Arrow Exterminators Acquires Hoffman’s Exterminating

In June, Arrow Exterminators (#6) announced it was expanding its footprint into the Northeast with the acquisition of Mantua, N.J.-based Hoffman’s Exterminating (#66), a move that brings together two family-owned pest control companies with a shared history and complementary strengths.

The Atlanta-based company announced it will retain the Hoffman’s brand, along with its more than 100 employees, as part of its growing family of regional operations. Hoffman’s serves customers across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“The acquisition of Hoffman’s allows us to expand our geography into the Northeast U.S., and join with team members who understand and appreciate the value of a family culture and the advantage it brings to servicing and retaining our customers,” said Arrow Exterminators CEO Emily Thomas Kendrick.

TIMING WAS RIGHT. For Hoffman’s leadership, the decision to sell was all about continuity.

After 36 years building the company, CEO Bill Hoffman and co-owner Bob Schwenker began considering their long-term exit as they entered their mid-60s. Schwenker turning 65 helped crystallize the need for a succession plan that was right for their employees and customers.

“We kept saying the same thing through the whole process — it’s about the people,” Hoffman said. “We won’t be here forever, so we had to do right by the Arrow people and the Hoffman people.”

With no family successors involved in the business, Hoffman said the company faced a challenge familiar among independent owner/operators: how to ensure stability beyond its founders. The search for a partner centered on cultural compatibility rather than financial return, Hoffman said.

PREVIOUS PARTNERS. The Arrow- Hoffman’s relationship dates to early 2022, when leaders from both organizations began spending time together to evaluate potential alignment. This was followed by a four-year period of increasing cooperation, including shared work on large commercial accounts that neither company could fully service alone.

Arrow Chief Development Officer Kevin Burns said the companies effectively built a joint operating rhythm during that time. Hoffman’s handled accounts in the Northeast that Arrow could not reach, while Arrow supported Hoffman’s customers in the Southeast.

Operations teams worked together, leadership visited each other’s offices and both sides observed how the other approached customer service and employee engagement. That experience created a level of familiarity uncommon in many acquisition processes. “It was a process of making sure that the fit was really, really good,” Burns told PCT.

The partnership also revealed strategic advantages for both sides, particularly in how their service models complement each other. Hoffman’s generates roughly half of its revenue from commercial pest control, including hospitals, food manufacturing and large facilities. Arrow, by contrast, has historically been more heavily weighted toward residential services. By bringing Hoffman’s into the organization, Arrow gains not only a foothold in the Northeast but also deeper expertise in a segment that offers steady, year-round revenue. Bill Hoffman will remain with the company in a leadership role focused on expanding commercial services across Arrow’s footprint.

Hoffman’s employees also will gain access to Arrow’s broader infrastructure, including training programs, operational support and more defined career paths.

NEW HORIZONS. The acquisition fills a geographic gap for Arrow, which already has a presence in Virginia. Adding Hoffman’s operations creates a contiguous corridor into Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern markets. Areas north of Virginia will continue operating under the Hoffman’s name as part of Arrow’s family of brands.

Burns said Arrow sees the region as a significant growth opportunity, especially with a trusted local brand already in place.

“We’re super excited to be in the Northeast,” he said. “There are just not as many family-owned companies in that region.”

The decision to preserve the Hoffman brand reflects a broader emphasis on maintaining the culture that made the company attractive in the first place.

Both organizations have highlighted their shared focus on family values, community involvement and long-term employee development as central to the deal. Hoffman said maintaining that identity was a non-negotiable condition of the sale.

“We’ve always said we want people to hire here and retire here,” he said. “Pest control is what we do, but giving back to the community is part of who we are.”

Arrow leaders echoed that sentiment, noting that cultural continuity is essential to retaining both employees and customers during a transition.

It will be interesting to see how this combination of cultural alignment, commercial expertise and geographic reach translates for these Top 100 companies.

The authors are editor and publisher of PCT.