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America’s New Millionaire Class: Plumbers and HVAC Entrepreneurs.

Private equity is pouring money into skilled-trade small businesses; ‘Next thing you know, you’re running an empire’

Aaron Rice has two logos tattooed on his left leg: one from the plumbing business he co-founded more than a decade ago, and another from the private-equity-backed company that recently bought it.

Few businesses are as vital to their customers as local plumbing, heating or air-conditioning companies—especially in places like Tucson, Ariz., where Rice works and residents sweltered
in 100-degree heat most days this summer.

For years, Rice, 43 years old, was skeptical when out-of-state investors offered to buy his company. He assumed most of them knew little about skilled-trade work or his customers. They were just looking to make a buck. But in 2022, when approached by a local HVAC company backed by private equity, he changed his mind, figuring that they knew the business.

“The trades are hard work. A lot of today’s society, picking up a shovel is foreign to them,” he says.

Private equity, however, is no foreign player in the skilled trades these days. PE firms across
the country have been scooping up home services like HVAC—that is, heating, ventilation and air conditioning—as well as plumbing and electrical companies. They hope to profit…..Complete the above form to download the full article.