The Wright Stuff

Throughout the history of the pest control industry only a handful of individuals can be considered true industry legends. One of those "larger than life" figures is Clayton Wright, founder of B&G Chemicals and Equipment Company, Dallas, Texas. The well-known product distributor, which boasts seven branch offices throughout Texas and Oklahoma, recently celebrated its golden anniversary, an accomplishment rooted in the drive, ambition and charismatic personality of one of the industry’s true pioneers – Clayton Wright.

During a career spanning more than five decades, Wright has witnessed the industry’s growth from a "mom and pop" business to a thriving service industry with high-quality pest control firms in virtually every corner of the United States.

"My father has had a ringside seat to the industry’s development," says Tom Wright, the second-generation president of B&G Chemicals & Equipment Company, "and he’s enjoyed every minute of it."

"He’s seen it all," adds longtime friend Noad Corley, former president of the Texas Pest Control Association.

A ROUGH START. That’s not to say, however, that Wright has only experienced success in his business career. In fact, the early years were a struggle.

It all started back in 1946 when Wright was a student in the first entomology class at Purdue University led by Professor J.J. Davis. Other members of that inaugural class included such well-known names as Harlan Schuler, William Lyman "Bill" Brehm, George Gilmore and Frank Harder. As many PCOs know, Brehm and Gilmore later gained fame as the inventors of the B&G sprayer.

Following his graduation in 1950, Wright went to work for Hygienic Sanitation Co. in Philadelphia, fogging mosquitoes in various resorts in the Pennsylvania mountains and servicing such high-profile accounts as Hershey Foods and Kraft. "This was the best and most intensive field education I could have ever received after graduation," he recalls. "The training included fly control, many types of spray applications, baits and dusts, rodent control, the use of ferrets for rodent control and large scale fumigation. I learned all of the old remedies and many of the new ones during this period."

However, it wasn’t long before Wright got bored and decided to strike out on his own, heading west to find his fame and fortune. "On October 18, 1950, I set out with my wife, Anita, and child, William August Wright, in a wooden Chevrolet station wagon to set the world on fire," he says. "I knew that I wanted to start a business and be my own boss."

On his way to California, however, Wright decided to stop in Texas and visit Milton Caroline, one of his adjunct professors at Purdue. "He told me I shouldn’t waste my time going on to California because Texas had all the best hunting and fishing, not to mention an excellent business environment," he says. It proved to be a fateful decision.

While his wife worked several jobs to supplement the family’s income, Wright began building B&G Chemicals & Equipment into one of the leading pest control distributors in the Southwest. "From December 1950 to April 1951, I worked like a dog from sun up to sunset every day," he recalls of those early days. "I made and sold bait to Dallas seed and feed stores, nurseries, equipment dealers and hardware stores. Milton Caroline gave me the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) formulas for rat bait that were tried and true in Texas and Milton and Walter Dykstra, a USFWS researcher, called Prentiss Drug in New York to personally guarantee my credit so they would sell me warfarin."

While the company was modestly successful in its early years, the turning point for B&G came when Wright hooked up with Al Semtner, a Dallas area businessman who provided capital to young entrepreneurs throughout Texas. "I was introduced to bankers and others of influence in the community," Wright says. Those "relationships" resulted in increased business and a much-needed infusion of capital.

DRAMATIC GROWTH. The 1960s were a period of dramatic growth, with B&G developing close ties with the basic manufacturers serving the pest control industry, as well as thousands of PCOs throughout the Southwest.

It also was a time when the company began investing in small-group training programs for PCOs. "When the word spread about the training, the groups got larger and I began to sponsor PCO training at my business," he says. "In those days the workshops were held in the backyard of my shop. Our workshops were unique in that we never pushed our own products, but instead taught the science of pest control. The B&G Workshops are still a success today even in light of the competition from other companies."

After building a new warehouse in Dallas, the company expanded into other parts of Texas, opening branch offices in San Antonio and Austin in the late 1970s. Members of the B&G management team who played key roles in this expansion effort included Len Quattrochi, C.L. Atwell, and Rick Rogers, all well-known names in the pest control industry.

A NEW ERA. The decade of the 1980s saw Tom Wright, Clayton’s youngest son, join the business after graduating from college in 1982. "He then spent five years in on-the-job training under Rick Rogers and myself," Wright says. "In 1988, he became an operational vice-president and took over many of the duties on day-to-day operations."

When Clayton’s wife of 48 years, Anita, developed cancer, he gradually turned the business over to Tom, who was appointed president in 1991. Three years later, Wright married longtime friend Patricia Chamberlain, a colleague of Milton Caroline’s who was active in Texas A&M’s Urban Wildlife Management Program.

Today, Clayton is semi-retired and serves as Chairman of the Board of B&G Chemicals & Equipment Company, a firm — like its founder — who has played a critical role in the development of the pest control industry in Texas.

Only Online: For Clayton Wright's Eight Keys To Success click here Eight Keys To Success