SE Holdco LLC, the parent company of Service Experts Heating and Air Conditioning, recently announced the acquisition of Cincinnati-based Engineering Excellence National Accounts (EENA), a company that services large national retail customers such as DSW, Rite Aid, and Williams Sonoma.

“Over the years, we’ve talked with a lot of national account customers, and (EENA’s) name always came up as having one of the best reputations in that business,” said Scott J. Boxer, president and CEO, Service Experts.

“So, we wanted to partner and align ourselves with a company that has a tremendous reputation and a very talented workforce.”

This acquisition will allow Service Experts to expand on the commercial side, which is a long-term strategic goal of the company, and it allows EENA to continue to grow.

Tom J. Winstel, president and CEO, EENA, said the nine-month process was easier because the people at Service Experts truly understood strategically and operationally what was needed to be efficient and relevant. He said this deal is phenomenal news for his business.

“We weren’t looking to divest our national accounts group, but we were looking for an opportunity to find synergies in the marketplace with a key partner,” Winstel said.

“So, when we started talking with Scott and Service Experts, it became apparent to me that we held a common vision for where we could take this business. Working with Service Experts, as a strategic platform company, we will be able to provide even more value to our customers.”

EENA specializes in providing its customers commercial HVAC preventive maintenance, 24/7 service, and planned unit retrofits, through its extensive service-provider network across the U.S. and Canada. It will continue to work closely with its more than 600-plus providers as it grows its business in the future, while self-performing essential services for specific clients.

Tom Winstel and Ann Moran, vice president of business development, will remain in their roles at EENA. Bob Major, vice president of business development at Service Experts, will lead the integration for the company.

EENA currently provides turn-key service and support in five states and uses long-term partners to perform service in other states.

“Being in the industry so long, we’ve known of this company for probably 15 years. It’s been a growing company that’s been very focused,” Boxer said. “We will be able to help it increase its ability to provide turn-key HVAC services in many other states over time. That’s one of the many things that was mutually attractive to both organizations.”

“Since we founded EENA, we’ve talked about our vision to be the provider of choice for multilocation building owners and managers across the U.S. and Canada,” Winstel said.

“We’ve enjoyed substantial growth and success over the years, so our team is engaged in wanting to achieve that vision. They see this transition as an opportunity to put us on a much faster pace for growth, and that also brings opportunity to our team members.”

That growth also impacts Service Experts. Boxer said about 12 percent of the company’s business is commercial service and replacement work. He said this will give the company an opportunity to increase its commercial work closer to the 30 percent range.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with one of the best companies in the commercial national accounts space,” Boxer said. “We’ll be looking for good people to help us grow this important segment of our business.”

This deal does not impact EENA’s sister company, Engineering Excellence Regional Services (EERS), which has 100 employees. EERS will continue to be a privately held company offering commercial, industrial service, replacement, and building automation controls solutions in four states.

Winstel is looking forward to what the future holds for EENA in its new venture with Service Experts.

“The transaction provides for a long-term commitment for us to stay in our existing building with our existing team, and continue to grow the business,” he said.

“We now have the vast resources of Service Experts to draw upon as a platform company to take us forward that we didn’t have before as a smaller, privately owned company. In the national account marketplace, that’s a big opportunity.”

Publication date: 6/9/2014
 

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