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Five Star Painting Inc., a leading painting franchise system, today announced Craig Donaldson has joined its Board of Directors, while also making a strategic personal investment in Five Star Painting. Donaldson is the president of Chem-Dry, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Home Depot, Inc.
With more than 2,600 U.S. and 1,500 international franchises operating in nearly 50 different countries, Chem-Dry is the world’s largest provider of carpet and upholstery cleaning services.
“I have seen few service industry companies with a future as promising as Five Star Painting,” Donaldson said. “In just a few years, they have gone from being a single location company to the second largest painting business franchisor in the world in just a few years. This is a real testament to the management team of Five Star Painting, their technology, their commitment to franchisees and their growth, and that’s why I’ve made a private investment in the company. I’m also honored to join their board and look forward to helping Five Star Painting continue down the path of becoming a world leader in the service industry.”
Donaldson has led Chem-Dry as its president for 10 years. During this time, the company has been owned by two private equity firms: Summit Partners (for five years) and Nautic Partners (for three years). Donaldson led the sale of ChemDry from Nautic Partners to The Home Depot in January 2006, and continues to help the company with ownership transition and integration into The Home Depot.
In March 2006, the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Utah honored Donaldson and his company with the Deal Maker of the Year award for the successful sale of Chem-Dry by a private equity firm to Home Depot. Before joining Chem-Dry in 1997, Donaldson had a successful career with Avery Dennison, spending the better part of 13 years in Southern California and Boston as a business leader for Avery Dennison.
“Craig Donaldson is one of those few business leaders who really have ‘been there, done that,’ and I’m confident he will have a big impact on our company,” said Scott Abbott, CEO of Five Star Painting. “He knows how to grow a successful service-industry franchise, and we know he will be a leading contributor to our plans as we rapidly expand. We are honored to have Craig as a board member and a shareholder and plan to maximize his experience on behalf of our franchisees and our company in a variety of exciting ways.”
About Chem-Dry
Chem-Dry (Chemdry.com) is the world’s leading carpet and upholstery cleaning service. Its proprietary cleaning technology makes it the cleanest, driest and healthiest way to clean carpets and upholstery. With nearly 4,000 franchises across the globe, Chem-Dry cleans an estimated one billion square feet of carpet each year.
About The Home Depot
Founded in 1978, The Home Depot® is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2004 sales of $73.1 billion. The company employs approximately 325,000 associates and has 2,012 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company has announced plans for retail expansion into China. The Home Depot has been recognized by FORTUNE as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer for 2005. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
About Five Star Painting Inc.
Formed in 2001 and franchising since 2005, Utah-based Five Star Painting Inc. (fivestarpaintingfranchise.com) has grown to more than 50 franchises in North America, with operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Five Star Painting offers its franchisees access to software, a 24/7 call center, marketing, training and management support. Five Star Painting customers receive a Five Star job without a five star price. As one of the fastest-growing franchises in the service industry, Five Star Painting works with industry leaders to deliver business opportunities to entrepreneurs committed to a high level of customer service.
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