SHINKO ASSOCIATES our company was founded in 1990 as a building maintenance contractor. Using our experience and knowhow of building maintenance, we expanded our business in 1992 into the field of floor maintenance for medical facilities. At that time, there were very few maintenance staff members who were knowledgeable about clean areas and partitioning of clean areas and general areas. Also, there were no set guidelines on the cleaning and sterilization of clean areas or in the selection of chemicals to be used. When hospital-acquired infection came into general public recognition, we were swamped with inquiries about cleaning and sterilization and our expertise and knowledge came into high demand. We have established our own sterilization operation manual and personnel training program from our extensive technical experiences and with the cooperation of medical suppliers. Also, by incorporating environmental measurement into our program, we have become better able to point out problems and suggest methods of remediation to the medical facilities. We will continue to strive to contribute to the medical environment using our company's motto of "Cheerfully, merrily and affluently".