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When Arrow Exterminators acquires a pest control company, it announces the news with a press release featuring facts about the company, such as its founding, location and service areas, and a quote from the seller.
The statement the company issued at the time of the Nader’s Pest Raiders acquisition included a heartfelt message from president and owner Randy Nader that holds true today, 16 years later.
“Merging my company with a larger successful operation that shares the same family values and business philosophies was critical to my decision. The opportunity for our employees to advance and grow in this environment and in a family culture can only make us all more successful,” Nader was quoted as saying in the press release dated Dec. 1, 2010.
Nader was 31 years old when he started Nader’s Pest Raiders in 1991. After more than two decades of solid growth, he had a team of 65 employees. After the acquisition, most stayed and many were promoted to management roles.
Nader also stayed with the company after the acquisition. While his title has changed from president to operations consultant, he’s still on board today because he wants to keep building the business.
“It’s really nice to see my employees grow and their families benefit,” he says. “I’m extremely proud of them.”
Family matters
As a company owner who considered his entire team family, even those who were not related to him, he said it would have broken his heart if his employees were upset about the acquisition.
“I was really good at hiring and keeping people,” Nader says. “Hopefully, they saw a place where they could work for the rest of their lives.”
Because Nader stayed with the company, he is well aware of the impact the acquisition had on his employees. “We had good training,” he says. “We hired really good people. People who were spraying lawns are now running the service center.”
A sure sign of a successful acquisition is no hard feelings. So, when he runs into the employees who worked for him, it’s all good.
“There’s no bitch session,” he adds. “There’s none of that at all.”
It’s quite the opposite, in fact. One employee he sees regularly always gives him a hug and reminds him how blessed she is because of what he did. Nader admits it’s “the coolest thing.”
Customer care
At the time of the acquisition, Nader’s Pest Raiders serviced Northeast Florida including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine and the Fernandina area, as well as the Coastal Georgia area, and specialized in residential pest, termite and lawn care services.
Customers took the news well for the most part, he says, and some people think he still owns the company. “They know me by reputation, so they trusted me,” he adds. “They still do, 16 years later.”
Had the acquisition not been good for employees and customers, “I probably would have had to move because I know so many people here,” he teases. “I’ve been involved in the community ever since I started my business.”
Acquisition decision
Arrow Exterminators is a family-owned business, and Nader has known the Thomas family — Chairman Joe Thomas and CEO Emily Thomas Kendrick — for years. He also has gotten to know President and COO Tim Pollard and Chief Development Officer Kevin Burns.
“They mean the world to me,” Nader says. “They do exactly what they say; integrity and honesty are important.”
But 16 years ago, it was another Arrow Exterminators team member who initiated talk of a possible sale. Nader was a close friend of Jeff Singley,
who was appointed president of the company in 2012. Sadly, Singley passed away six months later. “That was a tough time,” Nader recalls.
The two friends never talked about the possibility of selling Nader’s Pest Raiders to Arrow Exterminators — until one day they did. “That’s how this happened,” he says. “I never spoke to another company about selling.”
Nader was 50 at the time of the sale and says he knew he eventually was going to have to make some hard decisions about the future of his business. His children were in college and had no interest in running the business. And although he was an owner who always promoted from within, he wondered whether he would have to bring someone in to take over the company. He discussed his options with his wife, Kim, to whom he has been married 46 years.
It was easy for the Arrow Exterminators team to perform due diligence, Nader says, because he ran a great business. Plus, his debt was extremely low. Sixteen years after the acquisition, Nader says the brands are doing extremely well, thanks to great locations that allow for tremendous growth.
“We are better trained, and our management and employees are second-to-none,” he says. “Our employees really make the difference.”
Fortunately, Arrow Exterminators listened when Nader explained how he built the business. “They wanted to continue to do the things that were good,” he says. “This never would have happened with another company, and I certainly wouldn’t be working with another company if they weren’t like Arrow Exterminators.”
Anytime he had a concern, Nader knew he could talk about it with the Arrow team. “Honesty and integrity mean everything to me, and that’s what they’re about,” he says.
“I tell anybody who asks that they’re going to know honesty when they sell their business to Arrow Exterminators,” he says. “It’s going to be the best situation in their life ever, to have a chance to start doing what they want to do once they sell their business.”
In addition, Nader’s involvement in the community remains strong by choice. “Arrow Exterminators has allowed me to do the things that I like to do, and it’s certainly benefiting all of us: the charity, the community and the employees who see the things we do,” he says. Those charities include the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, which supports children with cancer, as well as Angelwood, which provides services to children, adults and families living with disabilities.
Arrow Exterminators’ management team is as honest and as nice as they were when Nader first met them, long before he thought of selling his company. “There is no difference,” he adds. “It has been 16 years, and I’m still working with them.”
Because Nader’s Pest Raiders was the third company he sold, his experience helped. Knowing his business well worked in his favor, too. This time around, his main concerns centered on taxes, which he worked out through his accountant and Arrow Exterminators, and his employees’ well-being.
“If your employees and customers mean anything to you whatsoever, it’s really going to affect your future who you sell to, because your employees are family and your customers are friends,” he says. “I’m happy I sold the business to Arrow Exterminators. I thank God every day that that’s what happened.”
