[Cover Story] PCT Top 100

Editor’s note: The 2004 Top 100 List was compiled by PCT Editor Jodi Dorsch and the profiles were written by Lisa McKenna, a frequent contributor to PCT. PCT made every effort to identify and contact companies that were likely to qualify for the list. Certain companies are absent because they elected not to disclose their 2003 revenues or PCT was unable to discern revenues through other means (i.e., Dun & Bradstreet, Internet searches, etc.). However, if you feel your company should be listed, contact Editor Jodi Dorsch at jdorsch@gie.net or visit www.pctonline.com and click the "Top 100" logo on the left-hand side of the page.

A few notes about this list:

• All subscribers were furnished a Top 100 form via a "tip cover" on the January 2004 issue of PCT. In addition, links to an online form were run in PCT’s weekly E-newsletter throughout late winter and early spring. A PCT Top 100 form was posted on PCT’s Web site, which was filled out by many company executives throughout the year. PCT editors also took other measures to confirm the veracity of the figures.

• Companies were asked to provide the following information: company name; address; phone number; fax number; e-mail address; Web site address; year company founded; 2003 revenues; percent increase/decrease over 2002 numbers; projected percent increase/decrease for 2004; percentage of general pest, termite, vertebrate, bird, mosquito, and turf and ornamental work; percent of residential vs. commercial work; number of offices; number of general pest and termite technicians; total number of employees; and names of company executives.

• There are 31 states represented in this list. The top three states represented in the Top 100 list are Florida (14 companies), California (12 companies) and Georgia (eight companies). In addition, there are two Canadian firms on the list. This year, there are nine new companies in the PCT Top 100. In addition, two companies that are on this list were sold in 2004; however, they are still listed here because this list represents 2003 revenue numbers.

• In the charts on the following pages, "% Other" includes bird, mosquito, turf and ornamental, and vertebrate pest control services, as well as any "other" revenue sources (add-on services, etc.).

• Percent of commercial vs. residential work are represented by "% RES" and "% COM."

• Companies in the PCT Top 100 earned a total of $3,523,966,090 in 2003, which is an increase of almost $150 million from 2002.

• While several companies on this list offer product distribution services, those revenues are not included here. PCT’s Top 100 list reflects service revenues only.

PCT made every effort to identify and contact companies that should be included in the list. If your company should be listed (or if you know of a company that should be), contact Jodi Dorsch at jdorsch@pctonline.com or 800/456-0707.

TRULY NOLEN: A winning mix of service and strategy

If there were an enigma in the pest control industry, Truly Nolen of America would be it. This 65-year old company, the nation’s 11th largest, has a rich history, an in-genious public relations plan, and an unusual organizational structure, all of which help form a company with an inimitable way of doing business.

Entrepreneur Truly Wheatfield Nolen founded the company in 1938. Nolen had owned a home improvement business in Indianapolis that went bankrupt during the Great Depression. The one profitable area of his operation was pest control, and Nolen had the foresight to move to South Miami Beach, Fla., and start a pest control business there.

The business grew, and in the years that followed, Nolen’s son Truly David Nolen came to work for his father. However, the younger Nolen eventually left the business, striking out on his own. In 1955, Nolen moved to Tucson, Ariz., to open his own pest control operation. His business also quickly expanded, with branches soon opening in California, Texas and New Mexico.

In 1966, the elder Nolen passed away. Truly purchased his father’s business, merging it with his own and once again experiencing dramatic business growth. Today the company’s 1,000+ employees work out of about 70 branch offices located in Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The $67 million company has a growing franchise division with 60 international franchises in 30 countries, and 10 franchises in the United States.

The one key secret to Truly Nolen’s success, says Barry Murray, vice president of marketing and public relations, is Truly himself. "I think what makes us unique is Truly’s character and the way he feels about the customer," says Murray. "Regardless of the situation, the customer is right, period. That’s the kind of business philosophy (in the country as a whole) that seems to be not as important as it once was, and he simply will not let that philosophy go."

Today the third generation of Nolens has a hand in running the business. Truly serves as chief executive officer, and his son, Scott, is president. The leadership of the company is spread out across its territories, with Scott in Orlando, Fla.; Truly in Naples, Fla.; Murray in Hollywood, Fla.; the human resources department in Phoenix, Ariz.; and the home office in Tucson, Ariz. Murray says this "new age" arrangement works well. "Truly kind of has the philosophy that it is the person, not the place." Murray says that the company has been able to retain many of its most trusted employees through this setup.

