MerkoLAT
MerkoLAT is a Florida-based regional sales representative and distributor representing 12 international commercial food service equipment brands across Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, serving distributors, consultants, and enterprise key accounts in the professional kitchen industry.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersPembroke Pines, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What MerkoLAT does
MerkoLAT (legal entity: Merkolat of Florida Inc.) is a privately held regional sales representative and distributor, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Pembroke Pines, Florida, with a lean staff of seven employees. The company is the exclusive or authorized LatAm representative for twelve international commercial food service equipment brands — Silikomart, Metro, Olympic, Ice-O-Matic, Continental Refrigerator, Glastender, Structural Concepts, Cooper Atkins, InSinkErator, Olis, Plate Mate, and T&S Brass — spanning the full professional-kitchen value chain from cooking, refrigeration, and shelving to bar equipment, displays, temperature monitoring, waste management, dish transport, plumbing, and pastry preparation. Sales staff are present in each country across Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, with the company maintaining direct relationships with distributors, consultants, and key accounts in 18+ markets.
MerkoLAT operates a pure channel-partner go-to-market: it does not sell directly to end users but rather serves as the regional sales and brand-building layer between global manufacturers and a downstream network of local distributors, design consultants, and enterprise key accounts (hotels, restaurants, bars, convention centers, and professional kitchens). The company provides distributor sales-force training on each represented brand, manages documentary and logistical control of purchase orders, and handles brand positioning. Revenue is generated through representation agreements and equipment distribution (hardware sales); pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The firm has no proprietary technology, no disclosed financials, no parent company, and no institutional funding history.
The company's strategic position rests on three decades of accumulated regional relationships, the depth and quality of its 12-brand portfolio (which includes multiple US #1 and world-leading brands), and its training and logistics infrastructure that collectively raise switching costs for both brand principals and downstream distributors. Growth vectors are limited: geographic coverage is already broad across LatAm, expansion depends on adding new principals or penetrating deeper into existing accounts, and there are no observable hiring, funding, M&A, or product-development signals to indicate transformational change.
MerkoLAT firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MerkoLAT
- Legal name
- Merkolat of Florida Inc.
- Website
- https://merkolat.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- MerkoLAT is a Florida-based regional sales representative and distributor representing 12 international commercial food service equipment brands across Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, serving distributors, consultants, and enterprise key accounts in the professional kitchen industry.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MerkoLAT industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Food Service Equipment Distribution
- NAICS
- Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42385)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Durable Goods (5000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchandising, Character & Brand Licensing (MPADALAF)
Keywords
Where MerkoLAT is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pembroke Pines
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
MerkoLAT business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Equipment Distribution and Brand Representation: MerkoLAT generates revenue by representing and distributing international food service equipment brands throughout Latin America. They act as exclusive or authorized representatives for multiple global brands, maintaining relationships with distributors, consultants, and key accounts across Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and South America.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
MerkoLAT product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MerkoLAT (Merkolat of Florida Inc.) is a distribution and brand representation company for professional food service equipment across Latin America. The company represents 12 international brands covering categories such as refrigeration, ice equipment, cooking, shelving/storage, bar equipment, display cases, food waste disposers, and plumbing fixtures, selling these through distributors, consultants, and key accounts.
Product overview
MerkoLAT is a distributor of commercial food service/gastronomic equipment representing multiple international brands across Latin America. The company serves as a regional sales and distribution partner, maintaining direct relationships with distributors, consultants, and key accounts throughout Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Their portfolio includes 12 distributed brands covering the full spectrum of commercial kitchen needs: cooking equipment (Olis), refrigeration (Continental Refrigerator, Ice-O-Matic), storage and shelving (Metro, Olympic), bar equipment (Glas Tender), food displays (Structural Concepts), temperature measurement (Cooper Atkins), waste management (InSinkErator), dish transport (Plate Mate), plumbing fixtures (T&S Brass), and pastry preparation (Silikomart). The company provides sales support, staff training, and logistical control of purchase orders for the distributed brands.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Silikomart
- Metro Metro commercial shelving and storage systems for foodservice back-of-house and storage areas.
- Olympic Olympic commercial ice equipment for foodservice and beverage operations.
- Ice-O-Matic Ice-O-Matic commercial ice machines and ice-making equipment for foodservice operators.
- Continental Refrigerator Continental Refrigerator commercial refrigeration equipment for professional kitchens.
- Glastender Glastender bar equipment and display cases for bar and front-of-house operations.
- Structural Concepts Structural Concepts display cases for merchandising and front-of-house presentation.
- Cooper-Atkins Cooper-Atkins temperature measurement instruments and monitoring tools for foodservice operations.
- InSinkErator InSinkErator commercial food waste disposers for professional kitchens.
- Olis Olis professional cooking equipment for commercial kitchen operations.
- Plate Mate Plate Mate dish transport systems for moving dishware between kitchen, dishwash, and service areas.
- T&S Brass T&S Brass commercial faucets and plumbing fixtures for foodservice and bar areas.
Quantifiable outcome
- 50% less energy consumption compared to other display cases
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use MerkoLAT
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
MerkoLAT technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
MerkoLAT partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SilikomartcoreSilikomart is 100% designed and manufactured in Italy using world-class materials (Platinum Silicone, Tplus, Tritán). MerkoLAT represents this brand in Latin America, offering almost 100 new products per year focused on pastry-making equipment.
- MetrocoreMetro provides versatile shelving with the highest quality on the market, including SmartWall and Toptrack options. They offer a complete variety of maintenance trolleys and hold maintenance equipment.
- OlympiccoreOlympic offers versatile shelving with 7 years anti-corrosion warranty and supports up to 363 Kgs at each level. Provides excellent value for money.
