Montrose Environmental Group Acquires IT Consulting Firm Huco

Montrose Environmental Group has acquired Huco Consulting, an IT service provider and consulting firm that specializes in environment, health and safety (EHS) solutions plus environmental, social and governance (ESG) systems and software for industrial, commercial and government clients. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is M&A deal number one that we have covered. See all sustainable technology M&A deals listed here.

Sustainable Technology M&A: About the Buyer and Seller

Montrose Environmental, founded in 2012, is based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The company has 2,596 employees and roughly 75 offices across the United States, Canada and Australia. Key services span Air Quality, Environmental Laboratory, Regulatory Compliance, Engineering, Environmental Toxicology, Analytical Chemistry, Ultratrace, Remediation, Biogas, Water Treatment Systems, Fugitive Emissions, Stack Testing, Regulatory Consulting, Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) and Wastewater Treatment.

Huco Consulting, founded in 2008, is baed in Houston, Texas. The company had 27 employees listed on LinkedIn as of December 2022. Huco's consultants focus on EHS & ESG data management systems in North America. The consulting firm implements and maintains IT systems that allow customers to monitor carbon footprint, improve employee safety, and decrease compliance risk, Huco said. Key specialties include EHS Data Management, Enterprise Implementation, Compliance Tracking Systems, Cloud Based EHS Apps, Greenhouse Gas Reporting, Emissions Inventory, System Integration, and Management Consulting.

Huco’s leadership team, including co-founders Ron Huijsman and Sameer Vyas, have joined Montrose’s Advisory and Specialty Services business, led by Senior Vice President Mark Hall.

Sustainable Technology M&A: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, Mark Hall, senior vice president, Montrose Environmental Group, said: “As environmental reporting needs increase for companies, the demand for systematic compliance and data aggregation is growing fast. With the addition of the experienced Huco team, we enhance our data offerings, expanding support for the compliance and ESG/Sustainability needs of our clients as we continue to pioneer real-time environmental monitoring and consolidated reporting. We welcome the Huco team and are excited to join talents with one of the top consulting firms for integrating EHS & ESG data.”

Huco’s co-founders Ron Huijsman and Sameer Vyas added: “We are thrilled to be joining Montrose, as our consulting businesses are highly complementary and we work with many of the same clients today. Our passion is creating and sustaining data management systems that not only manage compliance, risk and sustainability, but also create value for our clients’ organization, customers, people and other stakeholders. As part of the larger Montrose platform, we will be able to reach many more clients with our partners and do so with an organization that is fully committed to supporting our development, people and client solutions. We are excited to hit the ground running together in 2023.”

Sustainable Technology M&A: Previous Montrose Environmental Acquisitions

Montrose has extensive M&A experience. Example purchases from 2021 through December 2022 include:

• September 2022: AirKinetics for emissions testing capabilities.
• August 2022: TriAD Environmental Consultants for assessment, permitting and response (AP&R) capabilities.
• February 2022: Environmental Standards for consulting services across  environmental chemistry, consulting geosciences, environmental data management, emergency response quality assurance oversight, and auditing/health and safety support.
• November 2021: Horizon Water and Environment for planning, watershed science, and environmental compliance for water and natural resource projects in California. 
• October 2021: Environmental Chemistry Inc. (ECI), a full-service environmental laboratory serving the Texas and Louisiana gulf coast region. 
• August 2021: SensibleIoT, an Internet of Things (IoT) and software platform that connects with multiple air, water and soil data sources to provide an integrated environmental solution with advanced data analytics capabilities. 
• July 2021: Environmental Intelligence (EI), an environmental consulting company recognized for its innovative work in wildfire mitigation, biological assessments, construction monitoring and regulatory compliance services.
• June 2021: Vista Analytical Laboratory, an environmental laboratory for the testing and analysis of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants. 
• January 2021: MSE Group, a provider of environmental assessment, compliance, engineering, and design services primarily to the U.S. federal government.  

For its Q3 of 2022, Montrose said revenue was $130.3 million -- down slightly from $132.6 million in Q3 of 2021. Net loss was $5.7 million compared to net income of $2.2 million in Q3 of 2021.