The Challenge
The building had not been cleaned since its construction in the early years of World War II and was badly stained black after 50 years of neglect. Due to the historic significance of the building and the unique security considerations that were part of the project, the undertaking required a cleaning company that could handle both the sensitivity of the exterior surface and accomodate the unique scheduling demands. Complicating matters, the 1998 Iraqi crisis occurred during the project, adding even deeper security measures and scheduling conflicts. Moreover, the Pentagon is often called the largest office building in the country: it is twice the size of the Merchandize Mart in Chicago and has three times the floor space of New York’s Empire State Building.
The Metro Clean Solution
Metro Clean was selected through a competitive bidding process similar to all government procurements. Not only was Metro Clean’s price overwhelmingly lower than all other bidders on the project but the project timetable Metro Clean committed to was more than 10 times faster than any other bidding company. In fact, the five outer wall surfaces — any single one of which is large enough to fit the National Capitol Building in it — were cleaned in one week. The Pentagon’s historic limestone was preserved using the company’s unique high-volume Low-Pressure SolutionTM.
The Results
Officials from the Federal Government were impressed. The building was restored to its original color for the first time in decades, and the job was completed in less time than anyone thought possible. Most importantly, the Metro Clean approach saved the government literally hundreds of thousands of dollars: the next lowest bid from a power was company to clean the building was just under a million dollars and would have taken months longer to clean.
