How to Select Your Cleaning Supplier with Aaron Glazar

 Action Unlimited Story: "Our founder, Alan Glazar, joined the Marine Corps at age 17. Wounded in Vietnam, the Marine Corps trained him in heating and cooling where he worked for the remainder of his service. While he didn’t enjoy working on HVAC systems, it exposed him to mechanical skills and a field where he was involved in inspections, repairs, quality control, and maintenance. After leaving the military, he became a janitor for a company that distributed cleaning supplies. His responsibilities quickly expanded from sweeping floors to making coffee, adding up invoices, and calculating daily profits. One day the owner said, “Kid, I want you to go out and sell.” That day Alan discovered his calling—helping customers. And boy was he good at it. The competition soon noticed and another company grabbed him. Throughout his time at the company, Alan rose to fill the shoes of general manager, purchasing manager, and sales manager before eventually running the company as the right hand for the owner.  In 1982, Alan founded Action Paper & Chemical Co, a company founded with the mindset of a salesman on the street with a simple guarantee: 100% Customer satisfACTION! As time progressed and our product line expanded, a name change was necessary. Today, as Action Unlimited Resources, we are still family-owned and operated and we continue to handle customer needs with a sense of urgency – just as Alan founded the company.  

Today, Alan's son Aaron runs the company. They are located just over an hour away from me in Wilimington, DE. In early 2022, I was introduced to a company sales rep, Lynda OLear through one of my local networking friends. I had never heard of Action Unlimited and therefore was not aware of the size and scope of their operation. I asked my friend and Smart Cleaning School guest Kelly Jones about Action. She was emphatic. "They are a great company! I use them personally for all of my supplies. In fact, they are currently making me a product." A few months later, I made arrangements for a site tour or Action and a chance to meet Kelly in person for the first time. It was a great visit. Company rep Becky Eppig was my personal tour guide. She walked Kelly and I around the warehouse and offices at Action. I was very impressed with the operation. The highlight was meeting company CEO Aaron Glazar. He was enthusiastic about his company and had a magnetic personality. I definitely wanted to get Aaron on the podcast to promote his company and, more broadly, to educate cleaning company owners on the chemical supply industry. Aaron gracefully accepted.

Action Unlimited Resources is the recipient of the following major awards:

• Marvin S. Gilman Superstars in Business Award (August 2022)- The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce honors Delaware businesses each year for displaying the highest ethical standards and their model approaches to business and management. Action was one of 4 businesses named in 2022.
• Inc 5000 Award (2002) - This ranks all privately held companies by overall revenue growth over a three-year period. Action ranked #4,689 with a revenue growth of 91%. 
• Great Place to Work 2022 - This certification recognizes workplaces that give all employees a consistent positive experience.

This interview with Aaron Glazar takes us into his background, heart, and vision for the company. He also shares the overal industry outlook so anyone in the cleaning industry can make better choices where to buy their supplies. 

Read the rest of this article at the