Claire's business aims to clean up

Bug-busting cleaning firm is gearing up to spread its services to more offices in the region

A businesswoman who started a computer cleaning company in Norwich nine years ago is gearing up for expansion across East Anglia.

Keep IT Clean was founded by Claire Burke in 1997, and today she employs seven people cleaning office equipment in and around Norwich.

But Mrs Burke believes the time is right for her business to have a more regional presence, and she is looking to take on work as far south as Ipswich and as far west as Peterborough.

"Things have naturally developed for us in that some of our current work is for companies that have more than one branch, and that will make it easier for us to go further afield," she said. "It's perfect for us because we have not yet tapped into places such as Ipswich or King's Lynn but we are able to use the contacts that we have already built up."

She added that she envisaged there would be enough work to justify taking on new staff in these areas rather than asking existing staff to travel.

Research has shown that the dirtiest thing in a typical office is the phone -followed by the desk, the computer keyboard and the computer mouse. To put it into context, a keyboard can have five times as many bugs on it as a typical loo seat does.

"Everyone is very health-and-safety conscious these days but they often overlook things like keyboards that are used every day," Mrs Burke said.

She added that she was convinced the growth of Keep IT Clean was in large part due to the business's customer service.

"It's about how professional the staff are as well as how clean the equipment is," she said. We have started sending out e-mail in advance, explaining to people what we need and when.

"By letting them know that we would like desks left as tidy as possible, and when we will be coming in to the office, they get the best out of us."

Keep IT Clean's current customers include EDP-publisher Archant, Mills & Reeve, Norwich City Football Club and Hethersett Old Hall School.

The business - which is based in Bowthorpe - was started with the help of the Prince's Trust.

Adam Aiken, Senior business writer, Eastern Daily Press, 01 Nov 2006