bioPURE Services up to 11 locations with as many as 15 new franchise owners ready for training
It had been six weeks since we last chatted with Jim Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of bioPURE Services in Johnson City. When we posted this article in mid-March, the phone was literally ringing constantly, and that has not changed.
“During the second and third week in March, more than 150 people reached-out to talk about franchises,” Wilson says. Those inquiries were prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the company’s recently launched disinfectant that is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. The novel treatment utilizes chlorine dioxide (ClO2) as its active ingredient in combination with a proprietary electrostatic sprayer to properly disperse the chemical on surfaces requiring disinfection.
Fortunately, the bioPURE team had made solid plans to grow the business, so they were prepared with adequate supplies in place when COVID-19 struck. “Timing is everything,” Wilson says, adding that he had predicted very optimistic growth projections in this August 11, 2019 article in The Johnson City Press, but even those goals could be exceeded.
Nearly two months after the first wave of stay at home orders first hit, the company is continuing to receive between five and seven inquiries daily from individuals interested in a franchise. No doubt part of that has been fueled by national visibility such as this recent spotlight in an article in The Wall Street Journal (here’s the link).
When we spoke with Wilson last week to update our previous coverage, he said bioPURE Services now has 11 locations – the newest in Asheville, NC; Lexington, KY; and Memphis – and the company was preparing for a three-day training session next week with as many as 15 new franchise owners participating. Those who are comfortable traveling to Johnson City will be trained there May 12-14 with the others participating virtually.
The company has also purchased two buildings near Downtown Johnson City. One is 12,000 square feet, and the other is 4,000 square feet. The smaller building is being renovated to house corporate headquarters and a training facility. Here’s an architect’s rendering of how it will look after renovations.
“Before COVID, we said that bioPURE Services was changing the standard of clean by bringing technology to disinfecting,” Wilson says, noting that the world’s standard of clean changed in March. “We were here before COVID, during it, and we’ll be here after the pandemic.”
