SealMasterFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SealMaster franchise requires a total initial investment of $580K – $925K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $421K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.0% charge-off rate across 35 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $580K – $925K
- 78th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $421K
- 11th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Home Services
- Units
- 47
- 41st pct Home Services
- SBA default
- 10.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.6x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1993. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $580K – $925K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $421K/year.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 85/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.0% across 35 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- InFrasys, Inc.
- Predecessor
- have never offered franchises for the Franchised Business or for any
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- MN
- HQ
- 2520 South Campbell Street, Sandusky, Ohio 44870
- Auditor
- William Vaughan Company
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $23.0M
- vs $24.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchisee Advisory Board
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- produces and sells pavement maintenance coatings and repair products
- is ThorWorks Industries
- also owns and operates SEALMASTER businesses as described above
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
SealMaster franchisees operate asphalt pavement maintenance and repair businesses, providing sealcoating, crack filling, striping, and line marking services to commercial and municipal clients. Day-to-day operations involve crew management, equipment maintenance, scheduling service calls, and managing customer relationships across protected territory.
- CEO
- David L. Thorson
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 1991
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 38
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $100K | $150K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $445K | $740K |
| Total initial investment | $580K | $925K |
Source: SealMaster 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$53K
12.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
6%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
16.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $580K – $925K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $150K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $9K |
| Inventory (initial) | $100K – $150K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $421K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 29 units
- vs category median 25
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 5 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is only 0.6x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Home Services averages
How SealMaster Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 47
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 92%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 35
- Loan volume
- $28.7M
- Median loan
- $400K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 10.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 90.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 19
- Defaults
- 3
Vintage analysis
SealMaster charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into SealMaster's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 16-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
SealMaster presents elevated risk due to going concern issues, regulatory history, lack of financial transparency, and a small stagnant franchise system with high capital requirements.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $5,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · William Vaughan Company
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 85 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial distress or operational instability at corporate level
- 02MINOR2007 California regulatory violation and franchise sales ban — suggests past compliance failures and regulatory scrutiny
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — prevents accurate ROI calculation and raises transparency concerns
- 04MINOROnly 47 units with unknown growth trajectory — suggests stagnant or declining system (mature brands typically have 100+ units)
- 05MEDHigh initial investment ($579.8K–$924.5K) combined with undisclosed profitability metrics creates asymmetric risk
- 06MED10-year term locks franchisees into potentially underperforming agreement with limited exit flexibility
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius/Boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 3,000,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Sage or equivalent
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Sage or equivalent
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SealMaster · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SealMaster franchise?
The total investment to open a SealMaster franchise ranges from $580K – $925K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SealMaster franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SealMaster FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $421K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is SealMaster's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, SealMaster has a charge-off rate of 10.0% across 35 loans, meaning 10.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many SealMaster franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SealMaster has 47 total units in the United States, including 43 franchised units and 4 company-owned units.
Is SealMaster a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SealMaster as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 85 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.