Williams Comfort Air and Mr. Plumber acquired by Georgia company

Indianapolis-based heating, cooling and plumbing powerhouse Williams Comfort Air—the owner of Mr. Plumber—has been acquired by an even bigger company, Wrench Group LLC of Marietta, Georgia.

The acquisition, announced Wednesday, includes Williams Comfort Air, founded in 1966, and its three subsidiaries: Indianapolis-based Mr. Plumber, Louisville-based Jarboe’s Plumbing Heating & Cooling and Cincinnati-based Thomas & Galbraith Heating Cooling & Plumbing.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquired companies have more than 400 employees, with a big majority of those workers based in central Indiana.

Wrench Group said it plans to retain all local employees and management, and continue to operate and grow under the current brands.

The acquisition marks Wrench Group’s first expansion into the Midwest and expands its client list by 400,000. The 7-year-old private company now operates under 21 brands in 15 different markets with 3,500 employees.

“Joining the Wrench Group family is a win-win for our team and clients across all of our companies,” Jacob Huck, president of Williams Comfort Air, said in written remarks. “Our clients get the same outstanding service and local expertise they’ve come to expect over the years, while benefiting from the added convenience and better experience of Wrench Group’s technology and operations support, all of which will enable us to grow and serve more homeowners.”

Williams Comfort Air has been through several changes over the past 15 years.

In 2007, the then-Carmel-based company was sold by founder James Williams, a U.S. Navy veteran, to Joe Huck, the former owner of Huck Heating, and several partners. Huck merged the company with Metzler’s Mr. Plumber, a plumbing installer founded in 1946, doubling annual revenue to $11 million and boosting employment to 90.

In 2012, Indianapolis-based home-security and satellite-dish company Defender Direct Inc. acquired Williams Comfort Air. By then, the company had 180 employees and $23 million in annual revenue.

Three years late, Defender Direct sold the company to WCA Group LLC, a group led by Joe Huck and several other former owners. As part of the acquisition, WCA received Thomas & Galbraith Heating Cooling and Plumbing and Jarboe’s Plumbing Heating and Cooling.

In 2019, Williams Comfort Air bought a $3.3 million building at 10640 E. 59th St. in Lawrence and announced it was moving its headquarters to the new location.

Correction: An original version of this story spelled Joe Huck’s name wrong in one reference. You can see all of our corrections here.