“I guess you can say we are the dinosaurs of the refreshment services industry,” the trio quipped in sync. Orrin Huebner started in 1973 working with independent operators and spent a decade at Compass USA, running its most successful Illinois branch. In Chicago, Gary Pretzer sold the vending business he founded in 1969 to focus exclusively on office coffee service operations in 1990. John Salterio began an office coffee service in Philadelphia in 1984, selling that business to a friendly competitor in 2010.
These pioneers are now working together to build a marketing services platform leveraging their 100-plus years of industry know-how and passion for success. They bring unique and fresh perspectives to contemporary convenience services operators.
DINO-MITE!
“We are bona fide, legitimate and in-the-business coffee and vending people – running, building, operating, buying and selling. We have been involved in every aspect of the industry…unlike other advisors,” Salterio underscored.
The three partners have known each other for many years. They have interacted on buying, selling and evaluating other vending businesses. Both Huebner and Pretzer became customers of Consolidated Services Group (CSG), a management company owned by Salterio.
For four decades, Huebner helped run four successful independent operations, the last of which was acquired by market leader Compass Group, parent to Canteen Vending Services. He went along with the acquisition and recently retired in August 2021. During the latter part of his career, Huebner was involved in a dozen M&A deals, and half of those were during his tenure with Compass.
Pretzer served on the board of the Better Vendors Association. He’s also been involved in the M&A sector, working closely with CSG in recent years. “We’ve all been very successful at running vending and OCS businesses,” Pretzer noted.
To strengthen and formalize the consulting alliance Pretzier and Salterio were developing, the two pulled Huebner out of retirement to help advance their marketing efforts. “The timing was perfect to bring Orrin into what Gary and I have been doing, “Salterio said, “especially when considering that current market conditions are very favorable to what it is we offer, which is consulting, evaluations and M&A transaction services.”
What are they doing? According to Huebner, the partners can touch all areas of a vending, micro market or OCS business. “If an operator is looking to improve what they’re doing today, we can help,” he said. “Or if they’re looking to find out what their business is worth today, we can provide that information. Similarly, if an operation’s value is not enough, we can help build value to make it more attractive to buyers. Or if they want to sell right away, we not only have the experience of successful M&As, we also have resources of people to go to who are looking to acquire businesses.”
Since the partners have been through numerous sales and acquisitions themselves, they can advise on what to expect after a sale.
“Typically, today, it’s the ‘big guys’ who are acquiring, so it’s important to guide sellers whose businesses are being rolled into a bigger operation,” Huebner said. “'What happens after the sale and what should your expectations be?’ we need to answer. Because the three of us have experienced this firsthand, we can successfully talk about this.”
To learn more about how this new enterprise can serve your operation, email John Salterio, Gary Pretzer or Orrin Huebner.
