A key to success in the competitive world of small business is developing a product or service that fits your community. Here in the Sierra, many folks value their ski jackets and hiking pants more than a fancy dress they picked up at Neiman Marcus. Looking for a great gift for your average Tahoe outdoorsy type? Most would prefer a gift certificate to Alpenglow over Nordstrom. Ten years ago, Daniel Cates saw the peculiar love Tahoeites have for their outdoor gear, and set to work developing Technical Equipment Cleaners, a business that takes care of sports apparel and equipment.
Cates and his employees clean and repair jackets, ski pants, sleeping bags, tents, and whatever other stuff you might need to get fixed. Is your favorite Gore-Tex jacket not keeping you as dry as it used to? TEC can rejuvenate it. The company will fix stitching and replace those broken zippers and snaps; it does alterations and hemming; it cleans and fluffs up down pillows, jackets, and sleeping bags.
“We can make just about anything happen,” Cates said. “We’ve seen stuff that comes back from a month of trekking in Nepal, and the sleeping bag is black. We clean it up and discover it’s green.”
Cates has been cleaning and repairing his own outdoor gear since the 1990s. When he moved to Tahoe to attend Sierra Nevada College in 2001, he began using home cleaning kits to clean his gear, and then started doing it for his friends and then his friends’ friends. While his buddies were happy with the results, Cates felt the home kits weren’t doing a sufficient job. That’s when the light bulb went on — what was really needed in the Tahoe/Truckee area was a place to get professional cleaning and repairs for the precious gear so many outdoor enthusiasts rely on in the mountains.
Cates was majoring in ski area management at Sierra Nevada College, but an advisor suggested a move to the entrepreneurship program.
“I always wanted to start my own business,” Cates said. When an assignment called for developing a business plan, Cates wrote a plan that would be revised, updated, and considerably lengthened during the rest of his time at college, but would eventually become the basis of TEC.
Cates graduated in 2003 and moved to Reno, where he worked as a firefighter while trying to learn more about the cleaning business and save the money he needed to make his dream business a reality. That finally happened when he opened the doors in September 2006.
Another important aspect of Cates’ business is being environmentally friendly. He believes that the professional cleaning process can be greener than doing it yourself because it uses a lot less water and chemicals than you might at home. The at-home cleaning process could require several washings to get out the stains, while the professionals can do it in one shot. Cates says that the detergents and fabric softeners that one buys in the grocery store are designed primarily to clean and soften cotton clothing. These chemicals are the “the polar opposite of what you want for your synthetic Gore-Tex jackets,” he said. “Our biggest deal is steam cleaning.”
TEC cleans up those nasty grease stains that lift ops get, the belt dust from snowmobiles, and the ground-in sap and grit one gets from a long backpacking trip. A TEC cleaning focuses on hard-to-reach places, where the grime really collects — collars, arm cuffs, thighs, and especially for the backpacking crowd, the seat of the pants.
While prices vary depending upon the particular item of clothing, to clean and waterproof a hard shell jacket usually costs $20, while washing and waterproofing pants will run about $15. TEC also replaces zippers starting at $40, and will do all sorts of hemming and alterations.
What is the biggest challenge TEC sees? Gear that has spent a few days on the windswept Playa at Burning Man. That white desert powder is pretty tricky stuff to get out of the tents and sleeping bags (not to mention bikes, but for that, you are on your own). While TEC does its best, Cates recommends buying a cheap tent to take to Burning Man, and saving your favorite tent for backpacking in the Sierra.
TEC is located at 10607 West River St., Building One, Truckee River Park, (530) 582-0564, tec-tahoe.com
~ Tim Hauserman wrote the guidebook to the Tahoe Rim Trail. Comment on this story below.
