Grove Mountain Partners appointed Ronald LaBusch to CEO of newly-launched plumbing and HVAC equipment distributor Hills Distribution.

Alongside the appointment, Grove Mountain Partners announced the creation of Hills Distribution, a parent company focused on investments in the wholesale plumbing and HVAC distribution sector across the Northeast.

Hills Distribution’s first transaction was to partner with Plimpton and Hills Corporation, a distributor that serves plumbing and HVAC contractors from its Danbury, CT headquarters.

“We are delighted to have recruited an executive with such broad distribution and private equity background, who is so deeply experienced in building and integrating good companies and brands,” Hills Distribution Chairman Stephen Fraser said in a Nov. 8 news release. “Our strategy is to acquire top quality companies and help them serve end-customers even better, while striving to make our distribution brands the employer of choice for associates in our markets.”

LaBusch joins Hills Distribution from Novia Group, where he served as President of Distribution. Prior to that, he held a similar position at Reladyne. Hills Distribution said that in both roles, he was responsible for financial and operational oversight.