The Specialist was started in 1995 by Jason West in Huntington Beach, California. After 3 years, Jason hired his first full time employee, Rich Paulin. After 3 weeks of training, the company added it's 2nd van which Rich successfully operated for 3 years. In 2001, Rich moved to Fort Campbell, KY where he served the soldiers for 5 years. The Specialist grew to 5 cleaning vans by 2005 and was servicing clients like the Irvine Company and many other apartment communities. Rich returned in 2006 and purchased the company from his original boss. Rich then transitioned the company into the residential market and downsized in 2007 to focus on individual homeowners instead of large apartment communities. Over the next 5 years, Rich had successfully switched the company from less than 10% residential clients to over 90%. During the next 2 years, Rich received his Carpet Inspector Certification and became a Master Textile Cleaner. By 2014, The Specialist had become one of the leading single vehicle carpet and upholstery cleaning companies in all of Orange County. In 2017 The Specialist became the Southern California distributor for the most effective and environmentally friendly protection product on the planet. The company changed it's name in late 2018 and is now known as The Specialist - Fiber Cleaning and Protection.
