Kent & Tamarack helps owners of Greeley trade and service companies sell to a buyer who will keep the work going. If you own a plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, electrical, welding, excavation or landscaping company in Greeley, Evans or the farm towns around them, the first call is private, free and comes with no pressure. You decide if and when anything moves forward.
A buyer who has only looked at Denver companies can misread a Greeley one. The work here is different, so we start with the work.
A city built on farms that now runs plants
Greeley began in 1869 as the Union Colony, a farming settlement on the Cache la Poudre River. Farming and ranching have been at the center of the local economy ever since. The City of Greeley's economic development office lists its legacy industries as food and beverage production, agriculture and agribusiness, and energy and utilities.
Today the farm economy has a large plant economy on top of it. JBS USA, the meat company, has its U.S. headquarters in Greeley. Leprino Foods runs a large cheese plant here, and the city also names Colorado Premium among its major food employers. A 2025 labor market profile published by Larimer County found that Greeley employers made up 59 percent of the region's job postings in food processing and manufacturing.
Greeley is also home to the University of Northern Colorado and the North Colorado Medical Center, and it is where the large contractor Hensel Phelps was founded in 1937. The same labor market profile says one in six jobs in Larimer and Weld counties can be traced to Greeley, and that employment in the city grew by nearly 18 percent from 2015 to 2024.
Census Bureau estimates put Greeley at about 114,000 people in 2024, up about 5 percent since 2020.
What that means for a trade company here
All of those plants, processors, dairies, feedlots, hospitals and campuses need trade work, and much of it is not the kind a homeowner calls about.
- Refrigeration and ammonia systems for cold storage and food plants.
- Industrial electrical for processing lines, pumps and motor controls.
- Process piping, boilers and steam for plants and the university.
- Welding and fabrication for farm equipment, oilfield work and plant repairs.
- Excavation and concrete for new pads, barns and industrial buildings.
At the same time, Greeley has plenty of homes and small businesses that need ordinary service: furnace repair, water heaters, drains, sprinkler systems, roofs after a hailstorm. Many Greeley companies do both.
A buyer will want to know which kind of company you are. A company with a hundred homeowners on maintenance plans and a company with three plant contracts can both be worth a lot. They are just valued in different ways, and they appeal to different buyers.
How a buyer looks at plant and farm work
Plant and farm customers can be the best customers you have: they pay, they come back, and they need someone who knows their equipment. They also raise questions a buyer will ask early.
How the work is won
Is there a written service agreement, a list of approved vendors, or a handshake with the maintenance manager? A buyer pays more for work that is likely to continue after you leave.
How big each customer is
If one plant is a third of your sales, a buyer will think about what happens if that plant changes vendors. We do not hide this. We show how long the relationship has lasted and what you have done to keep it.
Who holds the relationship
If the plant manager calls your cell and nobody else's, the buyer needs a plan to pass that trust on. Often the answer is for you to stay a few months after closing and make the introductions.
Energy work
Greeley's share of Northern Colorado jobs in oil, gas and mining is nearly six times that of Fort Collins, according to the same county profile. If oilfield work is part of your sales, we show those years next to your other work so a buyer can see how the company did through the ups and downs.
Your crew is the asset
In many Greeley trade companies, the foremen and lead techs are the reason the work gets done right. About 32 percent of Weld County residents are Hispanic, by Census Bureau estimates for 2024, and many crews run in Spanish, English or both. A buyer from outside the area needs to understand that your bilingual foremen are not easy to replace and must be part of the plan.
We help you think through who knows about the sale and when, and what a buyer should offer your key people so they stay. Some owners set aside a bonus for key staff at closing. That is your choice, and we can help you size it.
Who buys in Greeley
Buyers for Greeley companies tend to come from a few places:
- A regional trade company that serves plants and farms across the plains and wants a base in Greeley.
- A Front Range company from Fort Collins, Loveland or the Denver area that wants to reach Weld County without a long drive each morning.
- A local competitor who wants your crew and customers.
- An individual buyer with management experience, often using a bank loan.
- Your own managers or family, usually with part of the price paid over time.
Each one sees your company differently. We look at all of them with you, and you choose who gets a confidential look.
Service area and drive times
Most Greeley companies cover Evans and Garden City without thinking about it, and many run regularly to Windsor, Eaton, LaSalle, Kersey and out onto farms well east of town. Some go up to Fort Collins or down to the Carbon Valley towns. A buyer from outside the region may not understand how far a service call can be out here. A simple map of last year's jobs and drive times helps a buyer see what it takes to run your routes.
How the sale works
There are four steps: a private first call, an honest range for what your company is worth with the reasons, a quiet search for the right buyer, and a clean close with your accountant and attorney. You can read the steps here. Our pages for Evans owners, Windsor owners and the wider Northern Colorado area cover the towns around you.
Start with a phone call
Call (983) 900-6537. The founder answers. Tell us what your company does, who you work for, and what you want after the sale. We will tell you plainly what a buyer is likely to see, the good and the hard parts, and you can decide what to do next.