Detroit glass, cleaned by people who plan the drop
Founded on Michigan Avenue in 2009. Today 54 W-2 technicians keep 412 buildings and thousands of homes clear across Metro Detroit.
Our story
Andre Lewis learned rope access on offshore platforms and came home to Detroit in 2008 to find most of the city's towers being cleaned from swing stages that closed sidewalks for weeks. He believed the work could be faster, safer and far less disruptive, and he started HighRise Glass Services the next spring with one partner, two rope kits and a borrowed van.
The company grew one building at a time, mostly through chief engineers who told other chief engineers. We have kept the same rules since the first drop: written plans before work, employees instead of subcontractors, and honest reports about what we find on the facade.
Homeowners came later, usually property managers asking us to do their own houses. Our residential crews carry the same insurance, the same training and the same habit of covering floors and stacking ladders neatly.
- Founded
- 2009
- W-2 technicians
- 54
- Buildings under contract
- 412
- Average review rating
- 4.9
Seventeen years on the wall
- 2009
Two ropes and a van
Andre Lewis starts HighRise with one IRATA partner, cleaning Midtown lofts and a single office tower.
- 2013
First hospital contract
A Midtown health system signs a six-building program, and we write our first ICRA-trained crew procedures.
- 2017
Corktown shop opens
We move into a former machine shop on Michigan Avenue with a training wall for rope rescue drills.
- 2021
Residential division
Home crews launch after years of requests from building managers who wanted us at their own houses.
- 2026
412 buildings under contract
54 W-2 technicians, 9 supervisors and a safety record we publish every year.
How we work
Four rules written on the wall of the Corktown shop, next to the rescue drill schedule.
Plan the drop, then drop
No technician leaves the roof without a written access plan and a rescue plan the supervisor can perform.
Employees, not subcontractors
Every technician is a W-2 employee with benefits, paid training hours and a clear path to Level 3.
Say what we see
If we spot failed sealant, cracked glass or etching we cannot fix, you hear about it in writing.
Leave it cleaner than the glass
Cones stacked, sidewalks rinsed, floors covered. The site should look like we were never there.
Leadership and supervisors
The people who walk your roof, write your access plan and answer the phone when weather changes.
Andre Lewis
Founder and Operations Director
IRATA Level 3. Started on ropes in 2004 and founded HighRise in 2009.
Marisol Duarte
Safety and Compliance Manager
OSHA 500 trainer. Writes every access plan and rescue plan we issue.
Kevin Brandt
Commercial Accounts Lead
Manages 140+ contract buildings and every portfolio walkthrough.
Jalen Price
Residential Crew Supervisor
SPRAT Level 2. Leads our historic home and storm window crews.
Credentials and licenses
Full safety program| Credential | Scope | Record |
|---|---|---|
| IRATA International | Level 3 supervisors on every rope access job | Sample #3/118842 |
| SPRAT | Level 1 to 3 certified technicians | Sample #L2-40917 |
| IWCA member | International Window Cleaning Association | Member since 2012 |
| ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 | Window cleaning safety standard compliance | Written program on file |
| OSHA 30 | All site leads and supervisors | Renewed every 3 years |
| Aerial lift operators | ANSI A92 trained and certified | Annual recertification |