Tampa, FL – October 2026 – KLH Capital (“KLH”) is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the management team of N.H. Yates & Company, Inc. and its affiliated entities (“Yates” or the “Company”) to complete a recapitalization of the business. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Hunt Valley, MD, Yates is a leading value-added distributor and manufacturer’s representative of HVAC, plumbing, and hydronic equipment, components, and replacement parts sold into the industrial, commercial, data center, and residential end markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.
Yates’ line card includes pumps and circulators, boilers, water heaters, valves, press fittings and installation tools, gas regulators, and thermal energy storage tanks from leading manufacturers such as Taco, A.O. Smith, Conex, and Flex-Hose. As a manufacturer’s representative, Yates also provides inside and outside sales coverage, specification support, and technical training for the lines it represents. Several of those manufacturer relationships go back decades, and Taco has been on the Yates line card since the Company was founded. Because Yates carries complementary products from many manufacturers, its team can match the right pump, boiler, fittings, and replacement parts to a job and supply them together as one solution, rather than leaving the customer to source each piece separately. Yates serves wholesale distributors, contractors, and end users from warehouses in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, where it stocks inventory so product is available when a job needs it, including imported lines that would otherwise carry long overseas lead times.
Yates’ growth is driven by the replacement of aging HVAC and plumbing systems, stricter energy-efficiency standards, contractor demand for labor-saving products, and the build-out of data centers that rely on thermal storage and hydronic cooling. The Company also has a record of bringing new products to its markets, including Conex flame-free press fittings, which Yates helped introduce to the U.S. in 2017.
“Dan and I have spent our careers building relationships with the manufacturers we partner with and the customers we serve, and this partnership gives us the resources to add product lines, carry more inventory, and grow into new territories,” said Jon Thomas, Owner & Chief Executive Officer. “KLH shares our commitment to our employees and to the customers and manufacturers who have trusted Yates for more than 75 years.” Dan Kelbaugh, Owner & Chief Operating Officer, added, “Our customers count on us to put together the right combination of products for a job and to have it on the shelf when they need it. KLH’s support lets us expand our line card, grow our data center business, and keep investing in our people.”
“Yates has built an embedded, trusted position across a channel network that would be difficult for a competitor to replicate, and the team’s focus on training, technical support, and customer service is what makes that position so durable” said Brad Gates, Operating Partner at KLH Capital. “Yates carries a broad line of HVAC, plumbing, and hydronic products from OEM manufacturers it has worked with for decades, and has a sales team that combines disparate components into the right solution for each job creating a value-added expertise that customers depend on. Seven of the Company’s ten largest customers have been buying from Yates for more than 20 years, and its position in data center cooling gives it a clear path to keep growing. We look forward to working with Jon, Dan, and the entire Yates team to add complementary manufacturers, expand into new geographies, and pursue acquisitions that extend Yates’ reach.”
Jon Thomas, Dan Kelbaugh, and the senior leadership team will continue to lead the Company and will be significant shareholders in the new partnership with KLH.
For more information about this transaction, please reach out to our Originations Team at Origination@klhcapital.com.
