Dive Brief:
- Equipment provider Viably acquired Harp Renewables, the maker of a range of modular aerobic digestion units deployed to about 300 customers worldwide. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- Viably has distributed Harp's systems for several years, but the deal allows the company to vertically integrate a product that it wants to deploy more widely, Viably President Brandon Lapsys said. Harp's founder and corporate team, based in Ireland, will remain a part of the company after the deal.
- Viably is backed by a private family office, ML Holdings, which invests in a range of infrastructure businesses. Viably recently rebranded from Komptech Americas as it worked to expand its image as a comprehensive provider of waste processing equipment.
Dive Insight:
Harp's digesters use an aerobic process to break down organic material into a soil amendment in a 24-hour period. The systems are modular and come in multiple sizes: the smallest can handle roughly 250 pounds of material per day while the largest can handle roughly 20,000 pounds per day. Harp has been deployed at a range of commercial and institutional locations, including corporate campuses, zoos, hospitals, universities and rendering plants, Lapsys said.
The digesters add to Viably's existing equipment portfolio, which includes Turbo Separator food waste depackagers and windrow turning machines for composters. Viably also distributes equipment for recyclers and C&D material processors.
In addition to its presence in the U.S. and Canada, Harp has a legacy customer base in Ireland, as well as central Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia. But the North American organics market is also in a period of expansion fueled by a patchwork of state legislation, an environment in which a range of tools will be necessary to handle the material stream, Lapsys said.
"We've seen the market demand more and more solutions of all shapes and sizes when it comes to food waste and organics. There is no silver bullet," he said.
Viably is also looking to deploy the machines as part of more integrated facilities. The company can combine the digesters with pre-treatment for material streams on the front end and post-treatment machines on the back end to screen and clean the final organic stream for contaminants. That could be especially useful for single-stream processing of MSW, Lapsys said.
“We have in the last 24 months had more inquiries for MSW processing plants than we've ever had, and most MSW waste streams have 20 to 30 plus percent organics,” he said.
The company is also exploring partnerships with major haulers in which Harp machines are deployed to commercial customers and the haulers pick up the processed material rather than raw organic waste.
The Harp acquisition is among the first deals Viably made since its rebrand. When the rebrand was announced in 2023, the company had installed Komptech machines at more than 800 sites across North America. Despite rebranding, Viably maintained its status as master distributor for Komptech’s technology on the continent and expanded its lineup of proucts on offer. The company also announced new design and installation capabilities for stationary plant systems at the time.
Lapsys said Komptech's equipment remains a cornerstone of the business in terms of revenue and products installed, but the company can begin distributing other manufacturers' equipment, acquire manufacturers or design and build its own in-house product lines as Viably.
Looking ahead, Lapsys wants to grow the number of Harp units deployed by three to four times in the next five years. He's also looking at additional acquisitions as a way to grow the business.
"We saw a lot of our customers asking for more, needing more," Lapsys said. "We have a number of other exciting opportunities and forthcoming transactions in the hopper in 2027."
