Founded in the USA in 1977, Chem-Dry was brought to Australia in 1986 and now has more than 3,500 franchise partners operating throughout 50 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, the USA, Brazil, the Netherlands, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, to name a few. 

The secret to Chem-Dry’s success, according to company Director Lachlan Mitchell, is its unique point of difference. “Chem-Dry was founded in Australia in 1986 by my parents Bruce and Elva Mitchell in Sydney,” he says.

 “I remember my mother saying that she thought her carpets were clean until she saw the results after the unique Chem-Dry cleaning process was first demonstrated to her. She was so amazed, she told my father that they were going to buy a Chem-Dry franchise because there was just nothing like it, and the rest they say is history.”

A superior clean

Chem-Dry does not use gallons of water and detergents to clean its carpets, like many of its competitors, which results in a superior clean in a fraction of the time, as the carpets are dry and ready for use within hours, not days. 

Support structure

However, there is no point offering a superior product without an expert team to help franchise partners to deliver the service to the consumer, which is where the Chem-Dry franchisee support structure really makes a difference. 

“The key to our franchise partner’s success is our proven ChemDry operating systems and support programs that have been developed and refined over many years, which includes our exclusive cleaning solutions,” Lachlan says.

 “With over 30 years experience in the Australian carpet cleaning industry, our franchise offer and concept is unmatched by any other carpet cleaning business model.” 

New CEO Alan Biddle also gave an insight into the future for the brand.

 “Certainly over the next 12 months, we are looking to aggressively grow the brand. We are the market leader here in Australia, and we want to make sure that we can deliver our fantastic services to as many locations as possible. As we grow, we will also be investing in additional support services, so that we can continue to help our franchise partners to grow with us. We are not only looking to increase our level of communication but also to focus on face-to-face field support, which can really make a difference and help owners take their business to the next level.”

Growth to 150+ franchise owners

The success of Chem-Dry in its growth to 150+ franchise owners nationally has seen the model and the potential business owners it attracts evolve. 

Alan explains, “In terms of new owners, we are not only looking for those wanting to own and operate their own successful business, but we are also looking for entrepreneurial people who are of the mindset that they can build and grow a business much larger than a single franchise and across multiple territories. 

The Chem-Dry Business is easily scalable and the right type of owner will understand this and will be able to take advantage of it on a larger scale. This would involve them owning and operating a number of territories and managing a number of cleaning crews. 

Previous experience in the cleaning industry is not required. We are very much seeking business-minded people who want to build their own business with us and share in the Chem-Dry success story.”