Exertis Expands in U.S. with Acquisition of Almo Corp.

DCC Technology, which trades as distributor Exertis, has announced its acquisition of Almo Corp.  in North America.

The financial details of the deal were not revealed. However, the acquisition is the biggest in the history of Irish parent company DCC plc. The company says the move will create the largest specialist Pro AV business in North America.

The move signals an ambitious strategy for Exertis after launching Exertis North America in July. It extends its international scale in the Pro AV sector and ramps up its expansion in the North American market.

The addition of Almo Corp. builds on other acquisitions in North America such as Stampede, Jam Industries, The Music People and JB&A.

DCC and Exertis’ Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin is DCC Technology and Exertis managing director. He says the acquisition signals a “confident and ambitious intent” to expand DCC Technology.

“By integrating Almo with our North American business, we will form the largest specialist Pro AV business in North America. Almo’s … longstanding relationships with industry partners and its ability to continually innovate and expand will be great assets to Exertis. In turn, we will bring significant economies of scale, global supply chain access and other benefits to the customers of Almo Corporation.”

Philadelphia-based Almo’s 75-year-old, third-generation, family-owned business has 660 employees. It also has nine distribution centers and more than 2.5 million square feet of warehousing space across North America.

Alongside its Pro AV business, Almo Corp. is the largest distributor of mainstream appliances in the region. The consumer appliance and lifestyle product division will add scale to Exertis North America’s business in the consumer channel.

Almo Corp. will leverage Exertis’ financial resources and supply-chain logistics. It says it will deliver “improved business opportunities, efficiencies and potential for profit” to vendors and partners. The acquisition will also provide Exertis North America with increased back-end economies of scale allied to the front-end specialisation.

New Leadership

Almo will continue to be operated by the Chaiken family, with Warren Chaiken as president and CEO and Gene Chaiken as chairman. The combined Exertis and Almo Pro AV divisions will in due course be led by Sam Taylor, current executive vice president and COO of Almo Pro AV. Shortly after the completion of the integration, the combined business will be rebranded as Exertis Almo Pro AV.

John Dunne, a long-time senior executive with Exertis currently leading the Exertis Pro AV team in North America, will join the Almo executive team and help lead the integration. The Premium Appliances and Mainstream Appliances divisions will continue to be led by Steve Terry and Jack Halperin respectively.

Exertis’ expanded North American operation becomes a $2.4 billion business overseen by Martin Szpiro, managing director of Exertis North America. It forms part of the international expansion strategy of Exertis International, under managing director Clive Fitzharris.

Almo Corp.’s Warren Chaiken

Warren Chaiken, Almo Corp. president & CEO says the time is right to give its manufacturer and channel partners “a truly global distribution stage.”

“They can an operate their businesses at a greater capacity, leverage more buying power and the ability to compete for a more comprehensive position in the global supply chain.”

He said Almo remained “committed to growing with our partners” with “larger scale and access to more products, more services and more financial support. For them, this transition will be seamless in that we will operate business as usual.”