David Edwards says he wants his new venture to pay off — not just for him, but for his former hometown.

Edwards, whose company is based in Sprinfield, Ill., is franchising his mold-remediation system for homes and businesses under the Fungus Fighters Inc. name. Earlier this month, he signed Russell’s Residential Resources, an area remodeler, as a local representative.

Edwards said he wants to launch at least one company-owned operation in Dayton and use it as the nexus for a statewide expansion over the next five years.

“Dayton was my main focus when I came to Ohio,” he said.

The expansion of Fungus Fighters, he said, could bring an estimated 415 jobs to the state through company-owned and franchise-owned operations. Initially, he had planned to expand the business in Missouri and move to Ohio later. But he said he placed Ohio at the top of his list because he still has family and friends here and wants to see the economy grow.

Edwards says he has been in the mold-fighting business for 17 years. A former police officer, he worked the midnight shift and during the day would take on remodeling and construction gigs on the side, he said.

A friend hooked him up with local real estate investors who needed help upgrading their properties and eventually he found himself fixing mold problems in homes.

As the potential in the remediation business became apparent to him, he began to focus on it more, eventually developing his own system for removing dangerous molds from buildings, he said. He incorporated the company, which also provides remodeling and water remediation services, last year when others approached him about franchising, he said.

Staff writer Tim Tresslar covers commercial and residential real estate for Dayton Daily News. His Real Estate Notebook appears every Sunday. He can be reached at (937) 225-7317 or via e-mail at ttresslar@coxohio.com.