Advantaclean's Strategy Leads To Major Expansion

(Friday, April 27, 2007) - eff Dudan has learned to profit from having others do the dirty work.

Dudan started out in the residential contracting business in 1992, handling cleanup and repairs in Florida after Hurricane Andrew.



But, seven years ago, he transformed his company into a franchiser with a network of nearly a dozen businesses that tackle tough cleanup chores for homeowners and commercial clients in the Southeast.

Franchises of Dudan's AdvantaClean Systems Inc. specialize in air-duct cleaning, mold removal and related environmental services.

It's a growing business, which added seven franchises in the Carolinas and Florida during the second half of 2006. And AdvantaClean, which generated $10 million in revenue last year, expects to sign 16 franchise deals this year.

Meanwhile, the 22-employee company, which moved its headquarters to Huntersville this month from Charlotte, has added franchises for plumbing and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning services.

It's a far larger operation than Dudan's modest startup in Orlando, Fla. The company, launched as Loss Control and Recovery Inc., kept Dudan so busy with post-hurricane projects that he found it hard to respond to customers' calls and schedule jobs. That challenge became more pronounced when the company added an office here in 1995 that became its headquarters.

That prompted Dudan to recognize this opportunity: He could have franchised operations handle the cleanup and repair work while his company took care of administrative tasks such as receiving orders from customers and scheduling jobs.

In 2000, he started selling franchises of his business, by then known as AdvantaClean. He marketed the business to prospective franchisees that already offered complementary services such as waterproofing.

From its local office, the company receives all service calls, assigning them to franchisees via a wireless system. "It's all about providing business intelligence for making decisions," Dudan says.

A franchise costs $16,500 per service (such as mold removal, air-duct cleaning, heating and air, emergency service - fire and water or plumbing repair), plus $1,000 per month for the support functions. When large jobs demand it, AdvantaClean still operates a commercial services group, which franchisees can call on for backup assistance.

Through the years, Charlotte-based Dry-Pro Basement Systems often referred customers to AdvantaClean whenever they discovered mold problems. In September, Dry-Pro expanded into mold removal by becoming an AdvantaClean franchisee. The move has boosted Dry-Pro's revenue about 15%, says Ron Weatherly, owner.

"I didn't want to expand with more office staff, and Jeff's system allows me to tie into their systems," Weatherly says. "Everything is seamless."

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