ADH Expands HVAC Distribution Footprint With Purchase of Badger Metals

A company that supplies heating and cooling equipment to contractors has gotten bigger. Advantage Distribution Holdings (ADH) has bought Badger Metals, a Wisconsin-based distributor that supplies HVAC equipment and parts to contractors from branches in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Madison, and Rhinelander. The deal brings ADH's total footprint to 17 locations across seven states. This is ADH's third such acquisition, following earlier purchases of CTC Supply and cfm Distributors.

Badger Metals, founded in 1913 and led by father-son team Joe and Josh Welch, will keep its local leadership and brand under ADH's ownership. The Welches will become shareholders in ADH, and Badger's employees will get equity in the larger company, part of what ADH calls its "We All Win Together" approach to ownership.

This is a distribution-industry deal, not a change to any specific product, price, or program. Distributors like Badger and ADH sell equipment to the contractors who install furnaces, air conditioners, and heat pumps (electric systems that both heat and cool a home) in houses, so this news doesn't directly change what's available to you or what anything costs. It's a sign of ongoing consolidation among the companies that supply the HVAC trade, but it doesn't affect rebates, incentives, or installation timelines for homeowners planning an upgrade.