Heritage Holdings Acquires Union HVAC Contractor Airside Technology

What happened

Heritage Holdings, a Boston private equity firm, has acquired Airside Technology Corporation, a commercial and industrial HVAC contractor in East Syracuse, New York. The deal was announced July 9, 2026. Airside becomes part of Heritage's existing HVAC platform, which already operated under four distinct brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller

Founded in 1984, Airside is a full-service union HVAC contractor serving commercial, industrial, institutional, municipal, retail and office building projects across Central New York. Its work runs from service contracts and control systems to pipe fitting and equipment such as chillers, boilers, rooftop units and cooling towers, across new construction, replacement and repair.

What sets it apart is fabrication. Airside runs its own sheet metal shop, with PC-controlled equipment that produces rectangular duct on demand for fast-track projects and plasma cutting for precision duct fittings. citybiz reports that the company has become a preferred contractor for general contractors, institutional clients and commercial building owners in the Syracuse market.

Steve Perry is Airside's president. "Our people come first and the bottom line comes second," he said. "That's how we've always run this company, and it's why our customers stick with us and our employees don't leave. I wanted a buyer who understood that, and Heritage Holdings does."

The buyer

Heritage Holdings was founded in 2015 by Ross Porter and Alex de Pfyffer and invests in founder- and family-owned businesses in the lower middle market, across business services, industrial services, healthcare services, technology and telecommunications. The firm has completed more than 50 acquisitions since its founding. In September 2024 it closed its first institutionally backed fund, Fund I, with $220 million in committed capital. Alongside HVAC, its platforms include powerline construction, internet service providers, managed IT services and engineering services.

How Heritage has built its HVAC platform

Airside is not Heritage's first Northeast mechanical contractor. Its HVAC companies include Winchester Mechanical, a second-generation commercial and residential HVAC contractor in Nashua, New Hampshire, licensed in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and Walker Mechanical, which serves general contractors, businesses, banks and hotels across Massachusetts. The platform also includes companies in the Troy, Illinois area and the Pacific Northwest. Heritage says it brings hands-on operational support and recruiting expertise alongside capital, and Ken Winchester of Winchester Mechanical says the firm has "a good understanding of the commercial HVAC industry." Owners weighing a buyer of this kind can read our guide on selling an HVAC business to private equity.

What this means for HVAC owners

Airside gives Heritage's HVAC platform a Central New York contractor alongside its New Hampshire and Massachusetts holdings. The customer base lines up: Walker sells to general contractors in Massachusetts, and general contractors are the customers Airside is known for in Syracuse. The announcement names what Airside adds as an experienced union workforce, long-standing customer relationships and specialized fabrication capabilities, so for a union mechanical contractor, the crew and the fab shop are what this deal was described around. For commercial HVAC owners in upstate New York, a private equity firm with an HVAC platform now owns a union shop in their market.

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Source: citybiz - https://www.citybiz.co/article/871949/heritage-holdings-acquires-airside-technology-expanding-hvac-services-platform/