Origin Of Top Businesses: Orkin Pest Control And A Man Named Otto
This section of our site is called “Origins Of Top Businesses.”
It features interesting facts about the early years of well-known businesses.
These facts are given to you for fun and inspiration.
Fun because how many top businesses started out is really surprising.
Inspiring because it will help you as a business owner see that if they can do it, so can you.
Now for today’s facts:
- In 1901, Otto Orkin, who was the son of Latvian immigrants, started selling rat poison door-to-door to his neighboring Pennsylvania farmers.
- He later opened his first office in Richmond, Va. Later with $25,000 in savings that he had. He called himself as “Otto Orkin, The Rat Man”.
- He began by serving local businesses and residents to help control rat problems.
- By 1929, he expanded his services to fighting off cockroaches, bedbugs and other pests. By this time, he had 13 offices in eight states and a new headquarters in Atlanta.
- He eventually introduced The Orkin Man™ to TV viewers in the 1950s with their first commercials made with animated cartoons.
- Later “Otto the Orkin Man” became just “The Orkin Man™”
- Rollins Inc. purchased Orkin Exterminating Inc. from the Orkin family in 1964. Rollins has since helped turn the business into one of the largest pest management companies in the United States.
Source: Orkin.com
Related article
- Origin Of Top Businesses: The Birth, Break-up & Rebirth Of AT&T (baybusinesshelp.com)
