Our History

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McCloud Services was founded in 1904 by William Bailey McCloud as W.B. McCloud & Company, located in Chicago, Illinois. William began as a manufacturer and distributor of sheep and cattle dips for use in the stockyards. He gradually expanded into the sale of rodenticides and insecticides. In August 1904, he began offering pest control services under the name Rat Engineers and Pest Control Service.

 

Throughout its history, McCloud Services has aggressively expanded through acquisition and market diversification, and by offering new and cutting-edge pest management services. This tradition began in the 1930s, when W.B. McCloud & Company added branch offices in central Illinois, central Indiana and eastern Iowa. In 1943, McCloud Services opened a branch office in St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1951 another branch office opened in Kansas City. In 1954, a Decatur, Illinois branch was added, followed by one more Illinois branch in Pekin. In 1976, an Iowa office was added, followed by an Indiana location in 1979. Service centers were added in Tennessee and Kentucky in 1991. Today, McCloud Services serves customers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Ohio.

A Family Business Focused on Values
Our business has always strived to conduct itself as a family business. We treat our people with the care and respect due a family member, or member of a family of employees. We are fortunate to have a talented team consisting of many very long term, or, core individuals who make up the backbone of our company. Our family culture and team approach to doing business is the reason why we have people who have worked with us for 30-plus years and client relationships of over 80 years. We believe we are true to the guiding principles of our mission statement, and that our organizational and family success has resulted from honoring this value system.

McCloud Services is very proud to provide quality service in the communities where our people live and work. We are equally proud to provide positive work environments, highly competitive wages and challenging careers for our people, which we believe have a positive impact on the local community.

An Industry Leader
McCloud Services was an original partner, and is currently a stockholder, of Copesan, an alliance of regional pest management companies united as a single entity for the purpose of providing quality pest solutions to businesses with locations throughout North America. The Copesan network is made up of successful, independently owned service companies that provide quality pest control services in their local communities. Like McCloud, many of these companies have been in business for over half a century and have gained prominence in the pest management industry. Copesan is the premier network of quality, pest management experts serving clients throughout North America. Three McCloud family members have served on the Copesan Board of Directors, including Chris McCloud, who is a current board member.

In the early 1930s, Walter McCloud worked closely with other industry leaders to help create a formal national industry association out of what were previously informal regional meetings. In 1933, Walter McCloud was elected a director of the National Association of Exterminators and Fumigators. In 1937, he was elected regional vice-president, and in 1940 he served as the president of the National Pest Control Association, now known as the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Through his work with the industry associations and various academic institutions, Walter made significant contributions to the evolution from exterminator to pest management professional, and helped pest control become recognized as a legitimate professional trade.

Locally, in 1933, Walter helped organize and served as the initial chairman of Pest Control Operators of Chicago. This group was the forerunner of what is now the Illinois Pest Control Association (IPCA). The association has come full circle, with the addition of a strictly Chicago-based organization, the Greater Chicago Pest Management Association (GCPMA).

Walter’s son, Tom McCloud, furthered his father’s industry initiatives, spending considerable time working with the National Pest Control Association during the 1950s and into the 1970s. Tom’s contributions and industry leadership came during an important growth period in our industry, as public awareness of pesticides and their environmental impact created a much more regulated industry and led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1969. The formation of the EPA drove the industry toward the environmental responsibility and professionalism that continues to this day. The efforts of both Walter and Tom contributed greatly to the overall growth and evolution of the industry. Several members of the McCloud team, including CEO Chris McCloud, continue to serve the National Pest Management Association in various roles.

Success Built on Five Basic Principles

  • Innovation – beginning with W.B. McCloud identifying a market need in the Chicago stockyards and continuing with each succeeding generation bringing fresh ideas and change to the business.
  • Vision – leadership by each generation to making our business stronger.
  • Culture – sustaining a culture built on our core values and generations of great people who have contributed to our success.
  • Relationships – industry, family, team, and most important, our loyal customers.
  • Service – our team’s passion for delivering on our commitment to protect health, property safety, and environment.

 

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