Surface Specialists Systems Inc.

Founded: 1981 Franchising since: 1982
Wayne McClosky founded Surface Specialists in 1981, establishing the franchise prototype in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the beginning the family-owned company offered only minimal repair services for plastic laminate countertops and fiberglass and porcelain bath surfaces, but it soon expanded to include refinishing services for marble sinks and vanity tops. It began franchising in 1982 and is now based in Matthews, North Carolina.

621-B Stallings Rd. Matthews, North carolina 28105

Phone: (866)239-8707

Franchisor has 3 employee(s); 1 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	48	1	0	0
2008	52	1	0	0
2007	50	1	0	0
2006	44	1	0	0
2005	43	0	0	0

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming
Outside the U.S.: Canada

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: Less than 2 million population

Total investment: $46K-75.5K Franchise fee: $21K

Ongoing royalty fee: 5% Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	Yes	No
Startup Costs	No	No
Equipment	No	No
Inventory	No	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $75K
Cash liquidity requirement: $25K
Business Experience:

• Industry experience
• General business experience
• Marketing skills
• (qualifications helpful but not required)

Operations

• Franchise can be run from home
• 10% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2 - 3
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 3 weeks
• Follow-up training available at franchisee's location

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Ad slicks

Other marketing support

• Manual

Franchise 500® rank:
#444 (2009);

Low-Cost Franchises:
#100 (2009);