Mikey P
Administrator
If Bane Clene had hipped it up a notch and developed a direct drive AND kept you on staff where would they be today?
Bane question for Bill Yeadon..
- Thread starter Mikey P
- Start date
billyeadon
Supportive Member
I The local Indianapolis distributor always said that if Bane had added a regular Truck mount to their line they would have been unstoppable. They have great chemicals, had a school that was part IICRC, part SFS, part Adam Hale. They had a wonderful marketing and advertising package. The ABC referral program was the only one like it in the industry. The Cleaning Digest was the major communication tool to the industry before the web took ahold. And they had Bill Bane as the ringleader.
So yes they would have been a real force.
F
FB7777
Guest
No doubt about it Bill.
I remember what a big deal it was when they began to distributor Chemspec and picked up other lines for Stone Care, portables and other accessories.
A truckmount line, while hurting their electric unit sales would have retained and grown their customer base.
Bane reminds me of Polaroid Corp... First to the dance , but last to evolve
Mikey,
Don't expect Mr Yeadon to address the " if you hadn't left " part. He's too much of a class act.
So allow me to retort.
The day Yeadon bolted I bet their sales chart began its slow and gradual descent
I remember what a big deal it was when they began to distributor Chemspec and picked up other lines for Stone Care, portables and other accessories.
A truckmount line, while hurting their electric unit sales would have retained and grown their customer base.
Bane reminds me of Polaroid Corp... First to the dance , but last to evolve
Mikey,
Don't expect Mr Yeadon to address the " if you hadn't left " part. He's too much of a class act.
So allow me to retort.
The day Yeadon bolted I bet their sales chart began its slow and gradual descent
Last edited by a moderator:
Mikey P
Administrator
So what was the mind set there about those Electro weenie units? Why the stubbornness?
Surely at some point they got a chance to run a real truck mount and see the difference?
Surely at some point they got a chance to run a real truck mount and see the difference?
F
FB7777
Guest
That's exactly what did it for me, back in 2001 saw a guy running a mid 1980s Butler unit. Truck was a sagging, rusted out , non lettered , cluttered mess.
I followed the hoses into the clubhouse where he was cleaning , introduced myself and was amazed at the sound at the wand. High Air flow was not something Bane guys were familiar with.
Ran the unit for 5 minutes and called the Butler Corp the very next day
As for the " stubbornness " of the organization, fear of cannibalization of their existing line is probably top on the list
They've introduced hundreds of new products over the last decade, with the exception of gas powered TM
Add that , a strong industry presence like Yeadon, and they potentially invert their sales chart
I followed the hoses into the clubhouse where he was cleaning , introduced myself and was amazed at the sound at the wand. High Air flow was not something Bane guys were familiar with.
Ran the unit for 5 minutes and called the Butler Corp the very next day
As for the " stubbornness " of the organization, fear of cannibalization of their existing line is probably top on the list
They've introduced hundreds of new products over the last decade, with the exception of gas powered TM
Add that , a strong industry presence like Yeadon, and they potentially invert their sales chart
Jim Pemberton
MB Exclusive.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 12,319
- Name
- Jim Pemberton
There was a time during the gas crisis then rising fuel costs from 1979 through the early 80's that the Bane concept made sense to a number of otherwise "non Bane guys". Slide ins could be pretty unreliable in those days, and there were few truck mount service centers.
Butler, the Hydramaster CDS, and White Magic created an alternative in reliability that overcame the energy saving benefits of the Bane system. Had they not, had fuel costs skyrocketed to European levels, or had slide ins not become reliable....who knows?
Butler, the Hydramaster CDS, and White Magic created an alternative in reliability that overcame the energy saving benefits of the Bane system. Had they not, had fuel costs skyrocketed to European levels, or had slide ins not become reliable....who knows?
