- 3 August, 2006 -

Two national air duct cleaning companies, DUCTZ International and Ductbusters, have merged. DUCTZ International of Ann Arbor will control the new entity.DUCTZ founder and president John Rotche will retain his title. Ductbusters CEO Tom Yacobellis has the new title of chief operating offi cer of DUCTZ International, a member of Service Brands International of Ann Arbor. The multi-brand franchisor?s portfolio also includes Mr. Handyman, Molly Maid and Restoration Dry- Clean. It was a genuine merger, there was no buyout, Rotche said. It was more of an exchange of equity. Ductbusters had 33 franchise locations and annual revenues of $10 million, while DUCTZ had 15 locations and projected revenue of $4 million this year. Our annual budget next year will probably jump to $25 million, Rotche said. Now the largest duct cleaning company in the country, DUCTZ plans to open 300 offices in the next five years. This means more local support staff and more franchise owners staying in town for one-week training sessions. There's a lot of money going back into the local economy, said Rotche, an Ann Arbor resident and University of Michigan graduate. DUCTZ will convert the former Ductbusters corporate headquarters in Dunedin, Fla. into an 8,000-square-foot commercial training center and satellite office. Yacobellis will commute between the Florida and Michigan offices. While he admits it was difficult letting go of his 20-year company, Yacobellis said he merged with DUCTZ largely because of Rotche's strong business background and the power behind parent company Service Brands International. We needed more help for growth and finances to get to the next level, he said. They had the capability to do it.

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