[News]

ServiceMaster Announces Executive Moves at TruGreen and Terminix

Memphis, Tenn. — The ServiceMaster Company, one of the world’s largest residential and commercial service networks, recently announced several key executive appointments at TruGreen and Terminix, its two largest business units. Tom Brackett has been named president of TruGreen and Chuck Fallon has joined the company as president of Terminix. Both will report to ServiceMaster Chief Executive Officer Hank Mullany.

Brackett has been serving as interim president of TruGreen since May, while concurrently holding the position of president of Terminix. Brackett moves into his new role after a highly successful 20-year career at Terminix, including the last five as president and chief operating officer.

Fallon is a seasoned business leader with a track record of delivering strong results in both public and private companies. Most recently, Fallon served as president of Burger King North America, part of one of the world’s best-known quick service restaurant chains, with more than 12,000 restaurants globally, including 7,500 company-owned and franchised restaurants in North America. While at Burger King, Fallon helped continue the company’s successful turnaround after its initial public offering in 2006.

“I’m thrilled that an executive with Chuck’s background is joining ServiceMaster,” said Mullany. “Chuck is a results-oriented leader with more than two decades of experience in driving business growth, transforming customer experiences and developing strong teams. With Tom leading TruGreen and Chuck now taking over at Terminix, we’ve filled the leadership roles in our two largest business units, representing more than $2 billion in annual revenues.”

Mullany credited Brackett for serving in the interim role, and quickly laying out a plan to improve TruGreen’s performance, including the development of new branch standards and centralization of many core activities and administrative functions.

“Tom’s operational expertise and experience at Terminix have been a huge advantage for us as we implemented necessary changes in TruGreen,” said Mullany. “I also appreciate Tom pulling double duty for us in our two largest businesses over the past six months. Now that he’ll be able to focus entirely on one business, I’m confident he’ll continue to identify opportunities to improve performance and accelerate growth at TruGreen.”

Fallon brings to Terminix a broad background in business strategy, operations, sales, marketing and network development. Prior to his career at Burger King, Fallon spent eight years at Cendant Corporation, a global travel and real estate company based in Parsippany, N.J., whose brands included Avis, Budget, Ramada, Days Inn, Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, just to name a few. While at Cendant, he served five years as executive vice president of revenue generation in the company’s Avis Budget Rental Car Group, leading all sales, marketing and revenue management activities.

He began his professional career in investment banking, working at Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. in New York City before moving to London-based Hoare Govett, Ltd in 1990. He later joined Smith Barney Inc., where he spent six years in London and New York City, ultimately as director of the company’s corporate finance unit.

Fallon graduated from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas with bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance. He has an MBA in finance from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.

During his career at Terminix, Brackett has been instrumental in helping the business grow, becoming the first pest control company to surpass $1 billion in revenues. He joined Terminix in 1992 as a branch manager in Miami, Fla., and was promoted to division vice president in 1997 and, eventually, president and COO in 2006. A U.S. Army veteran, Brackett is a graduate of Florida International University and a member of the Crown Leadership Award Class of 2010.

“These two appointments are the latest in a series of key leadership moves across ServiceMaster’s business units and functions,” said Mullany. “With a strong leadership team now in place, we will move forward with our business strategies and take aim at rapidly growing our business by transforming our customers’ experience and delivering best-in-class service.”
 

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Protect-A-Bed Opens New U.S. Headquarters

Wheeling, Ill. — Protect-A-Bed, maker of mattress and box spring encasements, recently celebrated 31 years in business with the grand opening of a new U.S. headquarters and warehouse facility in Wheeling, Ill.

The new location at 1500 South Wolf Road features 20,000 square feet of office space and a 200,000-square-foot warehouse.

With revenue up 35 percent from 2010, the new space positions the company for accelerated growth, said CEO James Bell. It will “facilitate a quicker turn-around time for processing orders” and help Protect-A-Bed increase its business four- to five-fold, he said.

The company held an open house on Nov. 17 for 277 customers, business partners, employees and local officials. Bell cited the company’s “global vision,” thanked international business partners, and recognized employees for their service. Protect-A-Bed Chairman David Kaplan recalled how the company grew from a South African start-up making terry cloth car seat covers to a global operation selling products in 30 countries, the latest being Panama and Russia.

PMP Phil Cooper (left) attended the grand opening of Protect-A-Bed’s new U.S. headquarters building hosted by CEO James Bell (center) and Industrial Division Sales Director Brian Hirsch (right). (Inset) Protect-A-Bed employees in the new headquarters lobby.

