Davenport - 13 May, 2006 -

Edward Petersen likes the new phase of his life as co-franchise owner of the Line-X spray-on truck bedliner stores in Davenport and Fairfield, Iowa. Those franchises cover part of eastern Iowa and the Moline-Rock Island area. Earlier this year he accepted an award for placing in the top 100 franchises of the international company at the Line-X national conference in Dallas, Texas. There are 500 Line-X dealers in the United States. "We've done thousands of trucks and not one complaint. What's good about our Line-X product is it prevents rust on steel," he said. He opened his Davenport store at 321 W. Kimberly Road almost two years ago but he is moving to a new location in northwestern Davenport in August. Most of his business comes from dealerships and about 25 percent from walk-ins, he said. Both stores sell truck accessories. He has two people working for him at the Davenport location. They create water-proof and weather-proof bed protections for pick-up trucks. But the product is useful for other applications such as trailers, motorcycles and buildings. Customers can order linings in the color of their choice. The Davenport store services commercial and private vehicles, he said, but he hopes to move toward using it for military purposes. Line-X was selected to protect the walls of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and some high-level military housing because of its blast mitigation capabilities, he said. The Line-X chain received the number one rank in the Miscellaneous Auto Products & Services category for 2006 by "Entrepreneur Magazine." Before purchasing the franchises, Petersen worked as a custom home builder for 25 years. His last job was a $4 million house with customized furniture and stonework for a customer in the Fairfield area, he said. Line-X of the Quad-Cities is located at 321 W. Kimberly Road, Davenport. The telephone number is (563) 388-0667. The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

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