Todd Gennette founded Pro Techs Pest Control three years ago. He had been in the pest control business since 1988, and started his own company in north central Kansas because he wasn't ready to retire yet.
Through hard work and a lot of sweat equity, Todd built a viable business. Now his son, Ty Gennette, and Derek Newlin, who worked with Todd for years, and Derek's wife, Paula, have purchased Pro Techs and will lead it into the next generation of pest control.
"Dad always hoped that Derek and I would take it over, but things held that back for awhile," said Ty. "Derek and I and Paula started talking about it last summer. And Derek's son Will always had aspirations to be in the business, too. The timing was perfect."
Ty and Derek are both qualified as Master Technicians in pest control. Ty will run the day-to-day operations of the company. Derek, who is a loan officer at the Guaranty Bank in Beloit, will help out in the evenings and on weekends.
Derek worked in the pest control business for over 20 years before joining the bank. "Not only is Derek a great guy, he's also a termite guru," said Ty. "We've known each other since we were in diapers, so with our dads, we've both been around the pest control business our whole lives. The relationship that my dad and Derek's dad, Martin Newlin, had was tight. They worked together in pest control for a long time. So it was kind of a no-brainer that me and Derek would become a part of this."
Ty, Derek, and Paula plan on aggressively expanding the business. "Right now we basically service a 60-mile radius, up into southern Nebraska," said Ty. "Our goal is to expand that and add more technicians. The sky is the limit for Pro Techs. There's smaller companies in the area that Derek and I have talked about owning, so we're going to be very aggressive in expanding."
One of their first hires will be Derek and Paula's son, Will. "He always had aspirations to be in the business," Derek said. "He's been helping out already. He'll be a senior next year, and when he finishes school, this is what he wants to do. He's excited to join the work force, so once he turns 18 he can get qualified for the chemical stuff like spraying, and then we'll really get things going."
A lot of pest control businesses are now in the lawn business, as well, and Pro Techs is no exception. "Pro Techs works closely with Derek Henry and Southwind Lawn & Landscape on the ground sterilizer treatment," Derek said. "We will provide a full-service pest perspective for all lawn care."
As Pro Techs expands, they will go east all the way past Wakefield and south through Salina. "Salina is a huge opportunity for us," Ty said. "There's a lot of business there, and we expect to take on a good share of it. As fast as things are going now, I'll need help by this summer. It's definitely a goal to hire Will and several more technicians within a year."
In addition to staff, Pro Techs has added another full-size truck to the fleet, a power-sprayer, and is now licensed to spray yards. "We'll be offering mosquito control in the very near future, in addition to our other general pest control services: termites, bed bugs, rodent control, roaches, ants - ants are a big one," said Ty.
The two sons of two fathers deeply rooted in the pest control business have taken control of a company that they believe will flourish even more under their leadership. "This job is all about relationships - that's key for us," said Ty. "We don't push people into services they don't need. We want to keep this as cost-effective as possible for the customer and build that trust with our customers even more. That will always be our number one goal at Pro Techs."
"Our role models are our fathers, Martin Newlin and Todd Gennette, and also Tom Zugelder," said Derek. "They were in this business their whole lives, and Ty and I learned a lot from them. The pest control industry has always been a part of us, and we will continue that tradition into the next chapter of our lives."
