On February 4th, 1962, Wm. F. Bane, Jr., started a part-time cleaning venture to subsidize his education. His first account brought in $40.00 a month. Within a few months the entire Bane family was working part-time in the business, and in January of 1965 Bill hired his dad as a full-time employee of the company. Mother (Elizabeth) and brother (Don) came with the company full-time in 1969 when the transition was made from a janitorial service company to a carpet cleaning operation that specialized in residential cleaning. Today, Bill, Elizabeth (Betty), Bill, Jr., and Don are the principal shareholders in the Bane-Clene Corporation, which grew from that very humble beginning. Bane-Clene's rise from obscurity to one of the major forces in the carpet cleaning industry is a true Horatio Alger story in the best American tradition. Because we are in the cleaning business ourselves—we don't just sell equipment. We've learned the hard way—our method has evolved through trial and error and the daily operations which confront any service business. And this evolution became a natural challenge to our people looking for a safer, faster, more efficient way of cleaning while ensuring the satisfaction of the customer, in order to get repeat and referral business.