Our History

Company History

Cavco Services was founded in 1972. As Facilities Manager and Business Director of a historic downtown high-rise, Carl Van Ness saw firsthand the need for professional, quality commercial cleaning services in Rochester, NY. The owner of that building, who had tried several companies and come away unsatisfied, couldn’t have agreed more. He put to Carl this deal: “You start a cleaning company and this can be your first account.”

1972 Logo Cavco Services Office CleanersWith a strong entrepreneurial bent, a formal education in Accounting from Penn State, numerous business contacts in Rochester, and a strong base of facilities knowledge, Carl felt he had what he needed to take that offer. That was 1972.

Cavco Services FoundersWorking side-by-side with his wife Angie, the two hand-picked and personally trained employees. They researched the best and most up-to-date methods of providing their services and running their business. Meanwhile, Carl was one of the founders of RDH (Rochester District Heating) and became a member of BOMA (Building Owners & Managers Association).

They both continued to work full-time jobs while building the business. Angie maintained an office in the basement of their home where she handled book-keeping, payroll, and client contacts. Carl worked in the evenings setting the standard for their workers and instilling the strong attention to detail which is still the foundation of our service today. They worked from this philosophy: “The customer can call anybody to do the job wrong.” They strove always to be the company you call to do the job right.

By 1975, Cavco had begun serving clients outside of that first high-rise and had cultivated associations with some of the area’s premier businesses. We are proud to continue our service to some of these early clients… some thirty years later.

1985 Cavco Services LogoIn 1985, Angie and Carl decided to devote their full energies to expanding the business. They each left their full-time jobs and began actively pursuing the work usually awarded to larger, more established contractors. They succeeded in this endeavor and Cavco has grown to a size that comfortably competes with other area companies.

Today Cavco Services serves customers in three counties with 48 full and part-time employees. We are still locally owned and operated with Roseann Van Ness Bruner running the daily operations as General Manager and Angie remaining as an owner. Angie has been the majority owner since 1994. We are proud to say that Cavco Services Inc. is a NYS Certified Woman Owned Business.