Last edited:
J
JS41035
Guest
Well I hate to say it but look at Butler now. Why should they change. They sell units. The people that buy them love them and make a lot of money. They do the bare minimum in terms of innovation. Everything is bullet proof and beautiful. I love Butlers. Very strongly considering a new one. I don't think they are exactly like bane. But they don't change until the market makes them. The lack of a space saving design I think kills a lot of sales. Fine line I guess between innovation and recklessness. But they live on an industry island in terms of dealer support and that reminds me of Bane. Hard to imagine butler becoming irrelevant. But that's what happened to Bane machines.
....
....
Last edited by a moderator:
Art Kelley
Supportive Member
Bane still has their dedicated customers. Guy in my city runs one and has for decades, and I'm sure that's true all over the country. When I bought my shiny new WM in the mid 80's I talked to a Bane guy cleaning at an apartment complex. I was bragging about the direct drive with it's spiffy Sutorbilt 5, and he just scoffed and said "that setup is junk, don't you know the pistons will soon be pitted?" I'm like, pitted pistons? WTF brainwashing do these guys get? If they started selling gas TMs, all their BS would have come back to bite them.
truckmount girl
1800greenglides
I sent Bill Bane glides for their wands after a Bane guy loved them and told me to send them over.
They replied that the reason they never used steel lips for their wands, and would not recommend glides now, was that the agitation from the raw metal lips was an integral part of what made the Bane clean the best clean.
Okay.
Loved their chems though. I think with the piss poor suction of their units they had to have top notch chems.
Take care,
Lisa
They replied that the reason they never used steel lips for their wands, and would not recommend glides now, was that the agitation from the raw metal lips was an integral part of what made the Bane clean the best clean.
Okay.
Loved their chems though. I think with the piss poor suction of their units they had to have top notch chems.
Take care,
Lisa
Jimbo
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 2,197
Over the years I would see Mr Bane at Surfaces Flooring Show in Vegas...with a van inside...with the unit silently humming away...I think he might have been selling a lot of units to flooring retailers...Not a bad idea for a manufacturer!
The Great Oz
Member
When other manufacturers have demonstrated that they can make a reliable PTO (taking better reliability out of the decision) customers like me will choose one that allows greater flexibility in how the truck is set up. I can't imagine making a Butler more compact would mess with anything but tradition.
Even the Techno Viking has become the Petro Viking, so maybe Bane can also figure out how to merge tradition with greater capability.
steve_64
Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2012
- Messages
- 13,371
theres about 3 other companies that i know of besides myself running banes within about 30 miles of me.
all i can say is it makes me money and it helps keep things simple, just the way i like it.
today me and genny were driving to a water damage job and as we went through town i kept pointing to all the businesses i clean for. i didnt even realize how many places i actually do business with, repeat business.
but i admit im contemplating stepping things up. not "just" a new truckmount but actually pushing the business again. its been a few years since ive actually focused on growing. ive gotten complacent and genny has helped get me motivated again.
i wonder if bills success was part of his unwillingness to change.
all i can say is it makes me money and it helps keep things simple, just the way i like it.
today me and genny were driving to a water damage job and as we went through town i kept pointing to all the businesses i clean for. i didnt even realize how many places i actually do business with, repeat business.
but i admit im contemplating stepping things up. not "just" a new truckmount but actually pushing the business again. its been a few years since ive actually focused on growing. ive gotten complacent and genny has helped get me motivated again.
i wonder if bills success was part of his unwillingness to change.
rwcarpet
Supportive Member
You gotta respect Mr Bane for his achievments over the years. I personally wouldn't know what to do with such an under powered machine, and yet I admire the guy! It seems they substitute heavy chemical use in place of high flow/high temp/hi vacuum systems, which I use. I'd rather use less chem/more heat-power-agitation. I just can't picture walking up to a house holding 2 power cords asking Mrs. Pifferton " if I could just plug into her outlets. But, I brought my own water".
The idea of a Bane being portable could come in handy for some of the high rise work I do, but the Cimex fills that gap.
There are 2 cleaners I know of that use Bane machines in my area. I know of a guy that just moved from Florida, and has 2 Bane equipt trucks for sale, if anyone is interested.
Last edited:
