The Swiss-Japanese cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova is expanding its expertise and footprint in the field of renewable gases and has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Germany-headed Viessmann Group to acquire the business activities and entire workforce of Schmack Biogas Service GmbH and microbEnergy GmbH, both headquartered in Schwandorf, Germany, by the end of 2021 subject to approval by the regulatory authorities.
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According to a statement, Switzerland-headed Hitachi Zosen Inova AG (HZI) entered into an agreement with Viessmann Group to acquire the business activities of two entities of the Schmack Group (Schmack), Schmack Biogas Service GmbH and microbEnergy GmbH, on July 9, 2021.
The final closing is expected after formal approval by the regulatory authorities. By this date, the business activities of the Schmack entities will be transferred to HZI and the entire workforce will become part of the HZI Group.
We are very happy to have found a new owner in the global cleantech leader HZI. Thanks to the global network of HZI and its Japanese parent Hitachi Zosen Corporation, doors will open to new markets for Schmack’s products and services, while HZI will be able to open up new market segments with its expanded product and service portfolio, commented Joachim Janssen, Co-CEO of Viessmann Group.
Strengthen global biogas position and cross-sectoral offering
Schmack specializes in the engineering, construction, maintenance, technical services, and operation of wet fermentation plants. In addition, the product and service portfolio includes retrofitting and modernizing biogas plants, advisory services to biogas plant owners in the field of feed-stock solutions, and a power-to-gas (PtG) process for biological methanation.
Schmack Biogas Service and microbEnergy are leading, well-established companies in the German biogas market. HZI will value this positioning and leverage it going forward to support the development of its products and services in the reference markets.
With the sale of Schmack Biogas Service GmbH and microbEnergy GmbH, our colleagues have found a good new home. I’m convinced that together with our new shareholder HZI we will continue to lead the two companies to new strength internationally, said Manuel Götz, Managing Director of Schmack Biogas Service and microbEnergy.
With Schmack joining the group, the Swiss cleantech company HZI will considerably increase its presence in the biogas market. The addition of Schmack’s capabilities will enable HZI to match customer needs, whether industrial, municipal, agricultural, or financial, across the entire value chain and for all possible feedstock.
By combining this know-how, the HZI Group will be able to offer its customers even more sustainable holistic solutions for the future. The numerous service and engineering hubs in Europe, North America, Australia, and the Middle East additionally enable direct and rapid customer support.
We are extremely pleased to welcome Schmack’s employees to the group. They bring amazing expertise and know-how to the renewable gas business. What they have created over time is an excellent complement and extension to HZI’s existing offering, particularly in the field of wet fermentation. This joining of teams will ensure that we can provide our markets and partners with an even broader range of integrated technologies and services in the future, said Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin, CEO of HZI.
