Green Worldwide Shipping is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Trade Channel. Sign up here for monthly global trade updates.
A Norcross-based provider of air duct cleaning services in commercial buildings and homes has found a franchisee to take its brand into Nigeria.
Duct Doctor provides its business partners with trucks mounted with a proprietary vacuum that drives agitation devices through ducting systems. The goal is to free up air flow, helping building operators save on heating and cooling bills.
The company’s first foray overseas was a franchising deal in the United Arab Emirates nearly a decade ago, which has turned out to be a successful partnership, says Ken Stricklin, president and CEO. The Middle Eastern country is a warm climate, making it a hot market for air conditioning services. With 13 days of initial training from the Houston franchisee, local partners in have now cleaned ducts in buildings ranging from the sheikh’s palace to the Cleveland Clinic’s hospital in Abu Dhabi. They will soon order two more trucks, which cost $87,000 apiece, Mr. Stricklin said
Nigeria wasn’t on the radar until Mr. Stricklin met O.A. Tennyson and his wife, Helen, at a trade show in New York, where they had joined a Nigerian government delegation.
“They just almost camped out with us for three days and were very positive,” Mr. Stricklin said.
Proprietors of a building maintenance firm with contacts in government, the Tennysons bought the Duct Doctor franchising rights for Nigeria, quickly wired the money for the truck and just completed two weeks of training in metro Atlanta in mid-December.
“It’s not rocket science, but we train them well on how to use our truck, and the truck really does the work,” Mr. Stricklin said.
Outfitted in Florida, the truck is now on a container ship and will arrive in Lagos, the Nigerian mega-city of some 20 million people, in mid-January.
The hope is that they will be able to break into some of the same non-commercial sectors where Duct Doctor has found success in the U.S., like military bases, hospitals and large ocean vessels.
Mr. Stricklin said Panama is his next target market for an international franchisee.
Learn more at www.ductdoctor.com.