Village of Wheeling President Judy Abruscato, who cut a ceremonial ribbon with Bell, commended the company on its “absolutely beautiful” renovated facility, which accounts for 1.5 percent of the Village’s industrial real estate.

Other highlights of the evening were narrated golf cart tours of the company’s impressive warehouse facility, as well as hors d’oeuvres and a sit-down dinner for guests.

PMPs who use encasements as part of their bed bug treatment protocol can reduce inspection time and labor costs with Protect-A-Bed products. Over three service visits to treat a unit with a queen-size bed, PMPs can save one and a half hours of labor, said Protect-A-Bed Industrial Division Sales Director Brian Hirsch.

Hirsch advised PMPs to encase mattresses and box springs on the first service call after eliminating visible bed bugs. Any pests remaining in the bed get trapped in the encasement, and pests migrating to the bed are easily seen or identified by black or red fecal spotting left on the white cover.

To engage hospitality staff, tenants and homeowners in early detection, the company offers Bed Bug 101 posters and smartphone apps to help identify the pests and fecal spotting. It has 75 different bed bug protection encasement products (225 products total) to accommodate the many different sizes of beds.

The most successful bed bug management programs pair treatment with quarterly, early-detection training for customers, he said.

Pest management-related sales account for 30 percent of Protect-A-Bed’s revenue, Hirsch added. He expects the Southeast and Northwest to be growth areas in 2012.

Protect-A-Bed products are carried at 7,100 retail stores. Each month, it acquires 50 new customers and ships 4,758 orders.

In addition to its new Wheeling facility, the company has an administrative and sales office in Philadelphia and product showrooms in Las Vegas and New York City. Previously, the company’s U.S. headquarters was a 31,000-square-foot facility in Northbrook, Ill. The company employs 100 people in the U.S.

The company’s Premium Mattress Protector debuted in South Africa in 1980 and was introduced to U.S. markets in 2000 under the name Protect-A-Bed. The company developed the proprietary Miracle Membrane and patented BugLock with SecureSeal and three-sided zipper system.

Its products are listed as Class 1 Medical Devices with the Food and Drug Administration and carry the Good Housekeeping Seal.

— Anne Nagro

Zoëcon Offers Gentrol IGR Training Videos to PMPs

Schaumburg, Ill. — Zoëcon Professional Products, a division of Central Life Sciences, is offering training videos for pest management professionals at www.zoecon.com. The five-video series titled “Stop the Cycle of Infestation” provides expert instruction regarding the application of Gentrol IGR in a variety of locations. Gentrol IGR is approved for the control of bed bugs, cockroaches, stored product pests, and fruit and drain flies. The videos include instruction for the application of the product in accounts including bars and restaurants, hotels, residences, and commercial kitchens and sensitive accounts.

Each segment highlights common breeding sites as well as inspection and application procedures. Proper precautions, pre-treatment preparation and overall pest control tips are provided for the pest management professional to share with customers. The videos can be found at www.zoecon.com under the “Resources” tab in the “Videos” section.
 

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PCT Media Group Announces Publication of ‘The Service Technician’s Field Manual’

Richfield, Ohio — The PCT Media Group announces a pre-publication offer for The Service Technician’s Field Manual, A Practical Guide for Pest Control Professionals. This technical resource, which will be released later this month, is expected to become a pest control industry standard as an on-the-job reference and for formal technician training.

Written by veteran industry researcher and educator William H Robinson, Ph.D., the 218-page publication is fully illustrated and covers an array of topics that service technicians need to understand in order to provide situation-specific pest control. The book is designed to provide quick and clear reference and highlights technician tips and important precautionary notes.

The publication includes 20 chapters covering the following topics:

• The Next Generation Service Technician
• IPM: Detection and Monitoring
• Non-Chemical Control Methods
• Chemical Insecticides
• Insecticide Formulations
• Application Technology
• Transfer of a Toxic Dose
• Application Economics
• Structural Fumigation
• Indoor Insecticide Application
• Outdoor Insecticide Application
• Rodent Control
• Insecticide Application Equipment
• Equipment Repair and Maintenance
• Pesticide Application Safety
• Weights, Measures, and Calculations

The price is $29.95 for single copies. Volume discounts will be available for resellers, training programs and pest control companies. To order a copy of the book, call a PCT Store representative at 800/456-0707 or visit www.pctonline.com/Store.

