For many searchers, the appeal of blue-collar businesses is clear. Sectors such as HVAC, logistics, plumbing, or repair services offer steady demand, recurring contracts, and reliable cash flow. They appear resilient, essential, and defensible, which makes them the perfect ETA target. In reality, they’re culturally complex. These companies run on people, and that’s where new CEOs most often slip.

In service-based businesses, the workforce is the product. Field technicians, drivers, and dispatchers shape customer experience, brand reputation, and retention. When engagement drops, quality follows. Blue-collar workers are not fungible labor. They are the human engine of value creation, and failing to recognize this reality turns a great business into a fragile one.

Leadership in these environments starts with presence. Gallup’s 2025 data ties ~70% of team engagement to the manager. The figures also show that emotional employee loyalty is lowest in Europe at 13%. The global average is 21%. Germany, at 9%, is similarly low to Austria (9%) and Switzerland (8%). The most effective operators do not manage from behind a desk. They show up at dawn for shift changes, join crews on-site, get their hands dirty and take the time to listen. These small acts build trust.

Beyond presence, structure matters. Many supervisors in blue-collar companies are promoted for technical skills but lack management training. Without guidance, they struggle with conflict resolution, accountability, and communication. The best operators invest early in leadership development, creating playbooks for setting expectations and delivering feedback.

Retention in these sectors rarely hinges on pay alone. Predictable rosters, safe sites, fair overtime practices, and visible growth paths keep crews longer than token raises. People stay where they feel respected and protected.

Pay and benefits matter, but priorities differ. Men aged 16–54 often rank pay highest; women in the same band most often rank a safe working environment first. Build policies that reflect both, and you’ll widen your hiring pool and lower turnover.

Ultimately, managing a blue-collar team is not about optimization but stewardship. The searchers who win are steady, ground-level leaders who show up every day. In people-driven industries, leadership isn’t a soft skill; it is the strategy.

A Yale case study on 59 exited traditional search-fund deals challenges the idea that recurring revenue automatically boosts returns. The analysis finds no significant correlation between recurring-revenue percentage and MOIC (p =0.27) or IRR (p = 0.19), even in the 80–100% recurring-revenue cohort. However, higher recurring revenue levels are significantly associated with higher entry EBITDA multiples (regression line = 1.61, p = 0.006). With 59 the “n” is tiny, so the numbers are not to be taken at face value. Takeaway: predictability commands a premium at entry, but it does not, on its own, translate into higher MOICs or IRRs.

Spain-based Novalia Partners, founded by Matthieu Gonnet, has launched to pursue acquisitions of Spanish B2B services and industrial SMEs with €1–5M EBITDA. The launch is backed by Moonbase Capital and a group of individual operators and investors.

Germany-focused search vehicle OLTA SF1, led by Managing Partner Talu Hakverdi with searcher Maximilian Gorzelitz, launched to acquire an asset-light, infrastructure-adjacent SME. The thesis targets the succession gap in German SMEs and an infrastructure renewal cycle, creating a CAPEX ripple that drives long-term demand for essential service providers.

Italy-based B2R Italian Investments, founded by Elvio Rossini and Federico Verderi, has completed its capital raise to search for a single Italian SME. Backers include Paolo Guida, Secways, Simon Webster, and Pierre Paul Benoit.

Boston Tree Preservation founder Peter Wild and General Manager Carlos Laconi discuss what real buyers actually pay for. Clean monthlies and normalized EBITDA, prepaid winter contracts, low customer concentration, and Salesforce- backed SOPs signal a machine that runs without the founder. Buyers move fast when they see repeatable revenue and a clear handoff plan with training. They slow down when thereʼs a key person risk, the books are messy, or surprise capex and working-capital needs pop up. A rare seller-side view into what makes ETA transitions succeed.

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