🧹The Sweep: Rollups & Roombas

by George Boutsalis | February 29, 2024

Word Count: 963 | Read Time: 3.3mins

1. The Big Sweep: Imperial Dade Continues Consolidation

The rollup keeps on rolling. Les Produits Sanitaires Royal Net of Quebec is Imperial Dade's latest acquisition.

The context: Imperial Dade is "a leading distributor of foodservice packaging, printing papers and janitorial supplies". They've been leading the way in JanSan M&A. Jan 2016 Audax PE acquired a stake. June 2019 Bain Capital PE acquired a stake. May 2022 Advent International took "a significant stake". They made their big splash into Canada when they bought Vertiv Canada in March 2022.

📈 By the numbers: From 2019 to 2022, Bain reported that Imperial Dade revenues grew from $2 billion to $5 billion. The deal marks their 80th acquisition. Today, Imperial Dade operates 130 locations across 38 states/provinces. 

What we're watching: Will this rapid consolidation translate into more savings and better service for customers?

💭Our thoughts: We've seen this story before. Through the 2010s the BSC industry underwent a similar consolidation. It was good for some, but not for all. There will likely be economies of scale for Imperial Dade, but it's tough to scale service in an industry where relationships matter.

(Source: PE Hub)

2. Second Sweep: Waterway Roomba

Huntington Beach Public Work Department pilots ocean cleaning robot.

The tiny, 5ft x 5ft, unmanned vessel was developed by Clean Earth Rovers.

By the numbers: The pilot project will take place over two months and cost a total of $10,000USD. The rover is being deployed twice weekly to two hard-to-clean harbor areas to test out an innovative technology in real-world conditions. The Rover can collect 150 pounds of debris at one time and has a 20-hour battery life.

Why it matters: We need to keep our oceans and waterways clean and safe. Clean Earth Rovers reports that marine debris causes over $2Billion in economic damages annually. Cleaning marine pollution events by hand is ineffective, dangerous, & costly. With their Rover these hard to reach areas now become accessible and cleanable. 

What they're saying: Jim Merid, environmental services manager for Huntington Beach Public Works, said just two weeks into the pilot program, the results are promising.

👀 What we're watching: Autonomous cleaning equipment has been around for some time, but the applications are still limited, and often cost-prohibitive. Will Clean Earths be a novelty cleaning tool or will it be scalable and help more waterways around the world?

(source: LA Times)

3. Sweep-ups

🤖 Tennat & Brain sign exclusive deal (source: Braincorp) 

🩹 3M spins off healthcare unit (source: 3M)

 🪪 We're Attending NFMT Baltimore on March 12-14 (source: NFMT)

4. Clean-up (one fun thing)

🇩🇰 The Cleanest Country in 2024, according to the EPI, is Denmark. The UK came in a close second. (source: World Population Review)