pe firms snapping up hvac shops left and right

Out here in the chicago area, three local hvac outfits got bought by private equity last month alone. Guys in the contractor fight facebook group are pissed, saying its killing the small business vibe with all their flat rate nonsense.

its a damn takeover, my margins are shot cause they undercut on trane installs.

pe is ruining hvac, turning techs into wage slaves.

watched tommy mello talk about it on instagram, he says adapt or die.

pe bought my wholesaler, now grainger prices are insane for r410a.

its collective suicide for the trade.

asked on r/hvac, consensus is run while you can.

pe vultures circling, next it'll be us.

sold my shop to one, regret it daily with their micromanaging.

chicago pe deals are the worst, heard of a guy getting non-compete screwed.

haha, my pe boss tried to make me install without 410a cert.

never trust pe contracts, read the fine print or get buried in fees.

proud i stayed independent, hit $250k solo last year on mini splits.

lol pe techs showing up in company polos looking lost af.

we're all feeling the squeeze, brother.

service fusion helps track the bs they pull on billing.

upsell hard before they commoditize everything.

how are you guys handling the talent poaching by pe?

proud to say i turned down their offer, stuck with my carrier exclusives.

dont sign anything without a lawyer, saw a shop lose their tools in arbitration.

pe destroying the soul of hvac one acquisition at a time.

yeah, the good ol days of running your own calls are gone.

hit 25 years, now mentoring kids to avoid the pe trap.

boss pushed me into a pe job site, total nightmare with no support.

we're in this together, stay strong independents.