[Copesan Supplement] Full Speed Ahead

Fifty years ago, seven regional pest management leaders with the desire to compete for national commercial accounts formed a unique partnership. Today, Copesan Partners account for more than $650 million in revenue, employing more than 3,500 full-time service specialists and 2,000 support staff at 350 regional service centers across North America.

The organization shows no signs of slowing: It recently unveiled aggressive plans to recruit new Partners to support its growing national account client base.

“We want to make sure we have redundant quality service capabilities in all market areas,” explained Copesan President Deni Naumann. “It’s something no other company in the industry can offer customers.”

Copesan is targeting companies in specific geographic regions to complement its 60-plus Partner organization. It recently added 12 new Partners to its ranks: JP McHale Pest Management, Buchanan, N.Y.; EnviroPest, Windsor, Colo.; Poulin’s Pest Management, Winnipeg, Manitoba; J&J Exterminating, Crowley, La.; Diagnostic Pest Solutions, Havre, Mont.; Bug Doctor Pest Control, Great Falls, Mont.; Braemar Pest Management, New Bedford, Nova Scotia; American Pest Management, Takoma Park, Md.; ProGuard, Columbus, Ohio; Horizon Termite & Pest Control, Midland Park, N.J.; Viking Termite & Pest Control, Bridgewater, N.J.; and BC Pest, Vancouver, British Columbia.
 Having secondary and tertiary back-up Partners eases the potential for service disruptions and offers alternatives should a client require a different pest management approach in a specific market. It’s a fail-safe preferred by clients.

“Changing suppliers is a challenge for our clients,” said Alfie Treleven, Sprague Pest Solutions president and CEO, and chairman of the Copesan board. “If there’s any question, we can switch out the service provider with another quality Partner who is a back-up in that area.” Otherwise, he said, a client may be forced to bring in another supplier for all locations, even if 90 percent of the service was first-rate. “Clients very much like this concept of redundant, quality service availability.”

“They get a lot of flexibility,” agreed Plunkett’s Pest Control President Stacy O’Reilly, Minneapolis. “The accounts get taken care of very well.”

“Customers get the best coverage by far of any pest management company” in North America, explained McCloud Services President Chris McCloud, Hoffman Estates, Ill. “We have technicians that cover every county in the nation,” as well as in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Without Copesan “we would not able to sell larger accounts that can be serviced across the nation,” added Bernie Holst Sr., president, Horizon Termite & Pest Control, Midland Park, N.J.

Partners with proven, quality track records provide the best service in their markets, and Copesan provides leadership and support, explained Wil-Kil General Manager Dale Bauerkemper, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Local restaurant, hotel or food processing plant managers can speak face-to-face with an owner, yet account information is consolidated for billing, reporting and quality assurance to help clients improve service quality and protect their brand, explained Treleven. Clients get “a local, high-touch relationship” not easily duplicated in a large corporate world, he said.

A real strength of the organization is the professional pride involved, explained Bauerkemper. “Is there peer pressure? Absolutely. You do not want to let the team down. More important, you don’t want to let the client down.”

Ultimately, Copesan cares deeply about “making the customer happy,” observed Robert John, J&J Exterminating, Crowley, La., and it “goes far beyond anyone’s expectations to do that. We became part of Copesan because of its tremendous reputation as a quality company,” he said.

“Customers want the best value they can get,” summed up Waltham Services President Clarke Keenan, Waltham, Mass. With Copesan, “they get Partners they can trust not only for quality service, but for providing specific information when needed.”

PARTNERS FOR GROWTH. For Partners, Copesan advantages are three-fold. First, there’s work to be had, said Keenan. “You can service national account locations you wouldn’t be able to service otherwise.” Plunkett’s O’Reilly agreed. “I could never call on a large coffee chain because their headquarters is 2,000 miles away, but my Partner out there does, and I service all of those facilities in my particular territory,” she explained.

Second, the network allows Partners to sell national accounts. “With Copesan’s support, there’s no business too large for me to call on,” O’Reilly explained. The organization’s North American reach opens up a huge playing field, added Sprague’s Treleven. “We’ve had a number of our sales associates over the years sell million-dollar business” that would be impossible to sell as an independent.

Opportunities abound for new Partners, said Treleven. If a Partner sells an account with locations in their territory, they have the first opportunity to service those locations, even if they are a secondary Partner. Service Partners in other markets who receive locations to service then pay a commission to the selling Partner. “The great way to develop your Copesan opportunity is go out and sell new business,” said Treleven.

Copesan also helps local pest management professionals retain large accounts. “When clients shift to buying centrally, if you’re not affiliated with someone larger, it gets tough to convince clients to buck the system and stay with a local PMP,” O’Reilly said.

Treleven agreed. “Many times, those of us in the local market would get a notice of cancellation from an account because the client decided to do a regional or national buy that was beyond our local service capabilities.”