- Ice-O-MaticcoreIce-O-Matic manufactures ice equipment designed to save energy with the lowest maintenance costs on the market. 100% made in USA with a 3-year warranty.
- Continental RefrigeratorcoreContinental Refrigerator offers more than 2,500 refrigeration models with the highest energy efficiency. Equipment is ready to work in extreme conditions (38°C/100°F).
- GlastendercoreGlastender is a Top Bar Brand World (World 50 BB) with more than 45 years manufacturing the best bar equipment. 100% made in USA with patents. Present in the best bars around the world.
- Structural ConceptscoreStructural Concepts provides the most efficient showcases in the industry with 50% less consumption vs other displays. Designed for extreme temperature and humidity environments with easier maintenance and direct compressor access.
- Cooper AtkinscoreCooper Atkins offers all temperature measurement options with the highest accuracy in the thermometer market. Provides automatic cloud registration thermometers for internet connectivity.
- InSinkEratorcoreInSinkErator created the garbage disposal category and is the #1 brand in USA. Equipment processes waste from up to 2,500 people per unit.
- OliscoreOlis is an expert in cooking with more than 7 kitchen lines. Complete kitchen line including all cooking (fryer, pot, overturned pan), refrigeration, washing, ovens, blast chillers.
- Plate MatecorePlate Mate designs equipment to safely transport large quantities of served dishes. Used in hotels and convention centers around the world, 100% made in USA.
- T&S BrasscoreT&S Brass is the #1 leader in USA for gastronomy faucets, generating water and energy savings. All products are 100% tested with 50% more material per product for robustness.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
MerkoLAT competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ITW Food Equipment Group (Hobart): US-based subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works that manufactures and distributes commercial cooking, food preparation, dishwashing, and refrigeration equipment. Comparable to MerkoLAT as a broad-line foodservice equipment provider serving the same hotel, restaurant, and institutional end customers, though at OEM scale rather than as a regional rep firm.
- Ali Group: Italian-headquartered, privately held global food service equipment group with 80+ brands covering cooking, refrigeration, ice, and beverage equipment. Comparable to MerkoLAT as a multi-brand foodservice equipment platform with regional distribution; far larger and vertically integrated into manufacturing.
- Hoshizaki: Japanese commercial refrigeration and ice equipment manufacturer with a substantial Americas distribution network. Directly comparable to MerkoLAT's Ice-O-Matic representation, as both companies supply commercial ice equipment through B2B channels into foodservice operations.
- Middleby Corporation: Global US-based food service equipment conglomerate that both manufactures and distributes commercial cooking, refrigeration, and beverage equipment through its own brands and acquired companies across the Americas and worldwide. Comparable to MerkoLAT at the brand-portfolio layer (overlapping categories with several of MerkoLAT's principals) but operates as an OEM+distributor at far greater scale.
- Manitowoc Foodservice (now part of Ali Group): Previously a standalone US food service equipment company (now integrated into Ali Group) with multi-category brands including ice, cooking, and refrigeration. Comparable to MerkoLAT in the ice and refrigeration overlap and in its model of multi-brand consolidation across foodservice categories.
Regional players
- Boelter Companies: US-based foodservice equipment and supplies distributor serving operators across the Midwest and national accounts. Comparable to MerkoLAT as a multi-line B2B equipment distributor relying on brand relationships and bulk supply contracts rather than as a manufacturer.
- Equipos y Accesorios para Foodservice (LatAm regional distributors): Other regional foodservice equipment distributors operating across individual Latin American countries (e.g., Mexico, Brazil, Argentina) on similar B2B rep/distribution models. Comparable to MerkoLAT in customer base and product categories, though typically focused on a single LatAm country rather than running a multi-country distribution umbrella.
Direct peers
- Grupo HC (and similar LatAm foodservice distributors): Mexico-based foodservice equipment distributors that represent multiple premium international brands across Latin America, serving hotels, restaurants, and institutional buyers. The closest structural comparables to MerkoLAT — similar regional B2B rep/distribution model, overlapping brand portfolios, and the same end customers in Mexico and broader LatAm.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MerkoLAT social profiles
Digital presenceMerkoLAT financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MerkoLAT leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
MerkoLAT funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MerkoLAT M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MerkoLAT
What does MerkoLAT do?
MerkoLAT (Merkolat of Florida Inc.) is a distribution and brand representation company for professional food service equipment across Latin America. The company represents 12 international brands covering categories such as refrigeration, ice equipment, cooking, shelving/storage, bar equipment, display cases, food waste disposers, and plumbing fixtures, selling these through distributors, consultants, and key accounts.
Is MerkoLAT a public or private company?
MerkoLAT is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MerkoLAT founded?
MerkoLAT was founded in 1994. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is MerkoLAT based?
MerkoLAT is headquartered in Pembroke Pines, United States, in the North America region.
How does MerkoLAT make money?
One revenue line is on record: equipment Distribution and Brand Representation.
Who are MerkoLAT's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ITW Food Equipment Group (Hobart), Ali Group, Hoshizaki, Middleby Corporation and Manitowoc Foodservice (now part of Ali Group). Regional players are Boelter Companies and Equipos y Accesorios para Foodservice (LatAm regional distributors). Grupo HC (and similar LatAm foodservice distributors) is listed as a direct peer.
Does MerkoLAT have an API?
No public API is recorded for MerkoLAT.
What industry is MerkoLAT in?
MerkoLAT's product category is Commercial Food Service Equipment Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADALAF, Merchandising, Character & Brand Licensing. Its NAICS code is 42385 and its SIC code is 5000.