Sentricon Ads Appear Simultaneously in Las Vegas and New York’s Times Square

Indianapolis, Ind. — An advertisement for Dow AgroSciences’ Recruit HD termite bait and Sentricon Termite Colony Elimination System was recently broadcast simultaneously over a three-day period on monitors in both New York’s Times Square and on the Las Vegas Strip. The ad featured an oversized termite, licking his lips while heading toward a Sentricon station with the words, “The Sentricon System for termites. Now yummier than wood.”

“We are thrilled with how much termites love our new bait, and this new advertisement is a great way to spread that message,” says Lindsay Farley, a product marketing manager with Dow AgroSciences.

The company estimated that more than 6 million people saw the ad during its simultaneous broadcast in Times Square and on the Las Vegas Strip — more than 72 hours of broadcast.
 

Dow AgroSciences’  high-profile Sentricon ads.(Left) Times Square, New York, N.Y.; (Right) Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nev.

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Atlanta Hosts Wildlife Expo

Fairfax, Va. — With the slow economy, pest management companies are looking at add-on services to boost their sales and expand their businesses. In response, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the National Wildlife Control Operators Association (NWCOA) have partnered to deliver the 2012 Wildlife Expo being held Feb. 9-11, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Ga.

This in-depth educational program will focus on providing both technical and business-related information to those who are involved in, or are considering offering, wildlife and nuisance bird management — one of the fastest growing sectors of the pest management industry.

In conjunction with the Wildlife Expo, NWCOA is offering Certified Professional Training Courses for technicians. This unique opportunity is only available at the Wildlife Expo and is normally offered exclusively to NWCOA members. To learn more about the Wildlife Expo, register or become a sponsor/exhibitor, visit http://www.npmapestworld.org/events/WildlifeExpo2012.cfm.

PCO News

Please send press releases about your firm to jdorsch@giemedia.com. Left to right are Jose Rodriguez, Orkin’s south Florida region manager; Pro Killers owner Dianne Rosebury; Greg Clendenin, president of Orkin’s southeast division; and Kemp Anderson, southeast division acquisitions manager. Several organizations have joined the expanding bedbugFREE network of companies. New members approved for membership include Dayton’s Pest Control Services of Knoxville, Tenn., Breda Pest Management of Atlanta, Ga., Enviro Safe Pest Control of Las Vegas, Nev., and Bird and Bee Removal of Florida. The companies are part of a national network of pest management firms committed to the guidelines and practices of BedBug Central. BedbugFREE is a network of “like-minded companies sharing the philosophies of BedBug Central.” All companies undergo a rigorous screening process overseen by research entomologists Rick Cooper and Jeff White. Approved companies are then listed as bedbugFREE on BedBug Central’s website and, in turn, receive referrals as part of the bedbugFREE network. In the company’s first acquisition in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Orkin, Atlanta, Ga., has purchased Professional Killers Pest Control in St. Thomas. The new branch will service all of the U.S. Virgin Islands and will be part of Orkin’s South Florida Region, which is managed by Jose Rodriguez and includes the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and now the U.S. Virgin Islands. Lynn Frank, a certified entomologist with Suburban Exterminating, Smithtown, N.Y., spoke about bed bugs at the New Nesconset Branch Library in August. Frank discussed ways to prevent these bugs from entering the home, identification tactics and control measures. Orlando-based Massey Services announced its acquisition of American Pest Control Management. Based in southwest Florida, American Pest Control Management has been providing services to more than 7,000 homes and businesses in counties from Tampa to Naples.

 

Bayer Redesigns its Website

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Bayer has re-launched its professional products website, www.backedbybayer.com. The newly designed site, which focuses on pest management, turf and ornamental, golf course and vector control professional products, incorporates new user-friendly features, the company says.

Highlighted features include an interactive resource library of video and audio from industry professionals and customers. The library also includes downloadable resources such as product guides, labels, material safety data sheets (MSDS) and white papers.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve the user experience for Bayer customers,” said Camille Gipson, marketing communications manager for Bayer. “Exciting new features and enhanced tools make BackedByBayer.com not only an exceptional resource for information but one that is easy to use. We have made improvements such as mobile optimization and sortable search results to make sure our site is accessible and relevant.”

Each business sector has its own unique web address with extensive product information including features and benefits, frequently asked questions, and label information. According to Bayer, search functionality has also been improved for more effective and organized results, and contact forms are easily accessible on each homepage. In addition to the new features, visitors will find information about what the company’s Backed by Bayer promise means to customers, as well as Bayer’s commitment to sustainability. Visit BackedByBayer.com to see the newly designed interface.