Servpro is a franchisor of fire and water cleanup and restoration franchises in the United States and Canada.[1] The franchise system provides localized services and large-scale disaster recovery.[2] It is headquartered in Gallatin, Tennessee.
History
Ted and Doris Isaacson launched Servpro Industries in 1967 as a painting business in Sacramento, California.[3] With a background in cleaning and restoration, they transformed the company into a franchisor of cleanup and restoration specialists. After selling its first franchise in 1969, Servpro continued to grow, acquiring the Bristol-Myers Domesticare Division and its 175 franchises in 1979, and developing a highly regarded national franchise.[4][5][6]
Servpro relocated its corporate headquarters from Sacramento to Gallatin, Tennessee in 1988.[7] At the time of the relocation, Servpro consisted of 647 franchises. The company sold its 1,000th franchise in 2000.
To accommodate their growth, the Servpro headquarters moved to a facility of 140,000 sqft in 2005, which was expanded to 200,000 sqft in 2014. The Tennessean has listed Servpro as one of Tennessee's top workplaces eight times since 2015, including 2024.[8]
Servpro consists of 2.250 franchises in the United States and Canada (as of 2024).[9]
In March 2019, The Blackstone Group acquired a majority stake in Servpro Industries, LLC,[10][11] for an amount reportedly exceeding US$1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal.[12] The Isaacson family reinvested and maintains minority ownership.
Services
Servpro provides residential and commercial water, fire, and mold cleanup and restoration services. Many franchises offer specialty services, such as biohazard cleanup, document restoration, electronics restoration, dry cleaning, and construction.
Large-scale disaster recovery
Despite the franchise structure of numerous relatively small entities, Servpro has the capacity and organizational competence to respond to large-scale disasters, including major corporate and government contracts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005[13] and Hurricane Ike in 2008.[14][5] Servpro was contracted for drainage and restoration by government, commercial entities and numerous households after the 2010 Tennessee floods.[15] Similarly, Servpro was involved in restoration and reconstruction after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.[16][17]
See also
- First Responder Bowl
External links
References
- Erin Bassler. Damage restoration companies there for your worst day telegram.com, GateHouse Media, LLC., 30 October 2016, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Heidi Chung. El Nino: Some companies to benefit while others get hit CNBC.com, CNBC LLC, 29 October 2015, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Ted Allen Isaacson - obit. The Wilson Post, 24 January 2017, retrieved 26 January 2017^
- Entrepreneur 2016 Franchise 500® Entrepreneur.com, Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 18 August 2016^
- 10 great franchise bets cnnmoney.com, Cable News Network, 16 June 2011, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Forbes: Top 20 Franchises for the Buck Forbes^
- Joe Morris. ServPro Industries, Inc Nashville Business Journal, 27 June 2008, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Governor Haslam, Commissioner Boyd Announce Servpro To Expand Current Operations In Sumner County tn.gov, State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, 5 August 2015, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Brian McCready. Tenant for Former Connecticut Food Bank Location in East Haven Announced East Haven Patch, Patch Media, 30 December 2016, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Servpro sold to private-equity group www.bizjournals.com, retrieved 2020-01-20^
- Blackstone to acquire majority stake in restoration service franchisor Servpro www.spglobal.com, retrieved 2020-01-20^
- Jaewon Kang and Miriam Gottfried. Blackstone Nears Deal to Acquire Servpro Industries WSJ, retrieved 2020-01-20^
- Ken Wells. French Quarter Features Little to Eat, but Plenty to Smell wsj.com, The Wall Street Journal, 30 September 2005, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Christopher McDougall. Disaster Cowboys Inc., Inc., 1 November 2005, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Melissa Burden. SERVPRO franchisees in Genesee, Saginaw counties help clean up properties in downtown Nashville, Tennessee damaged in May flood Flint Journal, MLive Media Group, 6 June 2010, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Kathryn Lynch-Morin. Saginaw Servpro team helping with Sandy cleanup in New Jersey MLive, MLive Media Group, 12 November 2012, retrieved 7 January 2017^
- Todd Bates. Sandy left N.J. shore with massive mold problem usatoday.com, USA Today, 9 September 2013, retrieved 7 January 2017^