Tri-Northern already on the acquisition trail

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Just a couple months after the purchase and merger of Tri-Ed Distribution and Northern Video Systems by Brazos Private Equity Partners, Tri-Northern has already made the acquisition of Martin's Security Depot, a single-location distributor based in Fremont, Calif.

“We're comfortable and confident that we're moving ahead with our plan,” said Tri-Northern CEO Steve Roth. “We've integrated both Tri-Ed and Northern Video, and we still feel that we're operating in a very fragmented industry, and this is the proper time for intelligent consolidation to take place.”

James Rothstein, senior VP at Tri-Northern, said even prior to the Tri-Northern merger “we'd been looking for opportunities to grow, and there have been ongoing discussions in terms of market opportunities and growth opportunities. This just makes a lot of sense: It's a good, quality distributor, and there's a lot of growth potential in that market.”

Martin's sales staff will join Tri-Northern's Union City sales team, managed by Jason Johnson, and its customer base can utilize the same phone numbers: 510-651-9950 or 800-321-5046. The Martin's location will be shuttered. Tri-Ed/Northern Video is offering customers a free welcome gift with their first purchase at the newly consolidated Union City branch.

Rothstein said the Tri-Northern growth in Union City will come not only from eliminating some of the competition, but it's also “a combination of talented sales people with good customer relationships, and a broader customer base who did business with Martin's, and were happy, and didn't do a lot of business with Tri-Ed.”

Roth said the consolidation of Tri-Northern is going smoothly, that the IT systems are on track to be joined July 1, and the sales teams have “embraced this whole-heartedly, because they see a tremendous potential to leverage each other's business base.”

Nor is Tri-Northern likely done acquiring any time soon. “I would say that we certainly continue to look to grow,” he said, “whether it's organically, or any other opportunities that come along. We certainly have our eyes open.”