Ara Partners, a private equity firm that invests in low-carbon and cost-saving technology, is acquiring a Houston company that makes equipment to clean above ground storage tanks and rail tank cars in a deal estimated at approximately $40 million reported the Houston Chronicle.
The company, Path Environmental Technology, employs about 75 workers and plans to grow to about 200 within the next two years, said Andrew White, the CEO. White said Path’s revenues quadrupled from 2018 to 2019, but declined to disclose the figures.
Traditionally, energy companies clean storage tanks — anywhere from 40 feet to 300 feet in diameter — by opening them and sending in workers with breathing equipment to do the cleaning. Opening the tanks also allows emissions to escape.
Path, however, created a machine that can clean the tank without having to open it, protecting workers from toxic fumes and preventing emissions from escaping. Path’s clients includes major oil companies such as Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP.
As of now, Ara Partners is about 75 employees, but White said the company aims to grow to about 200 plus employees in the next 18 to 24 months, hiring for field level all the way to executive positions.
He also would like to double the fleet of machines that cleans the tanks. There are currently four machines, but White hopes to one day have between eight to 10.
Source: Houston Chronicle
