Happy Traps, a Portland business that cleans grease traps in commercial kitchens, has been acquired by a Las Vegas-based energy company.
Barrel Energy Inc. — which focuses on renewable, lithium, solar and nutritional energy solutions — announced the deal with Happy Traps on Wednesday.
Here’s how the two companies match up: Happy Traps cleans fats, oils and grease waste from commercial kitchens, while Barrel Energy turns those waste products into usable energy sources.
“The acquisition of Happy Traps represents a strategic step toward building a diversified energy company that captures value from every form of energy resource,” said Jarmin Kaltsas, CEO of Barrel Energy.
“By transforming grease waste into renewable energy inputs, we are expanding Barrel Energy’s footprint in the sustainability sector while creating scalable infrastructure for environmental energy solutions across the United States.”
Terms of the deal were not announced.
$8 billion industry
Happy Traps has a client roster of 200 restaurants and commercial kitchens. It claims to have cleaned more than 3,500 grease traps.
The company is a small player in an $8 billion industry that’s driven on one end by regulations on how waste is discarded and on the other by investors looking to repurpose the used oil and grease.
With the backing of Barrel Energy, Happy Traps “is positioned for significant expansion,” the buyer said in a news release. Growth is based on fleet expansion, technology development and regional market entry.
