Cherokee Mechanical Joins Gallo Mechanical Platform in Northwest Georgia

What happened

Cherokee Mechanical, Inc., a heating and air-conditioning contractor in Calhoun, Georgia, has joined Gallo Mechanical, the New Orleans-based specialty mechanical contractor. Gallo announced on October 6, 2026, that Cherokee "has joined the Gallo family of companies," and said the Calhoun location extends its reach into Northwest Georgia. Gallo is a portfolio company of Citation Capital, a Dallas private equity firm. Gallo's announcement does not give a price or other financial terms.

The company

Cherokee Mechanical has installed and serviced heating and cooling systems across Northwest Georgia since 1995. Its work runs from new installations and equipment replacement to repairs, 24/7 emergency service, and recurring maintenance agreements for residential and commercial customers. It is a factory-authorized dealer of Carrier products and employs NATE-certified technicians, and the company says its team has more than 100 years of combined experience in heating and cooling. Cherokee is a member of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce.

Gallo's announcement puts Cherokee's people at the center of the deal, citing "their experience, relationships, and pride in their work," and describes the addition as "pairing local knowledge and relationships with Gallo's broader resources and regional reach."

The partner

Gallo was founded in New Orleans in 1945 and is in its fourth generation. Chairman David Gallo has said his grandfather started the company "with just a truck and an idea," and JP Hymel is CEO and president. Gallo provides large-scale HVAC and plumbing construction, retrofit, and maintenance work. It built its experience in healthcare, hospitality, and education, and has since expanded into industrial and high-tech mechanical construction.

Citation Capital, founded in 2023 by Tiffany K. Hagge and Lydie B. Hudson, acquired a majority stake in Gallo in June 2025, with Gallo's management team retaining a significant interest. At the time, Citation described Gallo as operating across six states with more than 550 employees. Gallo sits in Citation's portfolio alongside Aptive Environmental, the residential pest control company.

Since that investment, Gallo has opened offices in Canton, Mississippi, and Norfolk, Virginia, announced in January 2026, and a 30,000-square-foot logistics center in Broussard, Louisiana, in September. It already had an Atlanta office before Cherokee joined, and Gallo says the Calhoun location helps "bridge gaps between existing markets" across the Southeast.

What this means for HVAC owners

A mechanical contractor built on large-scale construction work, and one that opens offices on its own, still brought in an established local service team, and its announcement led with that team's people and customer relationships before it got to the new territory. For an owner whose real asset is a long-tenured crew and decades of local accounts, that puts project-driven mechanical contractors on the list of possible buyers, not only service-focused ones. Our guide to selling an HVAC business to private equity covers how sponsor-backed buyers like this one approach a deal.

OffDeal is an advisory firm that helps lower-middle-market business owners sell with confidence. Reach out to learn more about our expertise with HVAC businesses in Georgia.

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Source: Gallo Mechanical - https://www.gallomechanical.com/news/cherokee-mechanical-joins-gallo-mechanical/