Riverside’s Latest Investment Brings the Heat to Portland

The Riverside Company, a global private equity investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market, has acquired the backflow and gauge divisions of Heffernan Enterprises, Inc. dba Water Metrics Co West (Water Metrics) as an add-on to its fire and life safety platform, Performance Systems Integration (PSI). Based in Portland, Oregon, PSI is a leading single source provider of fire and life safety services in the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and Northern California regions. The company provides customers with fire and life safety services including system inspection, service and monitoring, equipment and first-aid sales and cylinder repairs as well as installations for new construction and retrofits.

Water Metrics provides residential and commercial customers in the greater Portland area with a variety of backflow and gauge services including testing, repair and maintenance services, equipment sales and installations.

“Water Metrics is the ninth add-on to PSI under Riverside’s ownership as we continue to execute on our aggressive add-on strategy,” said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. “The company is a great fit with PSI and will further cement PSI’s market leading position in the greater Portland area.”

PSI is committed to delivering high-quality customer service through its “single-point-of-management” compliance services for all fire and life safety installations and inspections in the Pacific Northwest and the California Bay Area. PSI also operates cylinder requalification, cylinder maintenance and fire equipment parts distribution businesses under the Fire King brand. With decades of experience in the fire and life safety industry, PSI’s mission is to help save lives by providing meaningful fire and life safety protection and training.

“We’re excited to bring Water Metric’s gauge and backflow divisions under the PSI umbrella,” said PSI CEO Travis Everton. “We look forward to providing expanded services and support to customers in the Portland area and building on the strong business the team at Water Metrics has worked hard to build over the years.”
This is one more example of Riverside’s commitment to the Business Services industry. Riverside has invested in more than 300 platform and add-on companies in the business services sector since 1988 as part of its private equity and structured capital strategies.

“We are excited to add Water Metric’s backflow and gauge divisions to the PSI platform and the tremendous value the combination of Water Metrics and PSI will create for the platform,” said Riverside Partner John McKernan. “We will continue to pursue similar customer-oriented fire protection companies with strong technicians and specializations in inspection, repair, maintenance services and monitoring of fire and life safety equipment.”

Working with Schlachet and McKernan on the deal were Senior Associate Aakeem Andrada, Associate Alex Kozan, Operating Partner Ervin Cash and Finance Director Bart Thielen.