One of the company’s trademarks over the years has been its highly visible presence to customers. One example is the company’s fleet of yellow Volkswagen Beetles painted to look like mice. "It was the company’s concept initially to have some kind of an iconic vehicle," Murray explains. At first the company’s fleet consisted of red ants when they were created in the late ’50s.

Over the years they evolved, first into scorpions, and later into yellow mice. But it didn’t take long for the vehicles to become synonymous with the growing corporation. And in 2002 the "mouse car" again made headlines in a series of award-winning animated television commercials.

Murray also has helped make Truly Nolen a household name with an outstanding marketing and public relations strategy. Part of this effort has been his appearances on local and national television news programs as "Barry the Bug Guy," a pest control expert. Murray tours the company’s service area four times a year, appearing on morning news programs across the country and providing seasonally appropriate consumer education about pests.

"It gives a tremendous amount of credibility to the company," Murray says, although he points out the appearances aren’t a plug for Truly Nolen’s services; they’re about pest education and fun pest facts. In the last four years, Murray has made more than 600 appearances.

BUG OUT SERVICE: Where happy employees lead to happy customers

What matters most to Bug Out Service, based in Jacksonville, Fla.? The company (number 45) has grown dramatically over its 40-year history, thanks to a philosophy of striving for both happy employees and happy customers.

Paul Felker, president of Bug Out, explains the company has always believed in nurturing and serving its employees. "In order for us to have happy customers we have to start with happy employees," he said. For Bug Out that has meant providing the best possible training along with many opportunities for growth.

Top-quality customer service also has been a priority at Bug Out. And succeeding in this area ultimately depends on how well employees are motivated, Felker says. "We have to nurture the culture so that our employees are motivated and appreciated." Furthermore, he said, company leadership must do a good job at facilitating and creating an organization of which employees are proud to be a part. "We have to look at ourselves more as trainers and coaches," he said.

If its history is any indication, Bug Out’s strategy has served the company well. The company’s 120 or so employees work out of six offices and serve customers located in the "First Coast" area of Florida, which includes five counties in the state’s northeast corner.

The company was unwittingly founded in 1963 by businessman John Sessions, as a division of Arlington Fuel Oil Company based in Jacksonville. Sessions, who was vice president at Arlington at the time, had convinced his partners to add pest control services to the business to build up the typically slow spring and summer months. His partners agreed, and Sessions created a pest control division within Arlington. After two years, the partners wanted to sell off the business, and they offered it to Sessions, who quickly took them up on their offer.

In the early years, Bug Out grew slowly but during the 1980s the company experienced significant expansion with the acquisition of several companies. In the ’90s the growth continued with expanded service areas and additional offices.

Adding to the company’s growth in recent years has been a housing boom in the Jacksonville area. And with Super Bowl XXXIX headed to Jacksonville in 2005, still more attention will be focused on the growing region.

Although Sessions retired in 1999, he still keeps an office at Bug Out and a keen interest in the goings-on at the company. However, the company is operated under the watchful eye of his son-in-law, Paul Felker, who joined the company in 1978 and has worked in just about every area of the business.

Since he’s been at the helm, Felker has made a number of changes at Bug Out in the interest of improving efficiency and productivity. For example, he created a central call center, as opposed to having each branch take its own calls, and he centralized scheduling functions. Previously, all of the company’s branches used to operate independently.

Felker admits the changes were significant, and getting employees to buy in to them took time. But having a nurturing, caring attitude made all the difference.

Making significant changes in his father-in-law’s business also took some conviction on Felker’s part. "I wouldn’t do anything inconsistent with the way he had always done business," Felker said. "If we could be more productive and create a better working environment for our employees, then that was the right thing to do."

In recent years the company’s main emphasis has been on training each technician to provide the full gamut of services offered by Bug Out. "We are moving more and more towards the ‘universal technician,’" says Felker. In doing this, he explained, technicians can be more productive in their service areas and customers will feel more secure that their problems will be solved.

One of the company’s secrets to success over the years, says Felker, is having the ability to foster an environment where employees are motivated. "We really just have good people who care about our success within the organization," he says. "I think the difference is nurturing that culture. We’ve been successful in being able to do that."

