Pest control biz surpasses $18M in sales

SARASOTA — The latest acquisitions completed by Arrow Environmental Services places the company among the top 60 for revenues in the pest control industry nationwide.

Sarasota-based Arrow, according to a release, also closed on a deal last month for a non-Florida based company, in Atlanta, which marked the first time it expanded outside of the state. The firm now has more than $18 million in annual sales, a combination of organic growth and the acquisitions. That would be good for a top 60 ranking in the most recent list of the largest pest control companies in the U.S. ranked by PCT magazine, the release states.

“We are making sure we have systems in place to successfully handle our growth, tied to training that ensures that our quality will remain at high levels,” Arrow Chairman George Pickhardt says in the release.

Arrow has closed on 15 acquisitions this year. The largest transaction was a $2.25-million purchase of Bay Area Termite & Pest Control, which closed in September. That deal added $1.9 million in annual revenues and 15 employees to Arrow's books and payroll. Beyond Atlanta, the company, through other deals in 2012, has entered markets in Naples, Lakeland and Crystal River.

Pickhardt is a third-generation pest control entrepreneur dating back more than 125 years: His grandfather founded a business called International Fumigators in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1886. The firm's current acquisition strategy began in 2010.