Professional Chemicals

What Professional Chemicals does

Pembertons Cleaning and Restoration Supply (operating as Professional Chemicals) is a family-owned specialty distributor founded in 1972 by Lee Pemberton and headquartered in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. The company resells professional-grade cleaning chemicals (pre-sprays, rinses, stain removers, and specialty formulations such as RCI Brite N Soft, Benefect Decon 30, Benefect Atomic Degreaser, ODORCIDE, and Flex Powder), cleaning equipment (truckmounts, portable extractors, counter-rotating brushes), and restoration equipment (dehumidifiers, air movers, moisture meters, sanitizing agents, deodorization tools). Its primary end markets are professional carpet cleaners and textile specialists, water/fire/mold restoration contractors, and facility maintenance professionals, with named customers to date limited to individual small contractors (e.g., Jeff Helmer, Bryce Comprone).

The business runs a traditional specialty-distribution model rather than a tech or SaaS model: products are sold one-time via an e-commerce storefront at pembertonstore.com, via a toll-free phone sales line, and through in-person pickup at the single McKeesport facility, with same-day shipping available for orders placed before 3pm EST. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed on the website; financing is offered through a third party (Aztec Financial). The company also provides adjacent services — truck mount sales and in-house repair — and operates an educational layer built around The CleanTip weekly newsletter (20+ years), the eCleanAdvisor online learning center, hands-on technical training workshops, and IICRC classes hosted onsite, which function as customer acquisition and retention mechanisms more than as revenue lines.

Ownership is fully founder-family-held (current president Jim Pemberton, son of founder Lee Pemberton), with approximately 6 employees and no disclosed external investors, parent company, subsidiaries, funding rounds, M&A activity, or partnerships beyond standard brand-authorized distribution. The company is actively operating and serves a national customer base from a single regional facility.

Name

Professional Chemicals

Legal name

Pembertons Cleaning and Restoration Supply

Website

https://pembertons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pembertons Cleaning and Restoration Supply is a family-owned specialty distributor (founded 1972, McKeesport, PA) selling professional cleaning chemicals, equipment, and restoration supplies to carpet cleaners, restoration contractors, and maintenance professionals via e-commerce and phone-based direct sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Cleaning & Restoration Supplies

NAICS

Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (42469)

SIC

Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAJALAH

Carpet & Upholstery Sanitizers & Disinfecting Sprays

Consumer Products & Retail/Household Products & Cleaning Supplies/Carpet, Upholstery & Fabric Care (Non-laundry)

Keywords

• Professional cleaning supplies
• Carpet cleaning chemicals
• Restoration equipment
• Truckmount extractors
• Dehumidifiers air movers

Headquarters

HQ city

McKeesport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Revenue generated from selling cleaning chemicals, equipment, tools, and restoration supplies to professional cleaning and restoration contractors. Products include pre-sprays, rinses, stain removers, truckmounts, portable extractors, dehumidifiers, air movers, and deodorization tools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pembertons Cleaning and Restoration Supply (Professional Chemicals) sells professional-grade cleaning chemicals, cleaning equipment, and restoration tools to carpet cleaners, restoration contractors, textile specialists, and maintenance professionals. Core items include pre-sprays, rinses, stain removers, truckmounts, portable extractors, dehumidifiers, air movers, moisture meters, and deodorization tools from brands such as Chemspec, Drieaz, Prochem, Sapphire, Hydramaster, and Phoenix. The company also provides truck mount sales and service and hands-on technical training as supporting service offerings.

