Merger Creates E&S Industry’s Second Largest Service Company

Commercial Foodservice Repair, Greenville, S.C., one of the foodservice industry’s leading providers of equipment service and repair, merged with Tech 24 on July 28. Tech 24 is an independent service organization offering equipment repair, HVAC, plumbing and electrical services to customers in Virginia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas.

The newly merged company will transition to the Tech 24 trade name, which it says more closely reflects its long-term goal of providing HVAC, plumbing and electrical services to foodservice and retail customers. “This is a tech-driven business,” said Tech 24 CEO Rick White. “Together, our companies can deliver a higher level of service and repair, backed by IT that makes the techs more efficient and reduces paperwork. We both have long-time relationships with manufacturers, so our customers know we’ll be certified and we’ll back our service with a massive parts inventory.”

With its headquarters in Greenville, the new firm will serve 17 states, with more than 330 service technicians in 32 locations offering single-source service and repair on food and beverage equipment, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, remodeling, and health department issue resolution.

“Rick and his colleagues add comprehensive service and repair skills, plus long-standing authorized service agreements to the portfolio,” said Kurt Herwald, president/CEO of Commercial Foodservice Repair. “We’re now the second largest service and repair company in the industry. Our plan is to build the company and grow our tech force, acquire other independent operators in selected regions, and offer our customers the unique ability to serve their multi-location needs.”

Both companies are experiencing strong, double-digit growth and, with their expansion plans, are increasing their staffing of qualified technicians. The combined companies plan to continue growing, particularly in the Northeastern corridor, with the grand opening this week of a new Baltimore location. The only change in branches will be to consolidate the two Virginia Beach-area offices.