Paul Stewart on Service, Growth, and the Value of Local Business

Paul Stewart has spent more than two decades building a business around something many people barely notice until they need it. Cleaning supplies, paper products, dispensers, office supplies, office furniture. On the surface, it may not sound glamorous. In practice, it touches almost every workplace, every day.

As owner of Cleaning Depot by PBJ, Paul has built a company that has quietly become an important partner for businesses, institutions, and community organizations across a broad stretch of southwestern Ontario. Based in Listowel, the family-run business has now been operating for nearly 23 years, employs 33 people, and serves customers throughout Huron County and beyond. What began as a more modest operation has grown into a true one-stop shop, shaped over time by customer needs, product innovation, and a steady commitment to service.

That growth has not happened by accident. One of the themes that emerged in a recent interview on the Chamber Connect Podcast was that Paul has never viewed the business as simply moving boxes from a warehouse to a customer’s door. For him, the value lies in helping people make better decisions, find the right products, and sometimes rethink how they operate altogether. That is especially important in an area like janitorial and facility supplies, where a purchasing decision can affect not only cleanliness, but staff time, workplace efficiency, and a business’s bottom line.

Paul spoke candidly about how much the industry has changed over the life of the business. Early on, he might have imagined carrying a small handful of standard products, perhaps a soap, a paper towel, a toilet paper option or two. Instead, customer expectations have grown more sophisticated, and the range of available solutions has expanded dramatically. Today, automation, dispensing systems, equipment, and environmentally responsible products all play a much larger role than they once did. In Paul’s view, one of the biggest shifts over the past 23 years has been the rise of eco-friendly products, not just because regulators and manufacturers moved in that direction, but because customers increasingly began asking for them.

That practical, customer-focused approach seems to define the business. Paul describes a model built not just on supply, but on consultation. His team works with manufacturers, receives training on new products, and helps customers understand where they might reduce waste, improve efficiency, or lower costs. Sometimes that means helping a client switch from ready-to-use products to concentrated solutions with dispensing systems. Sometimes it means looking at equipment and showing how an upfront investment can produce long-term savings in labour and materials. It is a reminder that expertise still matters, particularly in specialized areas that fall outside a business owner’s core knowledge.

That service model also helps explain how an independent regional company continues to compete in a world dominated by online convenience. Paul does not pretend that businesses are immune to the pull of Amazon. He readily acknowledges that everyone, himself included, has used it. But rather than treating that reality as a reason to retreat, he treats it as a challenge to be better. Cleaning Depot emphasizes next-day, and when needed, two-day delivery. More importantly, it offers something online giants cannot easily replicate, local presence, product knowledge, face-to-face consultation, and community investment.

That local dimension matters in Huron County. Cleaning Depot may be headquartered just outside the county, but Paul has made it clear that Huron is an important part of the company’s service area and future growth. The business covers all of Huron County and reaches well beyond it, north along Highway 21 and into centres such as Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford. Joining the Huron Chamber of Commerce was part of a broader effort to become better known here, build relationships, and become more involved in the communities the company already serves.

If there is one aspect of Paul’s story that stands out most, it may be that commitment to community. He speaks about sponsorships, local sports, school awards, and the importance of giving back not as side projects, but as part of the company’s identity. He understands something that many strong local businesses understand: success is not measured only in sales. It is also measured in whether your community is stronger because you are there. That philosophy is especially visible in Cleaning Depot’s annual paper drive, which has now run for 15 years. Each Christmas season, the company works with suppliers and local Salvation Army food banks to collect paper towel, toilet paper, and facial tissue for families in need, with PBJ matching customer contributions. The initiative recently expanded into Huron County, helping meet needs that are often overlooked but very real.

There is also a longer-term story unfolding inside the company. Paul describes Cleaning Depot as a family business in the fullest sense, and that now includes the next generation. His son Carter has joined the business in recent years, a development that has naturally led Paul to think more seriously about succession planning. Like many owners, he admits that it is easy to spend years focused entirely on growth and day-to-day operations without thinking enough about what comes next. For Paul, that began to change when life events forced a more serious look at the future. Bringing Carter into the business has made that future feel more tangible, while keeping the company rooted in the same family-centred values that helped build it in the first place.

In the end, Paul Stewart’s story is not really about cleaning supplies. It is about relationships, service, adaptability, and the quiet strength of a business that understands its role in the life of a community. In a time when convenience often wins and local connection can feel harder to sustain, that is a profile worth paying attention to.