Sky Blue Chemical is a family-owned firm founded over half a century ago that specializes in chemical products and services for car wash and car detailing companies, among other clients. Headquartered in Ogden, Utah, Sky Blue offers its own proprietary formulas but also acts as a contract manufacturer, developing custom-made products based on client specifications.
“Everything is done completely in-house. We don’t sub out any of our processes,” says Owner/CEO/President Steven Griffin.
The industrial, institutional, and transportation sectors constitute the company’s main markets. Industrial solutions from Sky Blue include heavy-duty degreasers and cleaners, lubricants, and metal cleaning products, while institutional products include solutions for house cleaning, water treatment, commercial laundries, and custodial work. While Sky Blue products are used to clean buses, trucks, boats, and planes, most of the company’s transportation-related business centers on car washes, car detailing firms, rental car agencies and similar.
“Automotive is our life’s blood. That’s where our roots are, and that’s what we do the most today,” states Chief Financial Officer Kaleb Thomas.
Sky Blue works with customers across the U.S. and indeed, around the world. “We’ve done projects all the way from India to Canada, South America, Europe; we’ve done all sorts of different things. We’ve shipped product by plane, by boat, by rail, by truck,” says Chief Operating Officer CJ Tuckett.
Blending tanks, filling machines, and bottling lines in the Sky Blue facility are used for liquid and powder blending processes. The company also offers warehousing and shipping services and leak-proof packaging in various sizes and configurations. But whether it’s a proprietary product or something custom manufactured for a client, quality control is central to everything Sky Blue does. The chemistry in car cleaning products must be flawless in order for an automobile to emerge “clean, spot free, and shiny… It’s more than just throwing a bunch of foam in a tank and stirring it up,” says Griffin.
To this end, Sky Blue maintains a quality control team and every batch of chemicals the firm manufactures receives a batch number for easy tracking and a certificate of analysis (COA). The latter is a document that cites the lab tests a product was put through and the results (Sky Blue performs viscosity and pH tests, to name a few). The company adheres to national and international chemical standards and keeps on top of regulatory changes in the field. Regardless of shipment size, multiple sets of hands and eyes scrutinize all products prior to distribution, notes Tuckett. He adds that the company is close to achieving ISO 9001 certification.
This same diligence is expected of vendors who supply the company with raw materials. Sky Blue works with a preferred list of qualified suppliers who can provide quality goods complete with certificates of analysis. “There is a vetting process that we use in making sure the supplier meets our specific needs,” Griffin explains. Indeed, the COVID pandemic aptly demonstrated the benefits of maintaining a well-established supply network. Unlike other businesses, Sky Blue continued to be well supplied with raw materials and actually assisted other companies who found it difficult to obtain certain goods.
And the company is equally focused on safety. Sky Blue employs a safety manager and conducts all required OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) courses. Training is offered on corrosive substances, handling hazardous and/or flammable materials, operating forklifts, and more.
“We have a training schedule that we follow,” Tuckett explains. “We basically do a training a week if the need arises. What’s great about being a small, family-owned firm is that we can adjust, pivot, and shift. If we’ve been having some issues with x, y, or z, we can focus on those areas.” For instance, Sky Blue recently overhauled its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to “up our game” as Thomas puts it. The new, improved ERP system collects data about inventory, purchasing, production, quality control, and safety.
The company traces its roots to Steve’s father, Alton Griffin, who established a combination tunnel car wash/full-service gas station in Ogden in 1963. Alton’s timing was terrible (“They actually opened on the day JFK was shot, so their grand opening didn’t go over so well,” says Griffin). Still, Alton worked hard and soon sensed an untapped business opportunity. Unable to find commercially available car wash chemicals, he hired a university chemist to create simple formulas for the young firm.
After much research and development, car wash chemicals were developed and put to use. Alton Griffin was so impressed with the results, he began marketing his proprietary car cleaning solutions to fellow car wash operators, auto dealers, and other clients.
The business grew and eventually Steve Griffin’s older brothers departed Ogden to pursue their own careers. As the youngest son, he stuck around as the company continued to evolve. The car wash and detailing portions of the company were sold in the late 1980s as the team decided to focus on blending, mixing, and selling car wash chemicals. The company currently manufactures 20,000 gallons of chemical products a day.
As noted, Sky Blue offers its own line of car cleaning chemicals. These are largely sold in “the inter-mountain region here in the Western United States”—which comprises Utah and Idaho, says Griffin. Some of the customers buying these products have been with the company for decades, he adds. Sky Blue also installs and sells car wash equipment including in-bay automatic tunnel wash infrastructure and other machinery. A full-time team is employed for this segment, which primarily operates in the inter-mountain region.
In total, 35 people work for Sky Blue at present, up from roughly 30 at this point last year. While the qualifications required for a position depend greatly on the job at hand, new hires are expected to embrace a set of core tenets that Thomas refers to as, “Blue Team Values.” These values include integrity, continuous personal growth, relationships, collaboration, and customer success. The team aims to forge close links with employees, vendors, and customers alike. Sky Blue is a “family first company” that has no problem giving employees time off to care for a sick child or attend a school performance, adds Thomas.
“Everyone works as a team… It’s not about making a quick buck. It’s about building relationships,” he continues. The family focus continues to this day, with family members occupying key positions. Steve Griffin’s wife is the lead receptionist, while COO Tuckett is his eldest son-in-law; Brandon Tuckett, Vice President of Sales, is CJ Tuckett’s uncle.
As part of its family-centric approach, Sky Blue undertakes extensive philanthropic work, supporting civic beautification programs, homeless shelters, and community centers, among other ventures. “If you don’t give back to your community, it’s ultimately going to make a failure of your company,” shares Griffin.
Clearly, Sky Blue is doing something right, given that the company has “multiple employees” who have worked at the firm for over 20 years, says Thomas.
“Not only do we have long-term employees; we have second generation employees as well. Two generations working inside of the company,” adds Griffin.
The company isn’t shy about promoting its products and services. In addition to its online presence, Sky Blue relies on “old-fashioned” marketing, including “knocking on doors, making cold calls. Trade shows are huge for us. We send our whole team out to trade shows to canvas for new contacts, new potential customers,” says Thomas. The firm also assists its customers at trade shows, visiting their booths and lending a hand when needed.
Going forward, there are “so many new things we’re working on right now,” says Griffin, pointing to water reclamation services as an area of particular importance.
Water reclamation—being able to recycle water and use it again—is becoming a huge issue, especially in the drought-ridden Western United States. The challenge is that any water captured during the car wash process needs to be purified to remove any chemicals it contains, and this must be done in a manner that is both cost-effective and eco-friendly. As such, Sky Blue is “working on a car wash line that not only meets bio-degradable standards, but meets reclaim standards completely, clear through the tunnel car wash,” states Griffin.
The firm also anticipates a boost to its bottom line: “We’re looking at 30 percent growth this year and we want to maintain that moving forward,” says Thomas.
Within two years, the company hopes to open a manufacturing plant on the East Coast to help with logistics and reduce shipping costs. Once that is achieved, Sky Blue Chemical may consider additional growth options. “We have some really hefty goals and a great vision for the long term,” states Thomas.
