Sharon Reynolds

When she named DevMar Products over a decade ago, Sharon Reynolds says she “had no idea what it was going to be.” But given that her two sons, Devin and DeMarco, inspired the name, she just knew it had to matter.

“Whatever I did, in terms of starting this company,” she says, “I wanted it to mean something.”

Almost six years later, in an interview at the office space she shares with her husband’s company, Reynolds and Reynolds Janitorial Services, she gives an effortless pitch that anyone would buy: DevMar products are the green solution to the cleaning industry’s pollution problems.

Reynolds does a lot of research and works with a scientist to find ways to prevent the volatile organic compounds — which are present in many janitorial and sanitation products — from being emitted into the atmosphere. The goal is not only to make quality products that are better for the environment, but also for the workers who come into contact with them daily. And people are starting to take notice.

DevMar provides janitorial supplies and paper products to the Nashville Airport Authority, as well as some to Metro Nashville Public Schools, and its products are being tested by McDonald’s, Wendy’s and businesses on the Las Vegas strip (where quality cleanup is somewhat important). OfficeMax recently did a profile on DevMar that went out to its 35,000 customers, and Reynolds hints at “a huge big box” that has expressed interest in several of their products.

The company has been recognized as a Green Hero by Nashville’s Entrepreneur Center and one of the next 50 companies to watch by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce two years in a row. Reynolds herself recently received a leadership award from Women Impacting Public Policy in Washington, D.C.

“The next generation is coming, and how are we going to leave this environment?” she says. “You think about how wasteful we’ve been, and so now it’s gotten a lot better, but it can get a lot better. We can make that difference with our products.”

Reynolds spent 16 years in the real estate and mortgage business, eventually becoming one of the top realtors in Nashville, before starting DevMar. But sitting at a conference table, surrounded by samples of DevMar’s products, she sounds like someone who’s always been focused on cleaning up the cleaning business.

“We’re just getting started,” she says.