PONCA CITY, Okla. — Rollins strengthened its presence in Oklahoma and Kansas with the acquisition of Ponca City, Okla.-based Parker Pest Control. The deal closed on May 7 and terms were not disclosed.
Parker Pest Control was founded in 1963 by Dick Parker, an Oklahoma State University graduate who later became head entomologist at Pillsbury Mills (Enid, Okla.) and eventually worked for a small pest control company in Enid. His son, Brad Parker, joined Parker Pest Control full-time in the 1970s after two years at Northern Oklahoma College.
While Dick Parker ran the company from its Ponca City headquarters, Brad Parker was busy expanding Parker Pest to new markets, beginning with Tulsa, and later to Stillwater, Enid, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Wichita, Kan.
Brad Parker took the reins as CEO from his dad in the late 1990s, running the business from the company’s Ponca City office. Parker Pest Control has continued to flourish under Brad Parker’s leadership; the company now employs 18 people and has built on its reputation as an outstanding service provider with long-tenured service professionals, including JD Donaldson, who was named PCT’s 2016 Termite Technician of the Year.
Key to Parker’s growth has been its success in the commercial sector. The company developed the P.E.S.T. machine, including protocols and procedures. The machine is an electrostatic duster for applying boric acid powder. “It delivers a super-fine film of boric acid powder that roaches don’t avoid,” Brad Parker said. “Once we proved ourselves, word got around to other restaurants, country clubs, hospitals and health care facilities, and the business took off.”
In addition to running Parker Pest Control, Brad Parker has been an active member of the Oklahoma Pest Control Association and the National Pest Management Association. Observing how the pest control industry has improved its professionalism has been one of Brad Parker’s career highlights, he said. “I can remember attending Oklahoma Pest Control Association meetings in the 1970s and the industry was not all that professional. It seems that in the last 10 to 15 years the industry has really blossomed and become super professional.”
At age 64, Brad Parker had been contemplating his future and keeping tabs on M&A activity in the pest control industry. He decided it was time to sell the firm and began exploring options. Parker said he received multiple offers and decided to sell to Rollins, in part, after consulting with other industry colleagues who had positive experiences selling to Rollins.
Brad Parker said he plans to stay with Parker Pest Control for at least one more year.
Rollins declined to comment for this story.
Kemp Anderson, Kemp Anderson Consulting, represented Parker Pest Control in the transaction.