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Quick Facts

  • Roto-Rooter was founded as a company in 1935.

  • The company was built around the invention of The Roto-Rooter Machine, the world's first electric sewer cleaning machine, which could remove roots and clogs from underground sewer pipes without having to dig up the pipes.

  • When the Roto-Rooter machine's patent expired in 1955, copycat competitors began to emerge but Roto-Rooter has remained the largest and best-known sewer and drain service company in the world.

  • Roto-Rooter is the largest provider of plumbing repair and sewer/ drain cleaning services in the U.S. and Canada with more than 600 locations from coast-to-coast.

  • Roto-Rooter has also expanded its offerings internationally with master franchise operations in Japan, Philippines, and Indonesia/Singapore.

  • Roto-Rooter is the only plumbing repair and drain services company with a truly national presence, serving almost every U.S. community with a population of at least 20,000 people.

  • Roto-Rooter employs almost 4,000 people at company-owned locations. Approximately, 3,000 of these employees are service technicians. The entire Roto-Rooter system, including independent franchise operations, employs about 7,000 people in North America.

  • Roto-Rooter annual sales exceed $700 million (combined company-owned and franchise locations).

  • Approximately two-thirds of Roto-Rooter service is for residential customers, one-third for commercial customers.

  • 52% of incoming calls for service are from women.

  • In 2010, Roto-Rooter introduced its ROTOGreen plumbing program to promote water conservation by bringing the latest water-saving plumbing parts and fixtures to its customers.

  • Roto-Rooter is socially active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

  • Roto-Rooter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chemed Corporation of Cincinnati. Chemed is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: CHE.