WARREN – ServPro cleaning and restoration specialist found itself on the front line in the battle against COVID-19 in 2020.
As the year began, the Warren-based franchise was poised to respond to calls of damage from broken pipes, water damage and fires, which are common in winter.
But as calls mounted for sanitizations to kill the virus, ServPro put new processes in place.
“We were running into buildings before anyone really knew what we were up against,” says co-owner Andrew Dobson. “Applying the best standard of care to those battling the virus at the onset was my main focus.”
As the challenge continues to evolve, ServPro has replied to more than 700 COVID-19 cleaning and sanitization calls and continues to do so today. “We’ve learned so much throughout the past year that we have completely transformed our position on biohazard care,” Dobson says.
The ServPro franchise provides water, fire, and biohazard restoration services in nine counties.
“Expansion was important and we had an opportunity to add licenses to our footprint with congruent territories that simply made sense,” says co-owner Jimmy Dobson. The company is committed to keeping its headquarters, job flow and employees in the Mahoning Valley, he says.
The Dobson family purchased its first ServPro license in 2011 in Mahoning County. By 2016 it had added three more.
By the end of 2020, the Dobsons secured an additional five franchise licenses and now serve Ashtabula, Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Mahoning, Lawrence, Trumbull, Columbiana and Tuscarawas counties.
ServPro’s regional staff has grown from 50 employees in 2018 to 160 today. The company, based in Warren, has a fleet of 50 commercial vehicles.
Securing additional satellite office and warehouse space remains a priority for the company, the Dobsons say.