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Selling a grease trap or FOG company?
A permanent home for your grease trap pumping business
Every restaurant, school cafeteria, and hospital kitchen sends fats, oils, and grease down the drain, and cities require someone to deal with it on a schedule. If that's your business, we'd like to talk.
Why we like it
Why we buy grease trap businesses
Howler Mountain is a family-owned holding company that buys essential service businesses in the Southeast and holds them for good. FOG and grease trap pumping fits what we look for: recurring, route-based work that customers can't skip.
Required by local rules
Many cities and sewer utilities have FOG (fats, oils, and grease) ordinances or pretreatment programs that require food service establishments to install grease traps or interceptors, pump them on a set schedule, and keep records.
Recurring by mandate
Pumping frequency is typically set by the local program or by how full the trap gets, so service repeats like clockwork whether the economy is up or down.
Protecting the sewer system
Grease is a common cause of sewer blockages and overflows, which is why utilities enforce these programs and inspect for compliance.
Hard-won operating capability
Hauler permits, manifests, trucks, and access to receiving or dewatering facilities take years to put together, and restaurant customers value a provider that keeps them compliant.
What we look for
What stands out to us
No business checks every box. These are the strengths we get excited about.
- Scheduled, contracted service with restaurants, schools, hospitals, and other food service accounts
- Clean compliance records, manifests, and good relationships with local utilities
- Reliable access to disposal, receiving, or dewatering facilities
- Related services such as used cooking oil collection or line jetting
- Route density in growing Southeastern markets
Our criteria
- Geography
- Across the Southeast, with deeper interest in Atlanta and Georgia. We love investing in our community.
- Revenue
- $2.5 – $50 million, typically recurring (smaller for add-ons)
- Cash flow
- $0.5 – $5 million (smaller for add-ons)
- Ownership
- Founder owned or long-time owner
- Structure
- Majority to full buyout, including partnerships with management
For owners
What happens after you sell
We're not private equity. We fund acquisitions with our own capital and are built to hold businesses for decades, not flip them in a few years.
At Howler Mountain, people come first: customers and employees. We invest in teams, infrastructure, and technology, and build on the foundation you established. Deals range from majority to full buyouts, including partnerships with management.
Confidential from the first conversation. We know how sensitive a potential sale is for your employees and customers. What you share with us stays between us.
Know a grease trap business owner?
If you introduce us to the owner and we go on to buy the company, we'll pay you $10,000 in cash at close. (Not available to brokers, investment bankers, or other financial intermediaries.)
Contact
Let's talk about your company
Whether you're ready to sell or just starting to think about the future of your grease trap business, a conversation costs nothing and stays confidential.
Questions owners ask
Is Howler Mountain a private equity firm?
No. We're a family-owned holding company based in Atlanta. We fund acquisitions with internal capital and are structured to hold businesses for the long term, not to flip them.
Will our conversations stay confidential?
Yes. We know how sensitive a potential sale is for your employees and customers, and we treat every conversation with discretion.
My business is smaller than your criteria. Should I still reach out?
Yes. Smaller companies can be a great fit as add-ons to businesses we already own, so it's worth a conversation.
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