HRI Holdings, Inc. (HRI), parent company to the Chem-Dry® Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning and N-Hance® Wood Refinishing franchise businesses, announced today the acquisition of Delta Disaster Services – an established and innovative restoration concept.
By utilizing the growth strategy and support structures that have built its two home-grown franchise brands into bona fide industry leaders, HRI plans to capitalize on Delta Disaster Services’ strong franchise model and competitive advantages to build the brand into a formidable national competitor in the restoration industry.
Delta Disaster Services provides a full-service restoration solution to both its residential and commercial clients. Its restoration services cover damage from flood and water, smoke and fire, as well as mold and other environmental conditions. Delta Disaster Services distinguishes itself from others in the crowded category through several clear-cut differentiators: 1) A significant company-owned operation in the competitive Denver market, serving as a model franchise that the organization can continually learn from and providing benefits in other areas such as training and research and development; 2) A seamless, highly integrated, cloud-based communication platform that tracks projects from initial call through project completion, incorporating all documentation and providing real time access for and updates from all stakeholders from the field to the office, plus offering benefits in other areas such as cash flow management; and 3) Home and business reconstruction services including content restoration, which positions the brand extremely favorably with insurance carriers who value the convenience of working with one comprehensive restoration and reconstruction provider.
Currently, Delta Disaster Services has operations in sixteen markets, including its corporately run territory in Denver. Franchise units operate in Northern, Southern and Western Colorado, as well as Salt Lake City, Northern Los Angeles and throughout the Gulf Coast in Northwest Florida, Southern Mississippi and Alabama.
Under HRI’s umbrella, Delta Disaster Services will benefit from the parent company’s proven ability to scale concepts. It has grown Chem-Dry, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, into a 3,000-unit network operating in over 50 countries. N-Hance, the pioneering wood refinishing franchise that the company started in 2003, recently surpassed 500 units and has more than doubled in the past five years. With only an estimated six percent of all franchise businesses reaching the 500-unit threshold, the company has proven its ability to grow dominant brands in the home and commercial services arena. Now having added its newest concept to its portfolio of franchise businesses, HRI has set its sights on expanding the footprint of Delta Disaster Services to achieve national scale and prominence in the restoration category in the coming years.
“The fit begins with alignment in our core values and the cultures we foster in our organizations – we’re both franchisee-focused companies that share very similar principles in how we nurture and grow franchise systems, geared toward ensuring the success of our owners on a local level,” said Dan Tarantin, president and CEO of HRI. “At the same time, we see an enormous opportunity to use the proven platform and infrastructure we’ve built in operations, marketing, research and development, franchise development and international expansion, which have helped us grow two category-leading services brands, to now help the Delta Disaster Services franchise system build on its well-earned success and reach its full potential. We’re extremely excited about working with the Delta Disaster Services team and their franchisees to take their brand and network to new heights.”
The prospects for growth include introducing the Delta Disaster Services franchise opportunity to the 1,100 Chem-Dry and N-Hance franchisees in the United States and Canada, some of whom already offer select restoration services and have been looking for an avenue to expand this business to become a stronger local competitor. Beyond its existing franchisees, HRI and the Delta Disaster Services team plan to go to market with a large-scale, nationwide franchise development initiative in the coming months. HRI will be pursuing an aggressive growth strategy to reach a critical mass in size and coverage, with plans to add 500 franchise licenses over the next five years.
“When you look at how HRI has developed Chem-Dry and N-Hance into not only nationally- but internationally-acclaimed, award-winning brands, you can’t help but be excited about what the future holds for the Delta Disaster Services brand,” said Mike Mastous, founder and president of Delta Disaster Services. “I’m proud of how we’ve built our business, first establishing a successful company-owned operation in the Denver market and then expanding into franchising off of that strong model and foundation. We’ve been looking for the right partner to help scale the Delta Disaster Services brand into becoming a dominant force in the restoration industry, and HRI has proven that they have the capacity, experience and resources to enable us to achieve that goal.”
Delta Disaster Services has earned several prized designations, including recognition by Inc. Magazine as one of the “500 Fastest Growing Companies” in the country, Qualified Remodeler as a “Top 500 Remodeler” nine years in a row, and Colorado Governor’s “Company to Watch” list.
In the near term, HRI and Delta Disaster Services will team up on building a new, world-class flood house training facility in Denver near the brand’s headquarters. With only a limited number of these found around the country today, the state-of-the-art facility will replicate realistic disaster situations and simulate what Delta Disaster Services franchise owners and their employees encounter in the field, allowing for a higher grade training experience.
“We’re going to amplify what Mike and his team have established as a fantastic business model,” added Tarantin. “Delta Disaster Services has already surpassed the competition with its company-owned operation, leading-edge systems, and broader service offering, giving the brand a leg up on quality control and convenience, and helping secure strong relationships with insurance carriers. This foundation has allowed Delta Disaster Services franchisees to achieve local success and become leaders in their markets.”
Financial details of the acquisition have not been made available. HRI has confirmed that there are no planned job eliminations and that the Delta Disaster Services headquarters will remain in Denver.
March 27, 2018