VIKING PEST CONTROL: A shining example of community commitment

When Ed Bradbury founded Viking Pest Control (number 47) in 1980, he started with a clean slate. The former manager with Western Termite & Pest Control in West Orange, N.J., left a comfortable job to start his own company from scratch. Opening the doors to his new business in Bound Brook, N.J. , was a gutsy move for a man with three young children, a brand new dream house and the mortgage to go along with it.

What Bradbury did have was experience, confidence and conviction. In the early days, he did all the selling, servicing and bookkeeping for the company, says his son Ryan, a branch manager with Viking. Meanwhile, his wife Eileen became the company’s first commercial salesperson. "Together through hard work, sweat equity, and the emergence of some phenomenal employees," said Ryan, "mom and dad brought their dream of building a viable business to life."

Ryan, who works closely with his father, says Ed’s decision 24 years ago was a scary one, but he knew then it was the right one. "He had a lot of challenges," says Ryan, "but he had some great determination. With hard work and perseverance he got through it and was able to succeed to where we are today." Another member of the Bradbury family, Ed’s son Dan, just recently joined the company as a sales representative based out of the company’s Bridgewater, N.J., office.

Viking has every right to be proud of its growth record. In just more than 20 years of service, the company has expanded into a nine-office facility employing about 130 and serving customers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the last several years Viking has grown at a rate of about 15 percent.

Also working for Viking is the com-pany’s strong sales efforts, along with its attention to customer service, says Ryan. "The combination of a great sales effort and our customer service has really helped us to retain our customers at a high percentage, which is really what’s helping us grow," he said.

But Ryan adds there really are no secrets to the company’s success. "We try to hire great people and grant them the freedom to do great things," he said. Furthermore, providing a positive environment, in turn, leads people to achieve positive results.

Over the years, Viking has strived to provide great customer service in all its service offerings, including general pests, ants, termites, fumigation and lawn fertilization. One area in which the company has wisely specialized is its carpenter ant business, which includes a thorough treatment regimen and a one-year, renewable guarantee. "We market and promote the benefits of continued service to our customers by offering free emergency service all year round," says Ryan. "We build value in the renewal because of the personal attention our employees give to our customers. We also allow the coverage to be transferable to future homeowners when homes are sold."

Another hallmark of Viking’s business has been its history of community involvement, something Ed started in Bound Brook and promoted throughout the company over the years. Examples of the company’s involvement include sponsorship of Little League organizations and police associations and participation in heart and cancer walks.

At this time there are no big changes on the horizon for Viking in how the company operates. "We are going to continue to strengthen our current market share by sales growth, customer retention and company acquisitions," he said. So why mess with a winning formula?

MAHEU & MAHEU: A Canadian powerhouse on the move

After 70 years in business, Maheu & Maheu Pest Management (number 53) based in Quebec City, Canada, has much for which to be proud. Besides being the third largest pest control company in Canada, the company also has succeeded in serving culturally diverse customers located across three provinces. Michel Maheu, general manager of Maheu & Maheu, says the company’s long-term record of success is based on its commitment to customers. "It’s always been part of the culture of the company to solve problems and to provide the best solutions that we could," he says.

That culture started with Maheu’s grandfather, Horace A. Maheu, founder of Maheu & Maheu. Horace’s mother, Rose-Anna Levac, had purchased a general store at the turn of the century, and the rights to a "mysterious roach powder," came with it. Her older sons Oscar and Henri founded a pest control service in Montreal in 1917, and Horace was sent to Quebec City where he founded Maheu & Maheu in 1933. As for the mysterious powder, it originally contained boric acid and talc, but later DDT and pyrethrum were added.

In the late ’60s, two of Horace’s sons, Paul and Andre, joined him in the business. The brothers retired in 1993 and 2001 respectively, and today, with Paul’s son Michel at the helm, the third generation of Maheus runs the company. Michel’s wife, Guilaine Pageau, is quality coordinator, and two cousins also are involved in the business: Louis-Philippe Maheu is director of finance and Claude Maheu is assistant regional director.

With its five offices and 75 employees, the company serves accounts located in Quebec, northern New Brunswick and southern Ontario. Always a top contender in the predominantly French-speaking areas of Quebec and eastern Ontario, Maheu & Maheu recently has expanded its effort to secure more English-speaking customers in southwestern Ontario. Residential accounts comprise about one-fifth of the company’s business.

The company has also created a niche market with its unique carbon dioxide fumigation system offered to museums. Furthermore, Maheu & Maheu is the only company in North America acting as a consultant in this area. "We have created a method which uses fumigation bubbles and other components," says Maheu, "and I am proud that a small company based in Quebec City is still recognized as the expert in this area."

