Duraclean Journal of Marketing, Management and Technical Topics

Bill Ondratschek, Vice President of Franchise Operations, is congratulated by Vince Caffarello, Duraclean International, Inc. President

On April 21, 2008 Bill Ondratschek celebrated his 25th anniversary as a Duraclean employee. In 1983 Bill was hired as "Technical & Training Services Manager" and reported directly to Research & Development Manager Dick Hughes.

Bill came from a background of public education having spent nine years as a sixth grade teacher in Schaumburg, Illinois. He then worked in the drafting/engineering department of Kay-Ray, Inc. in Arlington Heights, IL. Kay-Ray provided equipment that monitored manufacturing and storage processes primarily in the food and petroleum industries. Bill worked with the company engineers on drawing the systems that were designed for specific customer applications.

Wanting a more physically active job experience away from the drafting desk Bill then moved on to North American Spring & Stamping in Elk Grove Village, IL. North American made a variety of parts for companies such as General Motors, Ford Motor Company and 3M as well as components for the aerospace industry. He worked as the "Finishing Manager" in a department that completed operations on parts that couldn't be done on the automated stamping and spring coiling machines. He was responsible for over 30 employees. His last position at North American was that of "Quality Control Manager."

After almost a three year hiatus from education Bill decided it was time to return to training and he answered a newspaper ad to work for Duraclean. His daily responsibilities included answering franchisee phone questions in regard to trouble shooting equipment and cleaning and spot removal problems. It was basically "baptism by fire" where he had to get on board quickly. Fortunately there were a lot of good resources in the form of Duraclean headquarters staff personnel and their experiences so he was able to accomplish this initiation in a relatively short time frame. Available were two former Duraclean franchisees on staff: Bob Scott and Jack Dudley. And there was the ever present Len Nysted, Duraclean's chemist, all of whom provided assistance to the "rookie."

The very first project he worked on was the training program for the new Fabricrafter upholstery and drapery machine. The development of the Fabricrafter system was mostly in place in regard to its operation. It now had to be fine tuned in regard to its physical appearance. As part of his training Bill attended a local two day upholstery and drapery cleaning training session through the Fabricrafter's manufacturer Kleen-Rite. It was conducted by noted trainer Murray Cremer. He then traveled to Santa Barbara, CA to meet the Kleen-Rite staff and view the current model of the Fabricrafter.

Bill returned to Duraclean in Deerfield, IL and wrote the manual for the unit. His wife, Cheryl, is the one who came up with the name "Fabricrafter" (a combination of the word "fabric" and "crafter" from "handscraftsmanship" which was used to refer to the method used with the original Duraclean "Foamovator" unit). The Fabricrafter was introduced to the Duraclean franchise network in a series of Regional Meetings in the Fall of 1983.

A live demonstration was given to Mr. & Mrs. Irl Marshall, Sr. Bill says that, "It was probably the hardest presentation I have ever had to give since we were showing a machine that was replacing the original machine and cleaning system (the Foamovator) that Mr. Marshall had developed over 50 years earlier. Fortunately he was impressed by how the Fabricrafter worked and the cleaning results on their furniture!!!!"

After the Fabricrafter Bill moved into the development of other service programs including water and fire damage restoration. In November of 1986 Bill started to report to Publications & Training Manager Vince Caffarello (a reporting relationship that continues to this day). In October, 1987 Bill was promoted to Director of Publications & Training with responsibility for the Print Shop, Graphics Department, Duraclean Journal, telephone support and equipment rebuilding.

Other Duraclean service programs for which Bill has worked on over the years in regard to research and development and training materials has been ceiling and wall cleaning, carpet inspection, deodorization, mold remediation, duct cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning.


Bill has past and current experience working with the many carpet industry organizations that provide cleaning equipment, chemicals and related training in addition to working with the carpet manufacturing industry. Starting in 1987 as a subcommittee member for the Carpet and Rug Institute located in Dalton, Georgia, Bill served on CRI's Carpet Inspection Subcommittee and then on CRI's Subcommittees for Carpet Maintenance and the "Seal of Approval Program" for Carpet Cleaning. Bill also served on one of IICRC's subcommittees that contributed to the most recent version of IICRC's S500 water damage standard.

Bill has also developed and presented three State of Illinois certified courses, one on water damage restoration (#13504), one on fire damage restoration (#13505) and the last on mold remediation (#17662). All are approved for insurance agent continuing education credits (CECs). Additionally, all three courses are accepted in 47 other U.S. states through the "Midwest Reciprocity Zone." In addition to Illinois, Bill is a licensed instructor in 8 other states and has presented approved CEC courses for insurance agents in South Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Colorado and Georgia. Bill is an Illinois licensed real estate CEC instructor.

Bill says that, "The past 25 years have really flown by. I've met and worked with a lot of nice and talented people in that time (and learned a lot from them as well). My thanks to all!"

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