Smart Care Acquires Espresso Partners

Chicago, Ill., July 20th, 2022 – Smart Care, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners (“Wind Point”), today announced the acquisition of Espresso Partners, Inc. (“Espresso Partners” or the “Company”). Espresso Partners represents Smart Care’s twentieth acquisition since 2017 and the fifth under Wind Point’s ownership. The addition of Espresso Partners expands Smart Care’s Specialty Coffee Equipment presence into the Midwest region, and further complements existing capabilities in the Pacific and Mid-Atlantic regions, creating coast-to-coast coverage.  

Based in Minneapolis, Mn., Espresso Partners is a family-owned specialty coffee equipment service company, offering emergency repair and preventative maintenance services for traditional drip coffee and espresso equipment, as well as grinders and water filtration. Founded in 2004, the Company has earned the reputation as a premier service provider for coffee and espresso customers in the Midwest, Pacific and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Smart Care is a leading U.S. service provider focused on hot-side commercial cooking equipment, stand-alone refrigeration, specialty coffee and beverage, commercial and industrial rack refrigeration and HVAC services. Following the combination, Espresso Partners will join Smart Care’s Equipment Solutions Specialty segment, which specializes in high-speed ovens, coffee and espresso equipment and water filtration services. The Equipment Solutions Specialty segment has developed a strong reputation for service quality and speed of response and repair due to its specialized, high-quality technician base. The segment serves thousands of customers across quick serve restaurants, convenience stores, coffee house chains and corporate customers across the U.S. 

“Espresso Partners is a fantastic acquisition and fits perfectly within our high-growth Specialty Equipment segment,” said Gyner Ozgul, President and COO of Smart Care Equipment Solutions. “For nearly 20 years, Espresso Partners has exceeded customer expectations and demonstrated exceptional growth across the Midwest and on both coasts. We look forward to accelerating that growth and enabling the Espresso Partners team to double down on superior customer service.”

Espresso Partners has a strong footprint in specialty coffee and espresso service across a substantial part of the country, providing technical expertise and coffee and espresso equipment services for all brands.

“Expanding geographic reach of our core competencies and growing and deepening customer relationships via strategic acquisitions is a key pillar of the Smart Care value creation plan,” commented Konrad Salaber, Managing Director at Wind Point. “Espresso Partners is a highly valuable addition to the combined service offering, and their geographic footprint fills a void in the specialty coffee and beverage services footprint by adding new capabilities in the Midwest. We look forward to continuing to deliver world-class service levels for our customers, investing in our best-in-class technician base and supporting the next phase of growth for the combined organization.” 

“We are very excited to join the Smart Care team and eager to partner with an organization that shares both our values and our dual commitment to customers and employees,” stated Jason Weimer, owner of Espresso Partners. “Smart Care is an industry leader in the specialty coffee, espresso and beverage equipment space, and I’m confident our collective capabilities will allow Espresso Partners to accelerate our growth, provide even better service to its customers and provide even more opportunity to our employees. As one, we can reach further and faster, taking care of our combined customers coast-to-coast.” 

Wind Point is an active investor in logistics and route-based services, with select current and former investments including Valicor, Quantix, Dicom, STG Logistics and American Trailer Rental Group. Smart Care will continue to seek strategic acquisition opportunities, with a focus on leading commercial refrigeration, kitchen equipment and HVAC repair and maintenance service providers throughout the U.S. and Canada.