Unlike many other pest control companies, Maheu & Maheu subscribes to a philosophy of decentralization, in which its branches are largely self-sufficient, and technical staff members are located throughout its territories to provide better service.

Maheu says another ingredient to the company’s success has been its family spirit. In 1993 the company opened its shares to employees, who today hold more than 30 percent ownership in the company. In the next 10 years, says Maheu, that percentage should go to about half. This progressive decision was made on behalf of the company’s employees, Maheu says. "The idea there was to secure our main assets," he says. "So reason one for our success, I refer to as our employees."

Further, Maheu says, the organization has always been open-minded when it comes to technology. For example, the company has shared its technical expertise with industry colleagues and has established a subcontracting arrangement with Braemar Pest Management Services in the province of New Brunswick.

Another achievement for the company has been its quality certification. In 1996 Maheu & Maheu became ISO 9002 certified, and in 2002 the company received certification for the management quality system ISO 9001. Maheu says the decision to implement the quality system was primarily internal. "It was a great tool for us to control our growth," he says.

AMERICAN PEST CONTROL: A family company with a sparkling reputation

In the rural but close-knit communities of central Illinois, a company’s reputa-
tion can make or break its success. This fact is well known to American Pest Control (number 88), based in Hanna City, Ill.

Ira Haggerty and his wife Lael founded the family-owned company in 1951. Haggerty had entered the pest control industry in the 1940s working for the large multi-state company Arwell, but he left when Rollins Corp. purchased the company. Because he owned a family farm, Haggerty was not interested in moving away from the area. So the salesman, technician and one-time schoolteacher had to leave the industry for a time due to a non-compete agreement with Rollins. He dabbled in insurance sales before going on to found American.

For the first few years the business was run by Haggerty and his wife along with their two sons, Jim and Chuck, who were in high school at the time. Over the years, Haggerty’s sons remained with the business, and today they hold the reigns at American, with Jim serving as president and Chuck as general manager. The third generation of the family is also part of the American team, with Jim’s children Rod and Lynette serving as termite division manager and payroll executive, and Chuck’s children Chris and Andrea as manager of the company’s Bloomington-Normal office and office manager, respectively.

Chris Haggerty says although his grandfather had a variety of career choices early in his life, the pest control industry was his true calling. Chris describes Ira as natural salesman who was known and liked by many. "I do know that my grandfather was a well-loved person," Chris says. "He was able to grow the business pretty rapidly at the start because of that." Chris said that his grandfather quickly secured a number of large accounts that were geographically spread out. This necessitated hiring technicians in remote areas early in the company’s history.

In the early 1960s, Jim Haggerty made some important changes for the company by offering residential service on a quarterly schedule, as opposed to monthly, which was the norm in those days. "My father introduced quarterly service and we’ve maintained it all the way through to today," says Rod.

Ira turned the business over to his sons in 1973, just two years before his death. His wife Lael also was heavily involved in the business from its early days right up until recent years, handling the company’s payroll. She passed away in 1996.

Today the company serves customers throughout the middle third of Illinois, a largely rural area with a blend of both residential and commercial customers. As a result, American has a mix of 50 percent each residential and commercial customers. The company serves a large number of colleges, universities and health-care institutions among its commercial accounts.

Chris says the company has always focused on "mainstream" pest control, as opposed to getting into such add-on services as lawn care or holiday decorating. However, he adds, "we’ve really tried to cover all the bases in terms of offering such things as wildlife control, bird control and mosquito control."

One of the company’s core philosophies is found on a handmade, now faded sign that Ira Haggerty hung in the office years ago and remains there today. It reads "Quality is long remembered after price is forgotten." Rod says the mantra speaks to his grandfather’s belief that true service equates to solving a problem. "Even if you have to lose money doing it, get rid of the problem," Rod explained. "Don’t walk away because you’re afraid you’re going to lose money."

Chris says another key to running the business has always been being more than fair to both employees and customers. "Grandpa really set up the structure that allowed for our success," he said. "From the very beginning we’ve been on a production percentage commission system that inherently makes the guys want to work harder." Under the system, he explained, American’s technicians earn 32% of the price of the service performed. "Even though we’re going to lose profit on the front end of things, that allows the employees to earn a better living without having to work an ungodly amount of hours." What’s more he said, the arrangement helps technicians spend more time with each account, which leads to happier, more loyal customers.