Arrow opens 30th Florida office

Office Manager Nicole Deruiter and Service Center Manager Steve Becker stand in front of the new service center (and a company vehicle, to boot). PHOTO: ARROW EXTERMINATORS

Arrow Exterminators, based in Atlanta, Ga., has opened a new office in Charlotte County, Fla., to “accommodate rapid growth and leverage the area’s wealth of commercial businesses,” according to a news release.

The location, which is operating as Hughes Exterminators, marks Arrow’s 30^th office in the Sunshine State, 128^th service center in the country, and its second commercial service center along the Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida. Tim Pollard, senior executive VP and COO of Arrow, notes that the location also is “well positioned to serve the many businesses of Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties.”

Earlier this year, Arrow purchased Lewis Cobb Pest Control, establishing a foundation in Orlando, Fla., to serve customers throughout central Florida. In March, it expanded in the Southern Alabama Gulf Coast region with a purchase of Kelly’s Pest Control in Saraland, Ala.

The Florida growth in particular could be traced back to Arrow’s mid-January announcement that it had promoted two employees within the company’s operations team. Kenny Porter Sr. was promoted to regional VP of Northeast Florida and Steve Bolden was promoted to regional VP of Southwest Florida.

“We have aggressive plans to grow to $300 million in the next two years, and $500 million in the next eight years, while maintaining our unique entrepreneurial and family culture,” Emily Thomas Kendrick, president and CEO of Arrow, said of the move at that time.

Porter oversees operations in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, South Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orange Park and St. Simons, Ga. Bolden oversees operations in Englewood, Fort Myers, Naples and Port Charlotte, Fla.