Industrial Electric Motor & Pump Repair, Louisville KY Since 2009

$3.1M

Revenue

$538K

SDE

3.3x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an industrial electric motor and pump repair business in the Louisville metro market, paired with a licensed electrical contracting and automation division. The customer base is exactly the kind you want in a durable cash business: quarries, cement plants, food processors, municipal water systems and manufacturers. When a crusher motor or process pump fails, the plant stops and someone has to fix it fast, which is why 80% of work arrives from existing customers calling in at a roughly 90% quote win rate.

The operation runs on a credentialed 14-person bench, including three licensed electricians, an automation engineer, and winders who complete rewinds start to finish. Revenue for the trailing twelve months was approximately $3.08 million with SDE of ~$538,000, a ~17.5% margin, and revenue grew ~18% over the prior year, the highest in company history. Notably, the business posted that growth through a half-year stretch in which one of the two owners was fully absent, which is a strong signal the enterprise is not dependent on a single hero operator.

What makes this notable is the combination that is hard to replicate regionally: full motor and pump rewind capability, a licensed electrical contracting arm, an automation and controls group, and the site-access and arc-flash certifications required for quarry, aggregate and mining work. Fifty-two accounts were invoiced in the last twelve months, with top relationships running seven to sixteen years. The purpose-built 16,000 square foot facility with overhead cranes, burn-off ovens, winding room and machine shop is available separately at appraised value of roughly $1 million, not included in the $1.75 million asking price.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for a shop this size: $538K SDE on $3.08M revenue is a ~17.5% margin, and the recent 18% revenue growth is the best in company history. Eighty percent of work comes from repeat customers calling in at a ~90% quote win rate, so revenue is pulled in rather than expensively hunted. That inbound dynamic keeps sales and marketing costs low and margins defensible.
The moat is real and hard to assemble: full motor and pump rewind capability plus a licensed electrical contracting arm, an automation group, and the site-access and arc-flash certifications required for quarry, aggregate and mining work. Very few regional competitors pair all four under one roof. The 14-person credentialed bench, including three licensed electricians and start-to-finish winders, is the actual asset, and it is not easily rebuilt by a would-be entrant.
Demand is genuinely non-discretionary. When a crusher motor or a process pump fails, the plant stops and someone pays to fix it that day regardless of the economy, serving quarries, cement plants, food processors and municipal water systems. The broader $60.7 billion machinery maintenance industry is fragmented with no dominant national player, forecast to grow 1.8% annually through 2031, and the outsourcing trend keeps tailwinds at the shop's back.
The customer relationships are sticky and long. Fifty-two accounts invoiced in the last twelve months with top relationships running seven to sixteen years, which functions like recurring revenue even without formal contracts. That base gives a new owner a stable cash engine to underwrite the acquisition debt.
This business already proved it runs without the owner. It grew through a half-year in which one of the two owners was fully absent, which de-risks the transition and validates that the bench, not the seller, drives the work. That is exactly what you want to see before writing a check on a services business.

How to improve it

Hire an operations manager to remove the remaining owner from the day-to-day. The listing flags this as the number one growth lever, and freeing up the principal for sales and business development is the single fastest path to converting the 90% quote win rate into more volume. Budget the salary against the SDE add-back and make it your first 90-day move.
Launch formal preventative maintenance and reliability contracts with the top 15 accounts. Today the revenue is inbound but reactive, arriving when equipment fails. Converting even a fraction of the seven-to-sixteen-year relationships into scheduled PM agreements turns lumpy repair revenue into contracted recurring revenue and raises the exit multiple.
Build a targeted business development motion into quarries and aggregate mines where the site-access and arc-flash certifications already give you a licensed edge. The certification barrier keeps competitors out, so the constraint is outreach, not capability. A dedicated BD rep calling on plant maintenance managers should compound quickly given the inbound win rate.
Expand the automation and system integration division, which carries higher margins than commodity rewinds. With an automation engineer already on staff, the fixed cost is largely covered, so incremental controls and integration projects flow to the bottom line. Cross-sell it into the existing 52-account base first before chasing net-new logos.
Consider becoming a specialized rewind provider for other repair shops that lack the winding room, burn-off ovens and machine shop this facility has. That turns a capacity asset into a wholesale revenue stream from competitors who would otherwise send work elsewhere. It also smooths utilization during slow periods in direct-repair demand.
Move into medium voltage motor repair to capture larger, higher-ticket jobs the shop currently cannot service. This is a capability gap the seller explicitly identifies as an opportunity, and the existing 800 amp 480 volt three phase infrastructure and crane capacity make it a natural extension. Fewer regional shops can do MV work, which widens the moat further.
Tighten pricing and job costing on the electrical contracting arm. With three licensed electricians on staff, verify that contracting margins match the core repair margins rather than being subsidized by them. Simple margin discipline here can lift blended SDE without any new revenue.

Diligence notes

Verify the trailing twelve months ended August 31, 2026 revenue of $3.08M and SDE of ~$538K against tax returns and bank statements, and confirm the 18% growth is not driven by one or two abnormally large projects. Rebuild SDE add-backs line by line, especially owner compensation for the two owners and any personal expenses. The whole thesis rests on that ~17.5% margin being real and repeatable.
Pull customer concentration on the 52 invoiced accounts. Eighty percent inbound and long relationships are great, but if two or three quarry or cement clients represent an outsized share of revenue, the risk profile changes materially. Understand what happens to volume if the single largest account leaves.
Scrutinize the 14-person bench, which is the actual asset being purchased. Confirm the three licensed electricians, the automation engineer and the winders are staying post-close, check for employment agreements and non-competes, and understand wage rates and any key-person exposure. In a credentialed labor shortage, losing two winders could gut the P&L.
Model the real estate carefully. The purpose-built 16,000 square foot facility is appraised at ~$1M and offered separately, so decide whether to buy it or negotiate a long-term lease, and factor either the additional $1M of capital or the ongoing rent into your returns. A pure operations purchase at $1.75M looks different once you account for occupancy cost.
Confirm the certifications and licenses transfer or can be re-obtained under new ownership, including the site-access certifications for quarry and mining work and arc-flash training. If the licensed electrical contracting arm depends on a specific individual's license, understand exactly whose license it is and whether it walks out the door with the seller.
Assess the condition and remaining life of the specialized equipment included in the sale: overhead cranes, burn-off ovens, varnish and dip tanks, the 12,000 lb vehicle lift and machine shop. FF&E is listed at $86,810 but replacement values are far higher, so verify everything is functional and not facing near-term capital replacement that would eat into cash flow.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →