Union City, Calif.-based WHCI Plumbing Supply announced it has an agreement in principle to acquire the Burlingame, Calif., distribution operations of USAVE.

The deal, expected to close later in the fall, will expand WHCI’s footprint across the Bay Area and into the northern peninsula, and further support the company’s goals to provide fast, flexible service to a loyal and broadening customer base.

“This is an exciting development both for the loyal customers who have supported WHCI for the past 59 years as well as for the members of the plumbing trade who have counted on USAVE’s signature Burlingame location for nearly three decades,” WHCI Chief Executive Officer John Mills said. “Through this combination, WHCI Plumbing Supply will offer access to an incredibly diverse product line across a wider geographic footprint and to a combination of resellers, wholesale consumers and value-seeking retail customers.”

Once the transaction is finalized, the combined company — to be called WHCI Plumbing Supply Co. — will serve its customers from four locations, including WHCI’s existing state-of-the-art warehouse locations in in Union City and Dublin, its AquaBella Kitchen and Bath retail showroom in Union City, and USAVE’s full-service warehouse and showroom in Burlingame.

Mills said all current distribution center associates of USAVE will be offered roles at WHCI – which has never had a layoff in its nearly six decades of operations. He added the acquisition is part of WHCI’s broader five-year comprehensive growth plan dubbed “WHCI Vision 2020,” conceived as a response to market-driven increases in demand for its services and products. The ultimate goal is for WHCI to have nine locations throughout the Bay Area by 2020, resulting in the placement of WHCI supplies, personnel and other resources nearer to its customers.