PHG Energy of Nashville has officially acquired multiple intellectual property assets and a municipal gasification plant in the bankruptcy of Florida-based MaxWest Environmental Systems, Inc. In addition, PHG Energy (PHGE) announced that Jeff Snyder has joined the company to lead the sales division. Snyder had served nearly three years as head of sales and marketing with MaxWest. The MaxWest company began in 2008 and ceased operation of its Sanford, FL, installation that served three cities in the region in May of 2013. PHGE President Tom Stanzione said the acquisition will enhance the company’s ability to diversify its offerings in the waste-to-energy marketplace. “We see significant value in what they had accomplished both in technology as well as furthering the recognition of gasification as a key element in waste-to- energy solutions. We determined that adding this technology to our portfolio would allow us to both explore new markets and better serve our current and future customers,” Stanzione said. “They had made a very significant investment in development of new technology to cleanly dispose of biosolids through gasification,” he added. “What they successfully accomplished has real value to a company like ours as we look at ways to deploy new and varied methods and systems in the marketplace.”
Stanzione said PHGE is now engaged in detailed scientific and engineering evaluation of the former competitor’s technology, and the primary focus will be on how it will complement the current offerings of PHG Energy. “We are a solutions provider in the waste-to-energy field,” Stanzione said, “and this additional technology will improve our offering to commercial customers and municipal communities who need new solutions to address the problem of waste by turning it into an immediate source of clean energy.”
Assets purchased in the bankruptcy auction included previously issued patent work as well as in- progress intellectual works, the Sanford gasification plant, and other confidential technology, financial information and essential data owned by the company. The future of the biosolids gasification plant in Sanford has not yet been determined. The system had been in service since the fall of 2009 processing sludge from the city’s wastewater treatment plant, and it also had taken care of sludge from two other nearby cities. Its closing was a result of the MaxWest financial situation and ended what was a successful run of operations for the customer. “The city has expressed interest in re-opening the plant, and we are certainly going to explore options with them. Our team will be meeting with their engineering resources to determine what the best path forward is for both of us,” Stanzione said.
Snyder had played a major role in developing and launching his former company, and joins PHGE to expand sales efforts. “We have been looking for qualified and experienced folks for our sales and customer development efforts,” Stanzione said. “Around mid-year we sought out Jeff because of his track record and recognition in the marketplace we serve. He’s fully on board now, and putting a lot of hard work into establishing a new network of representatives that will help us get our solution message into the municipal and commercial markets more effectively.”
“When I look at what PHGE has been able to do with their gasification technology,” Snyder said, “and now combine that success with developments of MaxWest, I see a market that expands by a huge factor. The tools we now have are truly powerful and effective.”
Chris Koczaja, who has served as Vice President of Sales and Engineering since the company’s inception, will be devoting his full attention to implementing new systems and installations in an expanded role of Vice President of Engineering and Project Implementation. “We are growing our engineering team in 2015 to take on more projects,” Stanzione said. “Chris has both the product and engineering knowledge to lead those people and that effort. He is extremely well equipped to take on these new challenges and succeed. Chris has dedicated himself to bringing our company to a pivotal and significant point in our successful growth plan. I look forward to a new level of achievement with him at the helm of these efforts.”
For more information, visit www.phgenergy.com.