Sanaway celebrated 20 years in business on Friday, 6th February, by gathering Sanaway staff, clients and friends at their Surrey-based headquarters, Fairoaks Airport, to raise a glass and mark two decades of providing washroom and matting services to businesses across the South of England.
Founded in 2006 by directors, Graham Key and Patrick Martin, the family run business was established from their desire to create a high-quality service company in the historically, negatively perceived, washroom hygiene industry.
Graham Key said, “We want to thank all our loyal customers and Sanaway staff for being instrumental in the stability and growth of the business.
“We started out, with one van and a handful of clients with just Patrick and I servicing them all. Twenty years on and we service nearly 2000 customers with 18 members of staff across two sites operating sales and customer services from Fairoaks, with our fleet of delivery vans and HGV lorries working from our Basingstoke depot.”
The company has an impressive client list and a reputation for outstanding service and customer care which is reflected in the company’s continued year-on-year growth.
Attending the celebration, long standing customer, Tracey Wells, Senior Property Manager at Westcore Europe said: “I am delighted to congratulate Sanaway on their 20th anniversary in business. Over 20 years, I’ve seen them grow impressively while maintaining a genuine personal touch, outstanding service and flexible, straightforward contracts. We’re proud to be associated with them.”
The directors credit part of their success to their forefathers who instilled a hard-working attitude, resilience and a sense of pride in always doing their best; behaviours that they encourage their workforce to adopt.
Patrick said, “Washroom services are used by everyone, but no-one really thinks about the people that have to service the facilities we use. No-one leaves school with an aspiration to work in the industry. It’s a tough and often unpleasant job and takes a real commitment to care about the service we provide to our customers.
“We value the pride our employees take in upholding Sanaway’s high standards. Leading by example and working alongside our team, we try to foster a supportive workplace culture. As a result, our staff retention exceeds industry averages, achieving 100% retention last year, with our longest-serving team member, Anna, having been with us for 12 years. This approach enables our team to deliver exceptional service, reflected in a 95% customer retention rate.”
For many businesses, 2020 brought with it the challenge of operating through COVID. “Sanaway was no different and our staff were incredibly supportive, adapting to new protocols and services that enabled the business to be flexible and operate under such difficult circumstances,” Patrick explained.
Readying itself for another 20 years in business, 2025 saw Sanaway launch the UK’s first ever inclusive washroom hygiene service, ONE, which aims to normalise the presence and use of a universal hygiene unit that can be used by everyone who needs them, regardless of whether they use male, female, unisex, or accessible washroom facilities.
Sanaway has also partnered with Guildford-based charity, The Prostate Project, a cause that is deeply personal to Graham, who lost his father-in-law to prostate cancer in 2000, a loss that fuels the company’s dedication to raising awareness and supporting early diagnosis.
Graham said, “Through our partnership with The Prostate Project, all ‘ONE’ service users receive information to display in washrooms on the various risk factors for prostate cancer, and the importance of taking a simple PSA test for early prostate cancer detection. We also encourage our customers to offer a PSA blood test to male employees via The Prostate Project’s mobile testing facility, The Man Van.
“We’re delighted that because of our ONE initiative, Surrey Satellite Technology is our first customer that will conduct an employee PSA testing event at the end of February. So, it’s fantastic to see our vision being realised through ONE. Caught early, prostate cancer is usually curable. By getting ONE and The Prostate Project in front of our customers, we are helping raise awareness of their mobile PSA test facility, potentially helping more men get treatment for prostate cancer earlier and ultimately save more lives,” Graham concluded.
For more information about Sanaway’s full range of services email info@sanaway.co.uk or call 0345 094 9495.