WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — After a 26-year career with Roto-Rooter Corp., Gary Burger retired as company president March 1.

Burger joined Roto-Rooter in 1980, where he advanced to vice president/sales in 1983. In 1996 he was named president of Roto-Rooter Corp. Under his leadership, Roto-Rooter has experienced growth and improved relationships with its 500 franchise operations, the company said. Roto-Rooter is the largest provider of plumbing and drain-cleaning services in North America and is a leading manufacturer of professional drain-cleaning equipment.

Before joining Roto-Rooter, Burger held sales and marketing positions at DuBois Chemical Co. in Cincinnati beginning in 1974. When then DuBois parent, Chemed Corp., purchased Roto-Rooter in 1980, it formed Roto-Rooter Services Co. in Cincinnati to manage company-owned service locations but left Roto-Rooter Corp. in West Des Moines to continue manufacture of Roto-Rooter machinery and oversight of its network of independent franchise locations. Burger joined Roto-Rooter Corp. and relocated to Des Moines.

Charles Scavo will succeed Burger as president of Roto-Rooter Corp. Scavo joined Roto-Rooter in 1983 as a controller. In 1989 he was promoted to vice president and controller, in 1998 to vice president and chief financial officer, and in 2005 became senior vice president and CFO.

Roto-Rooter was established in 1935 and operates businesses in 110 company-owned territories and more than 500 franchise territories, serving 91% of the U.S. population and 55% of the Canadian population. More information is available at www.rotorooter.com