Construction owners and general contractors that depend on a single mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection partner have a new consolidation to watch in Central Florida. Kelso Industries, a commercial building services platform based in Draper, Utah, has acquired Randall Construction, a self-performing MEP contractor in Apopka, outside Orlando. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Randall Construction began in 1986 as a plumbing business started from founder Jeff Condello’s apartment. It now self-performs mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and architectural metals work, and it employs roughly 400 people.
The contractor operates a 100,000-square-foot prefabrication facility in Apopka and maintains in-house Building Information Modeling capabilities. Randall Construction’s project work spans the Southeast and includes themed entertainment, mission-critical, space and defense facilities.
Many commercial MEP contractors subcontract some trades and build primarily on site. Randall Construction performs its core trades with its own workforce and fabricates components in a dedicated plant. That structure gives the contractor direct control over scheduling and quality on projects where both receive close scrutiny. It also gives Kelso Industries a prefabrication and self-perform capability that other companies in its group could draw on.
Kelso Industries was founded in 2021 and is backed by Peterson Partners. Its operating companies provide HVACR, mechanical, industrial, plumbing, electrical, low voltage, modular, prefabrication and other building services across the United States.
The Randall Construction deal follows a continuation vehicle transaction between Kelso Industries and Peterson Partners, as well as the platform’s earlier additions of Gaddy Electric & Plumbing, All Electric and Clearwater Construction.
Condello will continue as president of Randall Construction. Kelso Industries did not release details on integration plans, changes to project delivery or any adjustments to Randall Construction’s workforce or facilities.
For owners and developers working in Florida and the broader Southeast, the transaction places a large, vertically integrated MEP contractor within a national, private equity-backed platform. Randall Construction’s leadership, workforce size and Apopka fabrication operation are described as continuing, which suggests existing relationships and delivery methods will remain in place.
General contractors that rely on Randall Construction should note that its prefabrication and BIM resources now sit inside a multi-company group. Kelso Industries has not stated whether those resources will be shared across its operating companies, so any effect on capacity or scheduling is not yet known.
Source: Linkedin
