, carpet and vinyl restoration, anti-slip flooring, bio cleaning and solar panel cleaning.

Managing director John Mason said a staff of six was stripped to one, almost overnight.

“(COVID) had a massive impact on us,” he said.

“We don’t actually have a lot of regular contracts and when COVID came, it knocked 95 per cent of our contracts out.

“We are specialised cleaners and 60 per cent of our work came from national contracts.”

Many Far Northern businesses operating at reduced capacity or being forced to totally shut down meant reduced demand for specialist cleaning services, Mr Mason said.

Lucrative council contracts had also gone begging since COVID hit.

He said the only way to keep the long-established business afloat was to hit the road chasing work in areas less reliant on tourism sector revenue.

Mr Mason said he had operated the business in Cairns since 2001 and had never been impacted on the scale created by the COVID-19 crisis.

“I didn’t see Cairns picking up so my business managers decided to look from Townsville south,” he said.

“For the business to survive, we have had to go further afield.”

Mr Mason and his sole remaining employee have now been seeking out work in Mackay, Mount Emerald, Cloncurry and out west towards Mount Isa.

Mr Mason said fuel costs had become a much bigger expense but travelling was the only way to keep Image Cleaning Corp afloat.

“I am the ultimate optimist but we are having to change the way we look at things,” he said.

“At the end of the day we have to keep treading water until the pandemic is over.”

Picture: STEWART McLEAN IMPROVISING: Image Cleaning Corp owner John Mason and employee Luke Chapmen have been forced to take business on the road to stay afloat.