T Monahan
Supportive Member
Years ago Aire Duct Cleaning was founded by me and two investor (friends) partners around the mid-90’s. This was our rig as seen here:
I had a vision to replicate the duct cleaning model we had started in Ann Arbor. No one was providing such a service back in the day locally. Big rigs had to come in from Detroit.
After running it for about two years, and going through a couple of managers, I arranged the sale of it to my lawn service provider A.M. Services of Ann Arbor, from whom I was renting an office from. It was a good fit for him because he could cross market all his lawn care and snow removal clients. After about a year or so, he sold it to his manager who changed the name to Alpine. It elevated when it changed hands again with a visionary that implemented what I originally had in mind for our initial enterprise. The new owner called me and we talked about this vision.
In 2002, John Rotche bought the one-van business from a friend who needed to sell it. Rotche intended just to be a passive investor, but he saw an opportunity for growth as a franchise business. Two years later, he partnered with Ann Arbor-based Service Brands International Inc., which franchises other types of business. He named it Ductz.
Not long after that, Rotche sold Ductz to Birmingham-based Belfor International Holdings Inc. The rest is history. It turned into a fast growing successful franchise.
Note on the side of the truck: The Ann Arbor base operation still retains the cool phone number I originally painstakingly got for Aire 734.973.7777
Note to self: If you have a business dreHire a professional service to do what you can't do!
I had a vision to replicate the duct cleaning model we had started in Ann Arbor. No one was providing such a service back in the day locally. Big rigs had to come in from Detroit.
After running it for about two years, and going through a couple of managers, I arranged the sale of it to my lawn service provider A.M. Services of Ann Arbor, from whom I was renting an office from. It was a good fit for him because he could cross market all his lawn care and snow removal clients. After about a year or so, he sold it to his manager who changed the name to Alpine. It elevated when it changed hands again with a visionary that implemented what I originally had in mind for our initial enterprise. The new owner called me and we talked about this vision.
In 2002, John Rotche bought the one-van business from a friend who needed to sell it. Rotche intended just to be a passive investor, but he saw an opportunity for growth as a franchise business. Two years later, he partnered with Ann Arbor-based Service Brands International Inc., which franchises other types of business. He named it Ductz.
Not long after that, Rotche sold Ductz to Birmingham-based Belfor International Holdings Inc. The rest is history. It turned into a fast growing successful franchise.
Note on the side of the truck: The Ann Arbor base operation still retains the cool phone number I originally painstakingly got for Aire 734.973.7777
Note to self: If you have a business dreHire a professional service to do what you can't do!
for me Tom.
