Elevator Service LLC (“ESI”), a leading elevator service provider, announced today that it has entered into a partnership with A-1 Elevator Service and Pinnacle Elevator (“A1 and Pinnacle”), the leading independent service providers in the Southern Louisiana and Mississippi markets. This investment is ESI’s fifth add-on acquisition in the last two years. ESI now operates in ten markets: nine Midwestern markets, plus New Orleans as its tenth, which marks the launch of ESI’s growth strategy in the Southeast region.
A-1 Elevator was founded in 2008 by Gary Songy, a 30-year industry veteran, after seeing a need for a high-quality service provider after Hurricane Katrina. Pinnacle Elevator was founded in 2016 by Mike Luscy, also a 30-year industry veteran, with a similar customer-first thesis. A-1 and Pinnacle partnered with Justin Schulte and Search Fund Accelerator in 2020 and 2022, respectively, and have continued to thrive. Since their inception, A-1 and Pinnacle have sought to build a company dedicated to providing customers in the Southern Louisiana and Mississippi markets with uncompromising maintenance, repair, and modernization services, while being a great place to work for mechanics and colleagues. Justin will continue leading A-1 and Pinnacle in his title of President and will become a shareholder in ESI. Gary and Mike will continue to be active in the business as well.
As A-1 and Pinnacle have continued to grow, Justin sought to find a new partner for the business to better position A-1 and Pinnacle for future success. Their goal was to find an experienced operator that has successfully scaled into new markets through organic growth and acquisitions and whose management team was aligned with the A-1 and Pinnacle culture.
Justin Schulte said, “I inherited incredible teams at A-1 and Pinnacle that truly care about the work they do, and I think our team has been able to maintain that culture and keep the momentum to provide safer and more reliable vertical transportation in this market. We’re very excited about the partnership with ESI, which I believe will enable us to continue to improve the business and create value for our employees, customers, and stakeholders as we grow.”
A-1 and Pinnacle join an ESI platform that shares the core value of doing the right thing for customers and colleagues. Every company in ESI’s platform is empowered to deliver uncompromising customer service that is tailored to the needs of each market, and each ESI company employs local leaders who are dedicated to serving the employees and communities where they operate. ESI’s focus on delivering these core values is the reason behind its significant growth in every one of its markets.
Jason Vallee, CEO of ESI said, “A-1 and Pinnacle share ESI’s commitment to excellent service, colleague development, and community involvement, which makes this partnership a perfect fit. A-1 and Pinnacle’s success and growth since their founding is clear validation that the greater New Orleans market will embrace a service provider whose commitment is transparent through its actions. ESI will support the existing A-1 and Pinnacle leadership teams with enhanced technology, business, and sales processes.”
ESI’s growth strategy has been to enter new markets, create density in the region, and then gain market share in each market by providing excellent customer service and creating a superior work environment for talented mechanics and executives. Since 2021, ESI has expanded from its first market in Grand Rapids, to now operating in nine cities in the Midwest (Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, Detroit, Toledo, Columbus, Madison, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Dayton). ESI takes a patient and disciplined approach towards market expansion, focusing on partnering with the highest quality independents in markets that have attractive dynamics for independent
providers.
Lin He, Managing Director at Carroll Capital said, “ESI’s investment into A-1 and Pinnacle is our entry into the Southeast and the launch of our growth strategy in the region. We will actively support ESI’s expansion into other Southeastern markets, with the goal of creating the same regional density that ESI currently has in the Midwest. We will continue to take a disciplined approach towards growth, which has proven to be successful in the Midwest, by building relationships with business owners who share ESI’s values.”
ESI completed its investment in A-1 and Pinnacle with financial backing from Carroll Capital, a Greenwich-based family office which originally invested in ESI in 2019. Since then, Carroll Capital has supported ESI in completing five add-on acquisitions and launching five greenfield markets. ESI will continue its growth by partnering with leading Independents in attractive markets and recruiting talented elevator mechanics, executives, and salespeople.
Brian F. Carroll, the Founder and Managing Partner of Carroll Capital and Chairman of ESI, said, “It has been a pleasure to be ESI’s partner since our investment in 2019. Our journey has been an extremely successful one, where we supported ESI’s expansion across the Midwest and now its entry into the Southeast. Carroll Capital looks forward to continuing to support ESI, its companies, and its employees to achieve its growth goals.”
Ice Miller served as legal counsel to ESI and Carroll Capital on the transaction, with FTI serving as accounting advisor. Maven Group advised A1 and Pinnacle during the transaction while Goodwin Locket LLP served as legal counsel for the sellers. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) provided debt financing to ESI.
Justin Schulte added “I had been in touch with Maven Group for a few years to better understand industry dynamics before we engaged them as advisors. Their knowledge and relationships informed us on potential options and helped us decide on the best timing to support our future goals. After being introduced to a buyer with aligned values, Dominik Sachsenheimer and Carson Bombara provided hands-on guidance throughout the entire process and kept all parties on the path towards the common goal of building an impactful business that will create value for our employees and customers.”
To learn more about Maven Group, LLC, please contact us directly:
Dominik Sachsenheimer (561) 225-3320, dominik@mavenelevator.com
Carson Bombara (860) 899-8545, carson@mavenelevator.com
Bill Beaury (239) 253-4500, bill@mavenelevator.com
www.mavenelevator.com
About ESI
Elevator Service Holdings (“ESI”), headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, is an elevator service platform that operates in ten markets and performs elevator maintenance, repair, testing, modernization, and installation for the commercial, municipal, industrial, and residential markets. ESI’s companies have decades of heritage in their markets and are operated by their locally based leadership and highly skilled technician teams. ESI continues to be an independent company that is proud to provide high-quality elevator service that keeps its customers’ buildings running efficiently with the utmost respect for customers’ operations. For additional information, visit www.ESIelevator.com
About A-1 Elevator Service and Pinnacle Elevator
A-1 Elevator Service and Pinnacle Elevator are elevator service companies based in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, and they have been providing elevator maintenance, repair, and modernization since 2008 and 2016 respectively. For additional information, visit www.a1elevator.net and www.pinnacle-elevator.com
About Carroll Capital
Carroll Capital is a family office established by Brian F. Carroll to build an actively managed portfolio of market-leading businesses. Carroll Capital invests in businesses that have differentiated, high value-added products, services, or technology offerings that are mission critical to its customers. Due to its family office structure, Carroll Capital is a unique partner to business owners because of its complete alignment of interests with companies and shareholders, the ability to be flexible partners, and its active role in driving value creation. Previously, Brian Carroll spent over two decades at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. For additional information, visit www.carrollcapital.com
