BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec — The Master Group Inc. announced it has purchased the distribution operations of Johnson Controls’ Unitary Products Group (York^®) branches based in Oakville and Markham, Ontario. The two branches will operate as The Master Group.

The Master Group is one of the largest independent HVACR distributors in eastern Canada. This acquisition increases the number of Master’s points of sales to a total of nine in southwestern Ontario and to 29 in Canada.

“The completion of this transaction advances our strategic efforts in propelling The Master Group forward to the leading position in Canada in the whole HVACR industry,” said Louis St-Laurent, president, The Master Group. “We are very excited about expanding our branch network to serve new and existing customers and offer them superior service reflecting our reputation throughout the industry.”

“As a result of this acquisition, our customers and partners will have access to an extraordinary portfolio of HVACR product lines and services including York and Source 1 products in all nine southwestern Ontario locations,” said Greg Gamble, regional vice president, Central Canada, The Master Group. “The Oakville distribution center will continue to serve Ontario contractors and dealers with the complete York commercial rooftop offering as well as serving as the Ontario distribution hub for York and Guardian residential products. In addition, a significant investment in inventory has been made in Source 1 service parts to support the York/JCI brands in all the Master Ontario network.”

“Entrusting Master with the distribution of the York product line in central and southwestern Ontario is just a natural evolution of a lasting and trusting relationship between York and Master,” said Brian Sutherland, general manager, Oakville Operations. “The Master Group has earned a well-deserved reputation for its unique business model based on superior customer service and technical skills, efficient and state-of-the-art logistic system, and large inventory. Furthermore, Master clearly has the wind in its sails and this will definitely translate into tremendous opportunities for all employees as well as for our customers.”