How do I find a cleaning chemicals business for sale?

Cleaning chemicals businesses rarely carry one neat label. A small maker may be filed as manufacturing, a blender as chemicals, a reseller as wholesale and a route-based supplier as distribution. Decide first which kind you want: a company that makes its own products, one that blends for other brands, or one that mainly buys and resells. Then search each heading with that choice in mind.

Listings and brokers

Check listing sites under manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, and read the descriptions for words like blending, formulating, janitorial and institutional. Save the searches so new postings reach you quickly. When a broker is involved, ask whom the broker acts for, and treat the summary as a starting point for your own checks rather than a finished picture.

People who know the owners

Raw-material suppliers, container and label makers, contract packagers and large customers often know which owners are tiring of the work or have no successor. A short, polite question to them can surface sellers who have not listed. Your accountant and lawyer may also hear of owners planning an exit. Offer confidentiality up front, since owners worry about staff and customers finding out.

Screening a lead early

Before you spend weeks on a lead, ask a few plain questions. Who holds the formulas, the owner or a chemist who may leave? Do a few customers account for most of the sales? Does the business own its mixing site or lease it? Our guide to buying a building products manufacturer shows how a manufacturing purchase is usually checked.

• Decide whether you want a maker, a blender or a reseller.
• Search manufacturing, wholesale, distribution and chemicals headings.
• Ask suppliers and packagers who may be ready to sell.
• Keep a log of every owner and broker you contact.