Argosy Private Equity News

We are pleased to announce that Groome Industrial Service Group (“Groome”), a portfolio company of Argosy Private Equity has completed the acquisition of W-S Companies.

W-S Companies and its subsidiaries, (collectively “W-S” or the “Company”), is a provider of industrial services through eight associated entities, offering industrial cleaning and maintenance services such as abrasive grit-blasting, mechanical machine maintenance, explosive de-slagging, welding, and environmental waste removal and disposal, catering primarily to gas & coal-fired power plants. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the Company operates out of 15 facilities spanning Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Montana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin, with additional satellite facilities in Nebraska and North Dakota.

For over 50 years, Groome has provided specialty maintenance services nationwide for several industries including natural gas-fired power generation, coal-fired power generation, refinery, shipping, manufacturing, and aviation. As an industry leader focused on the future, Groome’s turnkey services reduce harmful emissions, improve plant performance, and extend the life of valuable industrial equipment. Their experienced in-house labor teams have helped to establish Groome as the maintenance provider of choice.

W-S provides complementary service offerings to Groome’s base industrial cleaning services, such as industrial and municipal waste removal and disposal, welding & pipefitting education, hydro-excavation, and industrial vacuuming. Additionally, synergies in the customer base in the Midwest and South are expected to offer combined cross-selling opportunities. The acquisition is also expected to improve seasonality of revenue.

Jeff Bause, President & CEO of Groome, stated, “We are excited for W-S to join the Groome Team, creating a bigger and better specialty maintenance company with an even stronger nationwide presence. Both companies provide a service mix that is complimentary to one another while also offering unique specialty services. This acquisition now gives Groome one of the broadest offerings in the industry.”

“We are thrilled about the combination of Groome and W-S. Given Groome’s experience with previous acquisitions, we have confidence in the team’s demonstrated ability to execute integration plans. The consolidated companies now offer a comprehensive suite of services delivered on a national scale. This acquisition not only strengthens Groome’s position in the market but also underscores our commitment to providing unparalleled value and support to its clients,” said Keven Shanahan, Managing Partner, Argosy Private Equity.

Integration is already underway. The Groome and W-S management teams, along with Argosy, are actively working on implementing Argosy’s Value Acceleration Methodology (VAM™) acquisition program to help integrate the operations, realize synergies between the companies, and seek to grow the combined company.

For more information, please contact Keven Shanahan at kshanahan@argosycapital.com