Air Balancing Company, Inc. Joins the Palmetto Family

July 20, 2023 – Fort Worth, TX and Greenville, SC – Palmetto Air & Water Balance, LLC (“Palmetto” or the “Company”), a people first, high-growth independent Testing, Adjusting and Balancing business, is pleased to announce a transaction with Air Balancing Company, Inc. (“ABC”). ABC’s operations will be merged with Palmetto, and the combined business’ operations in Abilene, Fort Worth, and Lubbock will be known as Palmetto Air & Water Balance – Texas, LLC (“Palmetto – Texas”). ABC CEO Tracy Privitt will retire from the company, while ABC Vice President Bret Privitt will join Palmetto as VP of Texas Operations.

Air Balancing Company has served customers throughout the state of Texas for over 30 years, with a team of dedicated technicians and engineers with over 100 years of collective experience.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new teammates to our One Palmetto family as we conclude our second merger with a leading firm in Texas. ABC’s enthusiastic support will help us achieve our vision to be recognized as a world-class firm employing the most certified professionals in North America” said Palmetto CEO Rodney R. Hinton. “Bret and Tracy Privitt built the leading provider of Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing services in Fort Worth, and we are grateful for their trust and partnership as we continue to grow in the great state of Texas.”

Bret Privitt said, “The opportunity to partner with Rodney, Penny Hinton, and the broader Palmetto team was an excellent fit for us, our employees, and customers. The ABC team is excited to partner with Palmetto, whose excellent customer service has made it a leader in all its markets—including Texas.”

Mr. Hinton added that Mr. Privitt and other key leaders of ABC have made long-term commitments to remain with the Company. “We look forward to learning from the ABC team and continuing our strong growth in Texas,” Mr. Hinton concluded.

Palmetto’s transaction with ABC represents the Company’s second add-on as a Sunny River Management portfolio company, following Palmetto’s merger with N.D. White Engineering Services in January 2023. The Company is actively pursuing additional transactions to continue its exceptional growth trajectory.

The transaction was led by John Cote, Beau Brace, Andrew Martinez, and Joe Silverman of Sunny River Management. Palmetto was represented by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Financing was provided by Deerpath Capital Management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Palmetto Air & Water Balance:

Palmetto Air & Water Balance, LLC began in 1989, is headquartered in Greer, South Carolina and operates thirteen additional offices throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia with over 140 teammates. Palmetto is a leader in the industry, providing validation of ventilation, comfort, and efficiency for occupants working in healthcare, Life Sciences, Education, Institutional and Industrial facilities.

N.D. White Engineering Services, LLC Joins the Palmetto Family

January 24, 2023 – Abilene, TX and Greenville, SC – Palmetto Air & Water Balance, LLC (“Palmetto” or the “Company”), a people first, high-growth independent Testing, Adjusting and Balancing business, is pleased to announce a transaction with N.D. White Engineering Services, LLC. N.D. White’s operations will be merged with Palmetto, and the combined business’ Abilene, and Lubbock operations will be known as Palmetto Air & Water Balance – Abilene, LLC (“Palmetto – Abilene”). Founders Nick and Linda White will be retiring from the company following a transition period.

N.D. White Engineering Services has served customers throughout the state of Texas for over 30 years, with a team of dedicated technicians and engineers with over 100 years of collective experience.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new teammates to our One Palmetto family. This partnership helps us to achieve our vision to be recognized as a world-class firm employing the most certified professionals in North America” said Palmetto CEO Rodney R. Hinton. “Nick and Linda White built the leading provider of Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing services in West Texas, and we are grateful they have chosen to partner with us to steward their legacy.”

Nick White said, “Linda and I have known Rodney and Penny Hinton for years, and we could not be more excited that our business is joining the Palmetto family. Our shared values of Integrity, Respect, Professionalism, Teamwork and Excellence will ensure that our loyal customers will continue to receive excellent service from Palmetto – Abilene for years to come.”

Mr. Hinton added that key leaders of Palmetto – Abilene have made long-term commitments to spearhead Palmetto – Abilene’s future growth. “We look forward to learning and growing together,” Mr. Hinton concluded.

Palmetto’s transaction with N.D. White represents the Company’s first add-on as a Sunny River Management portfolio company. The Company is actively pursuing additional transactions to continue its exceptional growth trajectory.

The transaction was led by John Cote, Beau Brace, and Andrew Martinez of Sunny River Management. Palmetto was represented by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Financing was provided by Deerpath Capital Management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Palmetto Air & Water Balance:

Palmetto Air & Water Balance, LLC began in 1989, is headquartered in Greer, South Carolina and operates twelve additional offices throughout North Carolina, Texas and Virginia with over 100 teammates. Palmetto is a leader in the industry providing validation of ventilation, comfort, and efficiency for occupants working in healthcare, Life Sciences, Education, Institutional and Industrial clients.

Sunny River Management Partners with Palmetto Air & Water Balance

December 21, 2021 – Greenville, SC – Sunny River Management (“SRM”), a family-backed private investment firm, is pleased to announce its partnership with Palmetto Air & Water Balance (“Palmetto”). Palmetto is a leading provider of HVAC testing, adjusting, and balancing services to commercial clients across the Southeastern United States.

Founded by Penny Hinton in 1989 and headquartered in Greenville, SC with ten offices throughout the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic, Palmetto serves a diverse customer base of building owners, property managers, and contractors. The company’s clients consist of hospital and healthcare facilities, education systems, governmental institutions, commercial buildings, and other customers with complex mechanical systems where proper balancing is mission critical. Via its partnership with SRM, Palmetto will maintain its high level of customer service and focus on customer needs while adding resources to grow with both new and existing accounts.

“We are delighted to welcome Palmetto to the SRM family,” said John Cote, Managing Partner at SRM. “Penny and Rodney have built a true industry leader in the test, adjust, and balance space over the past 32 years. Proper ventilation in commercial buildings is more top-of-mind than ever, and Palmetto is well-positioned to capitalize on this increased focus on safe and efficient indoor environments.”

In conjunction with the partnership, Rodney Hinton will become CEO, Penny Hinton will remain in her current role as President, and Alan Tew will remain in his current role as Regional Director. Penny Hinton said of choosing a partner, “Early this year, we began a search for a partner that would embrace our core values of integrity, respect, professionalism, teamwork, and excellence that could also provide a complementary skillset focused on continued growth and opportunities. We believe we found that partner in SRM. SRM brings a wealth of experience in growing companies both internally and through acquisition, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with them to grow Palmetto to even greater heights.”

SRM plans to accelerate growth at Palmetto by actively seeking other best-in-class industry participants to acquire while also continuing the company’s long history of successful greenfield expansion in high-growth markets.

“The growth opportunities at Palmetto are significant and compelling,” said Jack Partain, Vice President at SRM. “We are excited to pair strong industry tailwinds with strategic M&A and de novo expansion to create the best test, adjust, and balance platform in the country. We could not imagine better leaders to partner with on this mission than Rodney, Penny, Alan, and the amazing team at Palmetto.”

Business Acquisition & Merger Associates acted as financial advisor to Palmetto and Merline & Meacham served as legal counsel. SRM was represented by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Financing was provided by Deerpath Capital Management.

About Sunny River Management, LLC

SRM is a private investment firm focused on building great mid-sized businesses in a few select highly desirable industries. SRM builds its platform businesses through partnering with small businesses and investing in growth within those businesses as part of a larger platform. To learn more about SRM, visit www.sunnyrivermanagement.com.