Assured Environments’ President Andrew Klein, New York City, experienced this first-hand. A prestigious high-rise developer wanted a pest management solution for its properties across the country. With Copesan, Klein retained his New York business and was “able to solidify a relationship with a very big customer. We were able to give them a one-stop solution nationally.”

Jerry Shuck, director of sales with Sprague, had this to add: “If you’re a local or regional company and you run into a national opportunity, your boundaries have essentially ended your ability to pursue the account. By being a Copesan Partner, you can take a look at the national opportunities.”

“ProGuard knew that in order for us to grow and to sell national accounts, we had to be aligned with an organization like Copesan,” added Jim Vaive, president, ProGuard, Columbus, Ohio, “and Copesan has matched what we were looking for.”

“Keeping our clients satisfied is our number one objective,” affirmed Naumann.

In addition to being service Partners, firms can acquire an ownership position in Copesan by becoming stockholders.

RECRUITING BEST IN CLASS. Potential Partners undergo approximately six months of interviews and on-site visits by Copesan quality assurance experts and management. Their clients and business references also are scrutinized.

“We are looking for Partner companies with exceptional reputations in the local marketplace,” explained Copesan Vice President of Operations Mike Campbell. “They must know how to effectively service commercial clients, be comfortable with the rapidly changing high-technology environment, and have a reputation for executing quality service.”

“It’s a very detailed process,” assured Naumann. “We look at their financial and organizational profiles. We also assess the cultural fit with Copesan, which is critical.”

That fit is essential in an organization fueled by group effort. “You need the mutual collaboration of all the Partners to provide clients the best and most consistent service,” said Copesan Director of Marketing Jon Bain.

New Partners bring a fresh infusion of skills and energy to the organization, said Waltham Services’ Keenan. Copesan’s Campbell agreed. “The vibrancy and entrepreneurial zeal Partners bring to Copesan is a big deal, and clients benefit from it,” Campbell said. Partner diversity “is the strongest asset Copesan has to offer,” added Assured Environments’ Klein.

“To me, I see being a part of the Copesan organization as a strategic partnership,” said Randy Hobbs, Braemar Pest Control Services, St. John, New Brunswick. “We feel it’s a real win/win to be part of Copesan.”

Copesan Partners are like family, explained Phil McCloud, McCloud Services. “We’re part of something bigger and we’re proud of that,” a sentiment echoed by Scott Steckel of ProGuard, Columbus, Ohio. “It’s a family,” he said — an organization that will praise you when you do well, but like any good family, also will hold you accountable.

Said Wil-Kil’s Bauerkemper: “Copesan is unique to the industry and is really going to shake things up down the road.”

Copesan: 50 Years Strong

Copesan was founded on March 22, 1958. Since then, it’s weathered many industry changes and has evolved into a North American pest management powerhouse.

In 1978, Copesan’s yearly sales exceeded $1 million. Shareholder Partners turned down an offer to buy the organization in 1985. Three years later, sales exceeded $4.9 million, and Copesan continued to expand its business by attracting blue-chip clients like Nestlé, Kraft and Amtrak. Due to refined sales initiatives and growth strategies, 2007 revenues are expected to exceed $56 million.

At one time, 150 companies were affiliated with Copesan. Industry consolidation and Partner companies’ expanded geographic reach reduced this number while increasing client coverage. Today, Copesan has 60 Partners, with aggressive plans to expand in North America and beyond.

Copesan bought Wil-Kil Pest Control in 1961 and Holder’s Pest Control in 1983. The organization also purchased firms in New Orleans; Portland, Ore.; Conroe, Texas; and Appleton, Wis., which were eventually sold or rolled into the Wil-Kil or Holder’s operations.

Originally based in Chicago, Copesan eventually moved to Milwaukee and briefly operated from a trailer behind Wil-Kil headquarters. In 1985, seven people were members of the Copesan corporate staff. Two years ago, the organization moved into its state-of-the-art Copesan International Support Center, which houses 70 corporate, administrative and customer service professionals in Menomonee Falls, Wis.

Copesan held its first national sales meeting in Atlanta in 1974, and first national conference in Phoenix in 1991.

“The group’s history is as unique as the organization,” said McCloud Services CEO Phil McCloud. He plans to publish the Copesan story in late 2009.

Copesan Interesting Facts

• Copesan was founded in 1958 by Dr. H.K. Steckel, B.W. Eldredge, J.E. Sameth, Henry Turrie, J.C. Redd, Harvey Sturgeon and I.B. Carncross.
• Copesan is an acronym derived from COordinated PEst Management and SANitation.
• Twenty-two past NPMA presidents have been part of the Copesan organization.
• Twenty Copesan Partners are ranked in PCT magazine’s Top 100 listing.
• Copesan Partners represent more than $650 million in revenues.
• Copesan Partners have been in the pest management industry an average of 76 years.
• Copesan has at its service more than 5,500 employees, including more than 3,500 full-time service professionals.
• Copesan is 60-plus Partners strong, and growing.