Five Questions With: James Marsh

CAROUSEL INDUSTRIES' Chief Revenue Officer James Marsh said, “Carousel is proud to be making a measurable difference in the lives of the Lorien Health Systems community.” / COURTESY CAROUSEL INDUSTRIES
CAROUSEL INDUSTRIES' Chief Revenue Officer James Marsh said, “Carousel is proud to be making a measurable difference in the lives of the Lorien Health Systems community.” / COURTESY CAROUSEL INDUSTRIES

James Marsh, Carousel Industries of North America Inc.’s chief revenue officer, discussed with Providence Business News the privately-held company’s plans to acquire another information technology company, Warwick’s Atrion Inc. The Exeter IT firm also acquired Dallas-based SOURCE Inc., specializing in asset management and logistics, late last month.

PBN: How will the acquisition of Atrion help Carousel continue to grow as a company? What will be the greatest benefit for customers?
MARSH:
The Atrion acquisition gives us nearly 250 talented IT professionals – the vast majority of them in Rhode Island – as well as 300 customers and an annual revenue stream of about $120 million. Combined we will have annual revenue of more than $500 million, making Carousel one of the largest and fastest-growing privately held IT services firms in the U.S. Overall, the acquisition strengthens Carousel’s role as a visionary strategic adviser who helps clients utilize the right services and technology solutions to stay ahead of the innovation curve.
The greatest benefits of this union include:

  • As pressures intensify to do more with less, our clients require a singular, higher-value business partner
  • Together we have an intensified expertise to design technology solutions and ensure their widespread adoption
  • Carousel and Atrion together are an optimal catalyst for delivering the best possible business outcomes
  • With Atrion we are now poised to deliver managed services across the full portfolio of Cisco technologies
  • The powerful combination of our deep and broad technology expertise and Atrion’s proven results-driven methodology enable us to deliver the ultimate client experience

PBN: It seems that both companies offer similar services – what will Atrion bring to the table that Carousel did not offer before?
MARSH:
Both Carousel and Atrion offer IT consulting services in a number of technology areas. Atrion has largely been focused on offering solutions and services from Cisco Systems, a $50 billion tech giant and one of the world’s leading networking companies. About 70 percent of our customers use Cisco today; with Atrion, we will be able to deliver the IT services and solutions they need. Atrion heightens our expertise around the Cisco platform and complements our existing capabilities in other technology areas, which will help us continue to expand our national customer base.
PBN: Are there plans for any additional locations in the United States, or plans to hire more employees in the near future?
MARSH:
We are aggressively hiring for many technical and sales positions both for Carousel and Atrion – here in Rhode Island and throughout the Northeast. We are also looking to fill additional positions nationwide to meet customer demand. When the Atrion acquisition closes, we will have 27 locations nationwide. We do not anticipate adding any new locations at this time, but when customer and business needs dictate such a move, we certainly will consider taking this step as we continue to invest in our customers and our infrastructure. Locally we will maintain both the Carousel headquarters in Exeter and Atrion’s Warwick facility.
PBN: What sort of performance standards must Atrion meet before the firm receives final payment from Carousel? Is there a chance the acquisition could be delayed?
MARSH:
We anticipate no delays and in fact, we are on target to close this acquisition early in the third calendar quarter of 2016.
PBN: It seems like a trend in the industry to consolidate – do you have any plans for additional acquisitions?
MARSH:
That is true; the market is seeing a fair amount of consolidation through merger and acquisition. Since our founding in 1992, Carousel has pursued what we call a “smart growth” strategy. We have grown organically at a consistent and healthy rate and through strategic M&A. Upon completion of the Atrion deal, we will have completed our 11th acquisition overall. [The week of June 27] we announced our acquisition of Dallas-based SOURCE Inc., a leading provider of unified communications and asset management solutions. We will continue to look opportunistically at the marketplace and by carefully examining our customers’ needs. If we determine that additional acquisitions will strengthen our business, create new opportunities for our employees and help us become a stronger partner to our clients, we certainly will consider additional deals. That said, acquisitions are not a requirement as we continue to see strong demand for our services from our existing customers and we continue to grow at a rate that exceeds the industry averages.

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