MIAMI — Commercial laundry and drycleaning equipment distributor EVI Industries reports that it has taken action to acquire Southside, Alabama-based Wholesale Commercial Laundry Equipment SE (WCL). Terms of the definitive agreement weren’t announced, and the deal is expected to close—subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions—in the second fiscal quarter.
WCL distributes commercial laundry products and provides related technical installation and maintenance services to on-premise and vended laundry customers. With the acquisition, EVI says it adds an experienced sales team with established customer relationships and a service team with a longstanding reputation for providing reliable services.
Once closed, the deal will make WCL the 23rd commercial laundry business to be acquired by EVI since fall 2016.
Henry M. Nahmad, EVI’s chairman and CEO, says each acquisition is integral to achieving his company’s long-term growth and profitability goals.
“The addition of WCL expands our geographic footprint in the Southeast region of the United States, where we will have a significant opportunity to deliver commercial laundry customers an enhanced customer-value proposition,” he says. “We look forward to working with Russ Arbuckle and the WCL team to grow our market share across the Southeast.”
WCL will operate as an EVI subsidiary under its current name, from its present location, and backed by EVI resources as it pursues the corporate long-term growth strategy.
EVI says it is the fastest growing and only publicly listed company devoted to the North American commercial laundry distribution and service industry.
Thoughtful execution of its buy-and-build growth strategy has earned it a positive reputation in and around the industry, Nahmad says, including among owners of quality businesses.
“We remain very active in the pursuit of additional investments in other great businesses and given our record, reputation and appetite for significant growth, EVI is well-positioned to capitalize on a growing number of opportunities,” he adds.
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