ESI Acquires A-1 and Pinnacle for Southeast Biz

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Elevator Service LLC, a service provider, has acquired A-1 Elevator Service and Pinnacle Elevator, two independent service providers in the Southern Louisiana and Mississippi markets.

The investment is ESI's fifth add-on acquisition in the last two years. It now operates in ten markets: nine Midwestern markets, plus New Orleans as its tenth, marking 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.

"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,” said Justin Schulte. “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 on 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.

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 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. The Maven Group advised A1 and Pinnacle during the transaction. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) provided debt financing to ESI.

For more information, visit www.ESIelevator.com/.