One in an occasional series

By JENNIFER RICH

jrich@bradenton.com

They do lines -- lots of lines.

You’ll find them in parking lots, airports and even at Miami’s Doral Golf Resort.

The company We Do Lines USA is one of the few companies nationwide that specializes in striping -- creating those white, iridescent lines to mark off parking spaces.

The Connecticut-based firm, founded in 2008, has expanded to Florida and is selling franchise territories and drumming up business.

Bob Russo, of Englewood, just started the franchise that includes Bradenton and stretches from Clearwater to Port Charlotte.

The former owner of a commercial construction equipment company, Russo said his franchise’s new motto is “Improving the quality of your parking lot, one stripe at a time.”

“It’s been an easy transition because it’s basically the same customer base I had before,” said Russo, who has worked in Florida since the mid-1990s and liked the idea of a niche business specializing in striping.

The franchise began operating Dec. 1 and has about 40 bids out for contracts on things like small business parking lots to airports. In some cases, the franchise is partnering with other companies to provide services like paving asphalt.

For a franchise fee of $25,000 and another $20,000 or so for equipment, a franchise owner can get started.

“It’s like a company in a box,” Russo said.

Chief Operating Officer Tom Darrow, along with two partners, started the firm after being a commercial landscaper for years and realizing there was a need for a company focused on striping.

“We couldn’t find anyone when we looked for parking lot striping for some of our projects so we tossed around the idea,” he said.

Each partner put in $3,000 to get the company off the ground and Darrow said “right away, we got really busy.”

Based in Ridgefield, Conn., the firm had a good Web presence and eventually started getting national contracts like the one with the Doral resort which wanted its 500 parking spaces for golf carts striped.

“It worked out great because we could do it in the winter,” Darrow said to escape the harsh northern weather. As the company grew, Darrow and his partners decided that Florida was a great location for franchises.

Surprisingly, parking lot striping is a $1 billion enterprise, Darrow said.

“It’s a really fragmented industry, many companies just do it as an add-on to their other services, nobody is doing it full time.”

We Do Lines has formed business relationships with Graco, a key manufacturer of striping machines and Sherwin-Williams paint company that produces traffic paint, a more durable, water-based product to withstand heavy outside use.

Darrow, who also owns two franchises in Florida and two in the Carolinas, declined to give annual revenues for the company but did say his gross revenues have increased by 3,000 percent since 2008.

The one obstacle both men face are the quizzical looks and smirks they get when people find out they are in the “line business.”

“They think it is hilarious, that’s because it’s a low visibility job since it’s usually done in the middle of the night,” Darrow said. “It’s kind of a vampire industry.”