Local business briefs

ServiStar opens 9 franchises

April 28, 2010
Hampton Roads

ServiStar USA LLC combined forces with 118-year-old Johns Brothers HVAC of Norfolk and opened nine franchised businesses in Hampton Roads.

ServiStar, housed in the old Johns Brothers HVAC building, aims to build a nationwide network of franchised home service technicians. The franchise program is recruiting electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians and handymen in Hampton Roads and is planning for growth in major U.S. markets, said Walter Ewell, CEO of ServiStar.

John King, Milton Beaton and Rick Terra, executives from the Johns Brothers management team who formed JMR Heating & Cooling of Chesapeake, purchased two franchises, and John Kerner, CEO of Controlled Environments Inc. of Williamsburg, acquired seven franchises.

Copyright © 2010, Newport News, Va., Daily Press