Blue Kangaroo Packoutz, founded in 2019, is the largest business of its kind and is filling a niche in the rapidly growing contents cleaning and restoration industry. By Patty Horansky
Blue Kangaroo Packoutz, founded in 2019, is the largest business of its kind and is filling a niche in the rapidly growing contents cleaning and restoration industry.
When disasters such as fires, hurricanes or floods damage buildings, general contractors or moving companies traditionally clear out and store the contents.
Personal belongings, such as family heirlooms, wedding albums, important documents, upholstered furniture, and the like, are not a priority. Blue Kangaroo Packoutz is changing that by carefully inventorying, wrapping, packing, moving, storing and restoring people’s treasured possessions to their pre-loss condition.
The brand works with contractors and insurance adjusters to take the task of removing and storing a building’s contents off their plates, while growing a network of referrals and significant recurring revenue.
“Most people don’t know the contents restoration industry exists,” said Michael Case, director of operations of Blue Kangaroo Packoutz International and general manager of the first Blue Kangaroo Packoutz franchise, in Mount Clemens, Michigan. “It’s a business that if you want to make a difference in somebody’s life, that’s what we do.”
Since its beginning as a single warehouse store, the brand has grown to 54 franchises covering 104 territories and is expanding rapidly.
The company’s slogan, “We Care About What We Carry,” is the foundation of the brand’s mission to serve families and communities whose world has been turned upside-down.
“For many it’s the worst time of their life,” Case said. “Blue Kangaroo Packoutz strives to restore calm and a sense of normalcy.”
As a member of the BELFOR franchise family, the world’s largest property restoration company, the brand shares instant name recognition, referrals and assistance from its 13 sister franchises.
Blue Kangaroo Packoutz’s process is to clean and restore items to their original condition and then store them in climate-controlled vaults. The items remain in these vaults until the home or business is mitigated or rebuilt and then everything can be returned to its owners.
“We care about the customer, and we care about the property as if it were our own,” Case said.
Potential franchisees don’t need industry experience to join this lucrative contents restoration business. The brand looks for people with compassion and a desire to help others.
Franchisees are required to have a minimum 5,000-square-foot warehouse and 40 storage vaults, although the number of vaults can increase as the business grows.
New owners also undergo 10 days of training at the brand’s headquarters, which covers operations and administrative duties such as safety, chemicals and cleaning, insurance processing and accounting. They also tour the Mount Clemens warehouse and attend a meet-the-team day.
“New owners become a part of the BELFOR family and culture, and can hit the ground running,” Case said. “We explain the business as a whole and especially the contents division.”
Support includes mentoring, online tools and documents and is always available through a phone call or contacting a sister franchisee.
“I believe we have the best training program out there and the best support staff,” Case said. “And that in itself is going to continue the brand to grow and grow. It will be that everybody knows who we are and that we are the ones to turn to.”
Patty Horansky