Cover story by Becca Anderson
INTEGRITY IS EVERYTHING We profiled Krazee Klean in our pages in 2014, telling the Cinderella story of this suc- cessful operation that special- izes in oilfield coverall cleaning and military linen contracts. Founded in 2002 with a $1,800 tax refund, $125,000 in start-up money from Com- munity Futures, and a business plan Ackert spent six months labouring over, the company has grown and thrived where others have not. The heart of the company is Ackert, and her determination to keep her employees and customers happy. “If you say it, you do it! Integrity is everything,” she said. “We never promise any- thing we cannot deliver on. If we damage or lose products, we replace them. I have high standards. I do not believe in doing anything half way and I do not believe in shortcuts. My staff are all aware of this and do their best to enforce my standards.”
FARM GIRL
Canadian INDUSTRY PERSON
of the Year
“Wanda is an amazing person, as well as an amazing leader. She’s not a ‘suit and tie’ kind of person; she gets her hands dirty. She comes to work with us every day, helps sort the loads and goes on delivery runs. I have seen her start at 5:00 a.m. to cover for a sick employee, and stay until we close at 5:00 p.m. I’ve watched her get down on the floor to clean lint out of the bottom of dryers. She never asks us to do anything she wouldn’t do. She leads us by example and will show us exactly how she wants something done, and to what quality she expects.” Those are words from the long and heartfelt nomination of our Canadian Industry Person of the Year, Wanda Ackert, sent by office manager and production supervisor Kiera Malishewski. Ackert is the founder and owner of Krazee Klean industrial dry cleaning and commercial laundry in Fort Kent, Alta. Would one of your employees say the same about you?
8 FABRICARE CANADA November/December 2018
TO ENTREPRENEUR Ackert was born in Burlington, Ont., and her parents decid- ed to get into farming when they retired. They purchased a chicken farm in Wellandport, Ont., and shipped out 30,000 chickens every 7 to 9 weeks. “We would still be there, but the price bottomed out and the feed price got higher,” Ack- ert said. It was the first busi- ness lesson in a long line of formative experiences for her. The family moved to Alber- ta and purchased Ackert’s great-grandfather’s homestead to raise hogs. Ackert went to Olds College to study agricul- ture business.
After being married, hav-
ing a child and going through a divorce, Ackert went back to school to study accounting computer applications. She worked for St. Paul Abilities Network, which provides ser- vices to people with disabilities. “I was the office manager and
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