Product overview

Pemberton's Cleaning & Restoration Supply is a single-location supplier offering a unified portfolio of professional cleaning chemicals, equipment, and restoration tools. The core offerings span three main categories: (1) Cleaning Products — pre-sprays, rinses, stain removers, and specialty formulations like RCI Brite N Soft, Benefect Decon 30, Benefect Atomic Degreaser, ODORCIDE, and Flex Powder; (2) Cleaning Equipment — truckmounts, portable extractors, and counter-rotating brushes; and (3) Restoration Equipment — dehumidifiers, air movers, moisture meters, and deodorization tools. The company also provides Truck Mount Sales & Service and Hands-on Technical Training as complementary service offerings. No SaaS platform or modular architecture is present — this is a traditional supply-and-service model where products are sold individually through the e-commerce store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RCI Brite N Soft Commercial Encapsulation pre-spray product for professional carpet cleaning, designed for use in hot, confined spaces such as high-rise apartment hallways, with low eye and nasal irritation properties.
• Benefect Decon 30 Disaster restoration product for water damage contracts that sanitizes surfaces and eliminates musty odors; also used by contractors to sanitize equipment after difficult jobs.
• Benefect Atomic Degreaser Heavy-duty degreaser used as a prespray boost for soil removal, particularly effective in smoker- or pet-soiled environments; also serves as a soil filtration spotter with no fragrance and easy rinsing.
• ODORCIDE Fresh Scent Odor elimination product with economical dilution rates, used by professional cleaning and restoration contractors for deodorization applications.
• Flex Powder with Citrus Solv High pH powdered detergent prespray with a light orange fragrance, designed for tough soil removal and emulsification in professional cleaning jobs.
• Cleaning Products (Cleaning Chemicals Catalog) Category-level catalog of professional-grade cleaning chemicals including powerful pre-sprays, rinses, and specialty stain removers designed to deep clean, protect, and extend the life of carpets and textiles, sourced from brands trusted by professionals.
• Cleaning Equipment (Truckmounts, Portable Extractors, Counter-Rotating Brushes) Professional cleaning equipment lineup including truckmounts, portable extractors, and counter-rotating brushes for deep cleaning flooring and textiles, designed to deliver power, efficiency, and reliability for high-powered operations or versatile jobs.
• Restoration Equipment (Dehumidifiers, Air Movers, Moisture Meters, Deodorization Tools) Top-tier restoration equipment for water, fire, and mold restoration, including dehumidifiers, air movers, moisture meters, cleaning agents, and deodorization tools used by contractors to dry structures, remove smoke odors, and perform mold remediation.
• Truck Mount Sales & Service Sales and repair service for truck mount extraction units used in professional carpet and upholstery cleaning operations, designed to minimize equipment downtime for working contractors.
• Hands-on Technical Training Hands-on training programs and workshops hosted at the McKeesport facility for cleaning and restoration professionals, including IICRC classes, designed to improve technical skills and expand contractors' businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% 5-star rating from 35 customer reviews

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Benefect: Manufacturer of botanical disinfectants and deodorizers (e.g., Decon 30, Atomic Degreaser) that Pembertons resells. Adjacent ecosystem partner with products positioned in the same restoration and deodorization workflows.
• Hydramaster: Manufacturer of truckmounts and portable extractors that Pembertons sells and services. Industry supplier relationship rather than a competitor, but a potential disintermediation vector if it scales direct contractor sales.
• Sapphire Scientific: Manufacturer of truckmounts and carpet cleaning equipment that Pembertons distributes. Upstream supplier with overlapping end customer base.

Direct peers

• Jon-Don: National distributor of janitorial, carpet cleaning, and restoration supplies with multi-brand chemical and equipment offerings. Directly comparable product mix and customer base (professional cleaning and restoration contractors), but at much larger scale and with multiple distribution centers.
• Interlink Supply: Specialty distributor of professional carpet cleaning and restoration chemicals, equipment, and supplies. Closely aligned with Pembertons' core niche of serving carpet and restoration contractors with curated multi-brand chemistry.
• CleanFreak: Online distributor of janitorial, carpet cleaning, and restoration equipment and chemicals. Competes with Pembertons on e-commerce convenience and catalog breadth for the same professional contractor buyer.
• Clean It Supply: E-commerce distributor of janitorial, commercial cleaning, and restoration supplies. Overlapping product assortment and SMB/professional customer base, with greater national shipping scale than Pembertons.
• Chemical Universe: Distributor of cleaning and restoration chemicals serving professional contractors. Comparable chemical-forward product mix to Pembertons' core cleaning-chemicals category.

Emerging players

• Prochem: Manufacturer of professional carpet and upholstery cleaning chemicals carried by Pembertons. Comparable chemical products but operates in the upstream manufacturer space rather than as a regional distributor.

Broad incumbents

• Legend Brands (Chemspec, Drieaz): Manufacturer of multiple brands that Pembertons distributes (Chemspec, Drieaz). A broad incumbent in restoration and cleaning chemistry whose direct-to-customer strategy is the single largest structural risk to Pembertons' current product mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/professional-chemicals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Professional Chemicals