EMCO and ComSource merge to win buying power. (EMCO Foodservice Systems Inc.; ComSource Independent Foodservice Companies Inc.)

Deal would create the nation's largest food service company

GREEN TREE - EMCO Foodservice Systems said it is merging with Atlanta-based ComSource Independent Foodservice Companies Inc..

If the deal goes through - the 220 owners expect a recommendation by early March - it will create the country's largest food service company, with combined sales topping $13 billion. North American sales would be $15.4 billion.

EMCO and ComSource were created by groups of independent companies and designed to assist those companies in selling their products to suppliers.

They also provide services that their owner-members couldn't afford on their own, such as …