Bernhard Capital Partners Management, LP (“Bernhard Capital”), a services- and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm, today announced the launch of a dedicated environmental services platform through the acquisition of KC Harvey Environmental, LLC (“KC Harvey”), a leading environmental and natural resources consulting, land reclamation, and field services firm. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Serving a diverse base of customers across the globe, KC Harvey provides environmental consulting and field services, with a recognized expertise in water, soil, vegetation, wildlife, and land reclamation science and engineering to the mining and energy industries, and to government land management agencies. Bernhard Capital will leverage its proprietary Blueprint investment approach to build on its thesis around the emerging ESG market and the need for technical, on-site environmental and natural resource restoration services and create a premier nationwide business to support the growing and increasingly complex needs of today’s commercial, federal, state, and local customers.
Dirk Applegate, who recently joined Bernhard Capital as a Senior Advisor, will oversee the platform and work closely with KC Harvey management to identify and execute on a shared vision for the long-term growth and success of the business. Mr. Applegate joins Bernhard Capital with more than 30 years of experience leading teams responsible for strategy, sales and marketing, operations, acquisitions and integrations, financial management, and staffing across the environmental industry.
“We are thrilled to welcome such a talented leader and industry veteran in Dirk as we employ our proven Blueprint approach to build an unparalleled national leader in environmental services and consulting,” said Jeff Jenkins, Founder and Partner of Bernhard Capital. “The environmental services and consulting market continues to be very fragmented and a very high-growth sector with high barriers to entry. We are confident KC Harvey’s deep expertise and integrated consulting method positions it as the perfect cornerstone from which to scale and grow our platform.”
Chris Dillon, Managing Director at Bernhard Capital, added: “We look forward to working closely with Dirk and the KC Harvey team to execute on an active pipeline of opportunities to drive both organic and acquisitional growth.”
“I have dedicated my career to helping companies develop, implement, and market effective environmental solutions,” said Mr. Applegate. “I could not be more pleased to partner with Bernhard Capital – which has been a leading investor and business builder in the environmental services space for nearly a decade – to oversee the launch of this exciting new platform. I am eager to hit the ground running alongside the Bernhard Capital and KC Harvey teams in the coming months, and I am confident that together we will provide our customers with unmatched solutions.”
KC Harvey will retain its headquarters in Bozeman, Montana, and its existing management team, led by CEO and Chief Scientist Kevin Harvey, will work alongside Mr. Applegate to support the long-term growth and success of the company. Mr. Harvey, a business entrepreneur, soil scientist, and land reclamation specialist who brings over four decades of technical solutions and management success, will continue to lead the KC Harvey business and execute on a shared vision with Mr. Applegate and Bernhard Capital to build a premier nationwide ESG-focused business.
“Kevin’s leadership in the environmental services industry is unparalleled,” added Mr. Applegate. “His strategic vision, out-of-the-box thinking, and innovative, solutions-oriented approach to environmental management have consistently led to breakthroughs and tangible results that have a positive and lasting impact, and we are thrilled to have the chance to build on that success together.”
“This is an incredible opportunity to join forces with a leading investor in critical infrastructure services at such a dynamic and important time for our industry,” said Mr. Harvey. “I look forward to working with Dirk to utilize this team’s unparalleled knowledge in the environmental and natural resources space as we scale and build an industry-leading environmental consultancy and field services platform.”
Mr. Harvey is credited with numerous technical accomplishments that are applied throughout the world today, including innovative approaches for the neutralization and revegetation of watershed-scale mining wastes, modernizing the restoration process of large-scale oil and gas developments, and inventing and implementing techniques for the beneficial use of industrial wastewaters. With the formation of KC Harvey, he combined reclamation consulting with field services to create a truly integrated land restoration service provider. Since 2010, KC Harvey has been a differentiated partner of choice for a growing base of customers and continues to outperform financially with consistent industry-beating margins.
