A long line of janitors
Letty Miranda, President
Transcript of the film A long line of janitors, Letty Miranda
Loading the transcript.
About UFG
A janitor started this company in 1998. He still runs it.
Al Cuevas took his first cleaning job in high school in 1987, became a district manager in 1996 and founded United Facilities Group in Santa Clara in 1998. Today the company is family-owned, minority-owned and 28 years into the same work.
A long line of janitors
Letty Miranda on where the company comes from, and Pete Velez on thirty-five years alongside Al. 44 and 27 seconds.
Thirty-five years with Al
Pete Velez, Facilities ManagerTranscript of the film Thirty-five years with Al, Pete Velez
Loading the transcript.
What we are
A facility services company with its own crews, coaches and account managers. We clean, maintain and manage workplaces in Northern California: janitorial, building maintenance, facilities management, landscaping and staffing. We are not a franchise and we are not owned by a fund; the people who answer the phone are the people who run the company.
We are non-union and bid at prevailing wages. Eligible employees get health, vision and dental insurance, sick time and paid time off. Coaches and managers are promoted from the crew.
A facility services company with its own crews, coaches and account managers.
- 1998
Founded in Santa Clara, California
- 28
Years in business, family-owned
- 2
Offices: Santa Clara and Monterey
- 7
Industry associations we belong to
The story
A janitor's company, told in the years that mattered
Scroll through it. Every chapter is a photograph from the family album or the field, and every one of them is still true of how the company runs today.
Al, in his school years, with his classmates. 1987 A junior in high school takes a janitor's job
Al Cuevas is still in school when he takes his first cleaning job. He learns the work the way UFG still teaches it: on the floor, at night, with someone who checks it in the morning and says what was missed.
Every manager here started on a crew. So did the founder.
Al with his mother on graduation day. 1996 District manager
Nine years in, Al runs crews and accounts for someone else as a district manager. He keeps a list of what he would do differently: the same crew on the same building, one manager who answers the phone, and a weekly walk that catches a miss before the client does.
The list became the company.
The Cuevas family. 1998 United Facilities Group is founded in Santa Clara
Al opens UFG in Santa Clara, at the core of Silicon Valley, with his family behind him. It is family-owned from the first contract and it still is: the person who sets the standard is the person who started on the floor.
We do not answer to shareholders or a fund.
A UFG technician on a maintenance call. 2009 One contract, one account manager
Clients ask for more than cleaning. Building maintenance and facilities management join janitorial under one account manager, one weekly audit and one work-order portal, so a building has one number to call.
Start with one service. Add the rest when you want.
An account manager with a client. 2012 Major partners
UFG becomes the facility partner for major technology companies and healthcare providers in the Bay Area: campuses that never stop and hospitals that clean to infection-control rules. The same crew standard holds from a lab to a lobby.
Seven-figure contracts are won on the weekly audit, not the proposal.
UFG landscapers at an office campus. 2022 Landscaping joins the services
Clients ask for the same crew standard outside the building. Landscaping and grounds join the services: lawns, trees, irrigation and seasonal colour on the same weekly report as the floors inside.
One report for the whole site.
Al Cuevas with the team. Today Two offices, six regions, crews in each
Santa Clara runs the Bay Area and the Central Valley; the Monterey office runs the coast. The management team is mostly promoted from the crew, and the founder still runs the company he started with a mop.
Meet the team. Then meet your account manager.
Values
What we hold the crew to
Integrity
We do what we say we will do, every time. If a shift is ever missed, you hear it from us first.
Excellence
The weekly audit is the standard. Misses are fixed the same shift and confirmed in the portal.
Collaboration
Your account manager and coach are an extension of your facilities team, not a vendor you chase.
Innovation
We change the process when the data says to, and the quarterly review is where that happens.
Sustainability
Green products, HEPA vacuuming, water-wise landscaping and energy-aware maintenance by default.
Our team
Our team
The people who run the company and the accounts.
Al Cuevas
CEO and Founder
Letty Miranda
President
Pete Velez
Facilities Manager
Hover or tap a sphere to meet a teammate. Choose View profile. Choose a name in the team list below to open a profile.
- Executive team
- Corporate team
- Field team
Executive team (3)
Corporate team (12)
Questions people ask
Is UFG a franchise?
No. United Facilities Group has been privately and family-owned since Al Cuevas founded it in 1998.
Is UFG a minority-owned business?
Yes. UFG is a certified Minority Business Enterprise through the NMSDC programme, and women hold senior roles in sales, operations and human resources.
Which associations is UFG part of?
BOMA, CREW Network, NMSDC, BSCAI, IEHA, IFMA and ISSA.
How big is the company?
Two offices, six service regions and crews in each. Ask your account manager for the current crew count in your region; we do not publish headcounts.