Belfor is a multinational corporation that sells recovery and restoration services, for the purpose of restoring structures damaged as a result of fires, floods, and natural disasters.

Ownership history

Belfor begins as Quality Awnings & Construction in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

in 1946. The company changed its name to Inrecon L.L.C. (for ''In''surance ''Recon''struction) in 1981.

Taylor, Michigan Taylor is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 63,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Taylor is the fifth most-populated city in Wayne County and the 17th List of municipa ...

-based

Masco Masco Corporation is an American manufacturer of products for the home improvement and new home construction markets. Comprising more than 20 companies, the Masco conglomerate operates nearly 60 manufacturing facilities in the United States and ...

bought 25 percent of the company in 1997, and completed its purchase of Inrecon in 1999. Haniel EnviroServices, a new division of the old European conglomerate

Haniel Haniel ( he, חַנִּיאֵל, ''Ḥannīʾēl'', "God is my grace"; cop, ⲁⲛⲁⲛⲓⲏⲗ ''Ananiēl''; ar, عنيائيل, '), also known as Hananel, Anael, Hanael or Aniel, is an angel in Jewish lore and angelology, and is often i ...

, begins in Germany in 1980. Its name is changed to Belfor in 1998. Masco sold Inrecon to

in 2001 and Inrecon became part of Belfor. At the time Inrecon had annual sales of $180 million and employed 1,000 staff. As of February 2019, Belfor Holdings Inc. was in discussions regarding a potential sale to the American Securities equity firm. These were concluded successfully in April 2019.

United States operations

Belfor USA Group Inc., doing business as Belfor Property Restoration, is based in

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the c ...

, and provides integrated disaster recovery and property restoration services. Belfor USA Group Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Belfor Europe GmbH. In 2007 Belfor USA acquired Ductz International, LLC, an air duct cleaning and

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

restoration franchise network with locations in 22 states. It acquired Hawaii Restorative Services of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and Coach's Catastrophe in 2010. Belfor acquired BAMCOR in 2015. Belfor opened an office in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, and a San Antonio office in 2016. As of that year, Belfor globally had 7000 employees.

Projects

In 2003, the Canadian branch of Belfor worked to recover 100,000 books and manuscripts in the 17th Century Khan Collection at the Urdu Research Library of the

Sundarayya Vignana Kendram Sundarayya Vignana Kendram (Telugu: సుందరయ్య విజ్ఞాన కేంద్రము) is a famous Library in Hyderabad, founded by a Voluntary trust in memory of late Puchalapalli Sundaraiah in 1988. The primary objecti ...

, as a result of flood damage following record rains in Hyderabad in August 2000. The company was employed in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

after

Tropical Storm Allison Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the " brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or s ...

in 2001, which caused damage to Jones Hall, the Wortham Theater Center and the Alley Theater, with the loss of musical scores, ballet costumes and musical instruments, including three Steinway concert grand pianos. In 2004, after

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlan ...

, Belfor (UK) and Belfor (Canada) performed thermal vacuum freeze drying to restore more than 4,000 boxes of documents, half of the vital records in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

National Archives. After

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in 2005, Belfor helped fulfil

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

's campus-wide emergency plan, which included the “Landmark Undertaking” of the Tulane Libraries Recovery Center. Other projects included recovery from the

Chile earthquake __NOTOC__ Chile lay in a region which is adjacent to the fast-moving Nazca Plate, and has high tectonic activity. The records for earlier centuries are apparently incomplete. Of the world's 46 known earthquakes with M ≥ 8.5 since the year 15 ...

and the 2012 Super Storm Sandy.

Awards

*2012, RIA Phoenix Award; BELFOR Rebuilds UGI Headquarters *2013, Chrysalis Award, Residential Insurance Restoration; BELFOR helps family redesign their home after a devastating fire *2015, Chrysalis Award, Commercial Insurance Restoration; Restores Gallo Center for the Arts after a water damage *2016, Chrysalis National Award -Commercial Insurance Restoration; Restoring the historic Hanford Fox Theatre *2016, RIA Phoenix Award, Odessa Hospital; Award for innovations in restoration

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.belfor.com, Belfor official website
CNBC - BELFOR CEO: Sandy Clean-Up

CBS MoneyWatch - How BELFOR Grew To Be #1 In Disaster Recovery
* Celebrating Our Economy -

Sheldon Yellen Sheldon David Yellen (born January 16, 1958) is an American businessman, author and the CEO of BELFOR Property Restoration. He has appeared on an Emmy-nominated episode of ''Undercover Boss'' on CBS. Biography Yellen was born to a Jewish family, ...

has built a reputation for his unconventional management styl

Privately held companies of the United States Business services companies established in 1946 Cleaning companies of the United States Companies based in Oakland County, Michigan 1946 establishments in Michigan