A Proud History
In 1970 Ether Bledsoe, with the help of his brother Frank and others, started painting houses in St. Louis, Mo. In less than 10 years, the business grew from 2 to 100 employees and was founded on the principle of integrity and with respect for our clients. Since the founding, Bledsoe has earned a highly respected reputation for top quality service, proven performance, unmatched workmanship and superior customer relations.
Many of the most recognized Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and private companies have continued to put their trust in Bledsoe to satisfy their building maintenance needs for over 50 years. We have successfully completed over 20,000 projects in every region of the United States in our lengthy history.
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Significant Bledsoe Milestones
1937 Alma Bledsoe is born in Union, Mississippi
1938 Ether Bledsoe is born in Tutwiler, Mississippi
1970 Ether Bledsoe starts a painting company in St. Louis, Mo.
1971 Small Business Administration 8(A) Program. First minority contractor to graduate from the program in the Midwest.
1973 Holiday Inn Riverfront - St. Louis, Mo. - $300,000
1973 Federal Records Center - St. Louis, Mo. - $300,000
1974 Interracial Council for Business Opportunities National Client of the Year - New York, NY
1977 Minority Contractors Association of St. Louis Subcontractor of the Year
1981 Old Post Office - St. Louis, Mo. - $650,000
1981 General Motors Corporation - Wentzville, Mo. - $1,700,000
1981 Bledsoe Companies reach 100 employees on payroll.
1984 Sierra Madre Apartments - Dallas, Tx. - $750,000
1985 Role Model Program participant St. Louis Public Schools
1986 Red Lobster (General Foods); company painted new restaurants in 15 states.
1989 Cardinal Cushing Hospital - Boston, Mass.
1992 Bledsoe Companies incorporate a roof coating division utilizing a "paint-on" waterproof system.
1992 First roof coating project is for St. Louis University.
1994 St. Louis Public Schools - Multiple Schools - $1,200,000
1995 Company expands to Chicago, IL.
1996 Chicago Public Schools - painted seven schools.
1996 Company expands to New Orleans, La. - St. Helena Parish Community Center (painting).
1999 United Parcel Service (UPS) - Belleville, IL. (painting)
1999 Company expands to Columbus, OH.
2000 Metro-Parks of Columbus, OH. (roof coating)
2002 Otterbein College - Columbus, OH (roof coating)
2005 Company completes the residential renovation of a single family property for hurricane Katrina evacuees in Atlanta, Ga.
2006 Company expands to the state of Florida. Completes projects in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and Lakeland, Fl.
2006 Outback Steakhouse - St. Louis, Mo. (exterior painting)
2007 Company completes work in Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Florida.
2008 Company completes a roof coating project in Portland, OR.
2009 Company completes its first project in the state of California.
2010 Company expands and completes projects in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama
2011 Company expands and completes projects in Maryland, Michigan and Washington state.
2012 Company expands and completes projects in Texas and Tennessee.
2013 Company secures maintenance contract for Texaco, Chevron, Shell and BP gas stations.
2014 Company creates the Ether Bledsoe Mentor/Protégé Program to train individuals in the construction industry.
2015 Company completes its first job in Mobile, AL. The project is a metal roof restoration project for a major church in Mobile.
2016 Company completes 100,000 square feet metal roof restoration project in St. Louis, Mo.
2017 Company responds to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma completing projects in both Texas and Florida.
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2018 Company becomes a distributor/applicator for a worldwide leader in the manufacture of paints and building products.
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2019 Company completes a roofing project for one of the historic museums in the United States.
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2020 Company weathers the storm of the coronavirus pandemic and has one of its best years in its history.
2021 Company establishes Black Owned Roofing Company Quote.
2022 Company completes projects in Florida following the destruction caused by Category 5 Hurricane Ian.
Ether and Alma Bledsoe Interracial Council for Business Opportunities National Client of the Year - New York, NY
Bledsoe was the original painting contractor of the Holiday Inn Riverfront - St. Louis, Mo. (1973)
Bledsoe was the original painting contractor of the newly built General Motors plant - Wentzville, Mo. (1980)
Bledsoe was the original painting contractor for the renovation of the floating excursion ship Admiral - St. Louis, Mo. (1983)
Today, Bledsoe is involved with residential and commercial roof restoration such as this commercial roof restoration project.
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Also today, Bledsoe restores shingles roofs without having to replace the existing roof surface such as this deteriorated roof.
Shingle roof coating system being applied over the existing roof surface.
Shingle roof is restored.
Close-up view of restored shingle roof. The system comes with a 10 Year Leak-Free Warranty that covers both labor and materials. Nationwide service.
Bledsoe restored two roofs at one of America's treasured historical museums in 2019.