Two Ambitious Men In Kilts Plan to Climb to the Top
......of Your Roof
I've just come down from the Isle of Skye
I'm no very big and I'm awful shy,
And the lassies shout when I go by,
"Donald where's your troosers?"
Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,
Through the streets in my kilt I'll go,
And all the lassies shout hello,
"Donald where's yer troosers?"
- Andy Stewart
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - Nicholas (Nic) Brand, a tall, handsome and red-headed Scot is the founder and president of Men In Kilts. Every day, Nic and his crew wear their kilts to work.
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NIC BRAND is the founder and president of Men In Kilts, a unique window and gutter cleaning company. Nic and his friendly kilt wearing crew can be seen throughout the Lower Mainland driving their "tartan trucks."
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When I first heard of Men In Kilts, I thought they must be a Celtic rock band. But how wrong I was! Men In Kilts is a Vancouver-based window and gutter cleaning company and their goal is to become North America's premier window and gutter cleaning company. Their long-term goal is to franchise the company.
The most unique and amazing thing about Men In Kilts, is they clean windows and gutters and climb ladders all day, in all kinds of weather, wearing their kilts. Must be quite the show on a windy day!
Speaking about kilts on a windy day, Nic said, "well, for obvious reasons, we do wear something underneath our kilt, we don't want to be facing any harassment laws. We've only received positive comments about wearing our kilts.
"Actually, women love us in kilts, and the guys tell us 'great to see you in it.' We've met many people who have been in either the British Armed Forces or the Canadian Armed Forces and worn Black Watch. A lot of war veterans who have kilts and only get to wear them once or twice a year are quite envious."
The tartan that Men In Kilts wear is the Black Watch, because it is an open tartan and anyone can wear it, and they also chose it because a lot of veterans have worn it. Their kilt is a sports kilt, made of a lightweight, washable material, which is adjusted by velcro, so that it can easily be fitted to the various sizes of the workers.
The only time you might not see Men In Kilts working in their kilts is when the weather is really bad, but then they'll arrive at work in kilts and then change into rain gear. After all, they don't want their workers to get sick with the flu.
Two companies that Men In Kilts are very impressed with and hope to emulate are: 1-800-GOT-JUNK and Starbucks. Speaking about the parallel between Men In Kilts and Starbucks, Nic said, "'when Starbucks started out ...it was just coffee, and now they've turned coffee into so much more than coffee. They've created a whole new culture around it, and that's what we're trying to do with window cleaning.
"The stigma is...It's just window cleaning! But, it's not just window cleaning anymore. It's important and it needs to be done right, and the customer needs to be treated right. We clean all the eaves troughs, we actually vacuum out all the eaves, and we take all the debris away, so the customer doesn't have to do that.
" We scrub out the outside and we only use biodegradable cleaners, so that we don't kill any plants or grass. Also our cleaning agents are never dangerous and would not be harmful to pets should they lick any of it up.
"We guarantee all our work, so if the customer has any problem, we come back and take care of any issues they might have. We're fully insured and we're members of the Better Business Bureau. Plus, all our employees have come through a fairly rigorous training and are fully bonded.
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NIC and his business partner, Brent Hohlweg.
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"We've taken window cleaning to the next level. A lot of times it's just the guy with the pick-up truck or the ladder strapped to his station wagon who does it on the weekend. And just because it's window cleaning doesn't mean you don't deserve the best service."
Men In Kilts has been in business for the last four years. Nic Brand is the founder and president of the company, which he started in 2002. Feeling that a part of the puzzle was missing, Nic brought his business partner, Brent Hohlweg on board.
Brent has owned many successful small businesses and has worked in management for years at a Fortune 500 company. Since Brent joined the company as vice-president, there has been a massive growth in sales, which they expect to double this year.
Nic's parents are from Aberdeen and he was their first born child in Canada. He actually has more family living in Aberdeen than in Canada and he and his family always try to get back to Scotland for the many family weddings there.
Brand is an avid soccer player. He doesn't play the pipes but every time he hears the bagpipes, he says he gets a chill of excitement. His grandfather was the equipment manager for the White Spot Pipe Band and his aunt was a Highland dancer her whole life.
The distinctive Men In Kilts tartan trucks are hard to miss as they drive around the city. They specialize in residential, commercial, strata, apartment buildings and town home complexes, and they can go as high as four stories. At the present time they do not do high-rises, but they will be looking at that down the road.
For more information about Men In Kilts, call (604) 638-0753, 1-877-777-KILT (5458), or visit their website at: www.meninkilts.net.
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