September 3, 2008, St. Louis, Missouri…Stratus Building Solutions, a franchisor of commercial cleaning and maintenance service franchises nationwide, is aggressively expanding by awarding Master Franchises in Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Stratus Building Solutions’ new Master Franchise operations in North Carolina complement the company’s expansions into major cities in 13 other states since the firm was founded in 2004.

Pete Frese, President of Stratus Building Solutions, said, “We anticipate substantial business growth opportunities for our new franchisees in Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, which are fast-growing cities in one of the nation’s fastest-growing states.”

The new Master Franchisees are Todd Knight in Charlotte, Jason Potts in Raleigh and Bill Holden in Winston-Salem. Each is now establishing independent office and staff operations and will offer sub-franchise units so entrepreneurs who want to manage their own businesses can provide cleaning services for retail, commercial, industrial, multi-family and professional buildings based on Stratus Building Solutions’ successful model.

Frese said, “Each of our new Master Franchisors in North Carolina has an aggressive business plan to start new local businesses and create local jobs by helping franchisees provide environmentally-friendly cleaning and maintenance services to building owners and managers.”

Stratus Building Solutions offers 16 different cleaning service franchise plans providing state-of-the-art “environmentally green” cleaning systems, products, services and marketing support. The firm recently introduced the “Stratus GreenClean” program which uses environmentally-friendly products and services to help sustain healthier, more productive facilities. The firm also has introduced a new program called “Stratus Sani-Proof” that kills bacteria, including Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), and other germs found in schools, health clubs, daycare centers, gyms, dormitories, medical offices and hospitals.

The new Master Franchisors also will represent Stratus Affiliated Services, LLC to provide landscaping, energy audits, recycling, pest control, hard-surface cleaning, and other services integrated with the company’s successful cleaning service franchise programs.

Dennis Jarrett, CEO of Stratus Building Solutions, said, “Our franchisees provide recession-resistant commercial cleaning services with a reputation for superior quality, employee excellence and environmental responsibility. We are very enthusiastic about Stratus Building Solutions’ expansion in North Carolina.”

Frese and Jarrett founded Stratus Building Solutions after each worked as top corporate executives for more than ten years in commercial cleaning franchise industries. “In 2007, Stratus Building Solutions revenues reflected a 150 percent increase over 2006 revenues, exceeding $10 million, based on franchise unit sales and royalties,” said Jarrett. “Our Master Franchise program is on track to double in size across the United States by year-end 2008,” he said.

Stratus Building Solutions currently offers franchises in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico in addition to North Carolina. The firm’s headquarters are at 1976 Innerbelt Business Center Drive in suburban St. Louis, Missouri.

Stratus Building Solutions franchise benefits include orientation and training; customer referrals; administrative and accounting support; pre-arranged credit lines; access to insurance and surety bonds, financing options, business reviews; promotional support; and other turn-key advantages.

For more information, please see the website www.stratusclean.com or call Stratus Building Solutions at 314.731.2000 or toll-free at 877.731.2020.

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