Optimum Energy Acquires Hussung Mechanical Contractors

The Daily Dig

Optimum Energy Co., a portfolio company of Bernhard Capital Partners, has acquired Hussung Mechanical Contractors and HMC Service Company. The two firms have served healthcare systems, universities, manufacturers, and mission-critical facilities for over 60 years. The deal was announced August 12 and brings a fourth-generation, family-owned mechanical contractor into a platform that spans engineering, design, and construction through central utility plant development, ongoing operations and maintenance, and long-term performance optimization.

Hussung and HMC design, install, and service HVAC, plumbing, medical gas, and piping systems. Their client base spans healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, mission-critical facilities, and other commercial and industrial sectors. The companies have operated in Kentucky and Indiana since 1966.

For Optimum Energy, the deal adds in-house mechanical contracting and field service capability. That strengthens its ability to self-perform across every phase of the infrastructure lifecycle, from design through ongoing operations.

Stephens Inc. advised Hussung and HMC on the financial side of the transaction. Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP served as legal counsel to the two companies, while Fishman Haygood LLP represented Optimum Energy and Bernhard. Deal value and specific transaction terms were not disclosed. David C. Hussung, whose grandfather and great-uncle founded the company, is CEO of Hussung Mechanical Contractors and HMC Service Company.

TheJobWalk Thoughts

Hussung gives Optimum Energy mechanical contracting and field service capability in house, adding to a platform that already covered engineering, central utility infrastructure, and performance optimization. That fills out how much of a project Optimum Energy can now execute directly, and it's worth watching for anyone competing against this platform on healthcare or higher-ed work.

The more interesting question is how HMC's field service business fits into the Energy-as-a-Service model. Optimum Energy already offers off-balance sheet financing across its platform, so folding maintenance and service work into those structures would be a logical next step. Nothing in the announcement confirms that's the plan, but it's a trend worth tracking for anyone selling service contracts into these accounts.

David Hussung's comments frame this as continuity rather than an exit, and Bernhard's language backs that up, pointing specifically to Hussung's reputation, customer relationships, and technical depth as reasons for this deal. For other family-owned mechanical contractors watching platform buyers circle their markets, that's the detail worth noting: on this transaction, reputation and relationships were called out by name, even with no purchase price attached to say what that weighed against.

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