Repair Authority goes all in

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – Repair Authority is on the “offense,” says CEO Jesse Keirn, acquiring Manchester, Tenn.-based Pitcock Biomedical and planning to rebrand MSC Biomedical, which it merged with in 2022, under its own name. 

Pitcock Biomedical, which was founded in 1992 and serves Tennessee and surrounding states, gives Repair Authority an outpost in the Southeast that complements its location in Strongsville, Ohio, and MSC’s locations in Houston and Forth Worth, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colo. 

“We’re excited that we’re now playing more offense than defense,” he said. “We’re pretty bullish on where we’re headed.” 

The deal also adds a seasoned executive: Jeff Schmidt, who founded Pitcock Biomedical in 1992, will stay on as operations manager in Manchester. 

A small- to mid-sized company, Pitcock Biomedical is one of a dwindling number of companies in the repair market, Keirn says, which has prompted Repair Authority to also explore diversification. 

“We’re also looking to acquire companies that are in the service space, but not necessarily HME,” he said. “That way we each diversify what we service and work that model.” 

 At the same time, Repair Authority is “challenging the model of what repair has always been in this industry,” Keirn says, and that might mean less of a focus on footprint and more of a focus on efficiency.  

“Traditionally, we’ve had trucks pick up the equipment, we repair it and we return it to the dealer on our next route, and repeat,” he said. “Ten years ago, we needed to find as many locations as we could to reduce the drivers and routes and miles. That model is dying. We’re thinking strategically about different ways of doing business.”  

Pitcock Biomedical began operating as Repair Authority immediately and MSC Biomedical will rebrand as Repair Authority in the spring, a process that will not only benefit the company but also its provider customers, Keirn says. 

“There are some complexities to what we do, with different OEM, reporting and output requirements,” he said. “We’re making a sizable investment to integrate into one platform for the second half of the year and we’re excited about the new ways we’ll be able to help our customers in ways that we can’t right now.”