Pirtek is a hydraulic and industrial hose maintenance and replacement franchise with 628 units open worldwide.
Hydraulic and industrial hose maintenance brand Pirtek has potential to grow significantly, which attracted an investment from Princeton Equity Group.
“Customers are extraordinarily happy,” Managing Partner Doug Kennealey said. “It has a solid management team and it has what we perceive to be a fantastic group of franchisees. Obviously, the customers being really, really happy is a testament to the strong group of franchisees. When you put all that together, we felt like it was a wonderful investment opportunity.”
Princeton started conversations for the majority investment about three-and-a-half years ago, but talks ramped up in the last year, Kennealey said.
Pirtek specializes in on-site hydraulic and pneumatic hose-replacement and maintenance services. The brand finished 2022 with 628 units in more than 20 countries and $577 million in systemwide sales. All of Pirtek’s units are franchised. The company’s sales fell 3 percent since 2021, despite unit count increasing by 6.4 percent.
“The business has a wonderful foundation upon which to build,” Kennealey said. “Our plan is really to not mess with something that’s working.”
Instead, Princeton wants to make enhancements to the brand to continue franchise development, improve corporate infrastructure and focus on product innovation, Kennealey said.
Related: Education, Mentors Fueled Rise of Pirtek CEO
Doug Kennealey is the co-founder and managing partner of Princeton Equity Group.
The initial investment needed to open a Pirtek franchise ranges from $249,400 to $899,300, depending on the size of the store. Of the 104 U.S. locations open for all of 2022, the average unit volume was $1.18 million, with an overall range from $21,505 to $2.75 million, according to the brand’s Item 19.
Princeton is also invested in therapy clinic franchise Ellie Mental Health, assisted stretching brand Stretch Zone and 10-minute oil-change concept Strickland Brothers.
“I think the thing we bring at Princeton, really to every company, is … the set of experience with other franchise systems,” Kennealey said, “that we can really help them get experiences from other franchise systems and how they do it and best practices and things like that.”