The deal will see the Netherlands-owned Bollegraaf own a non-controlling stake in Greyparrot, and will also serve as a worldwide distributor and strategic partner for Greyparrot’s ‘Analyzer’, which currently provides “100% visibility into waste streams at recycling plants across 14 countries using AI camera systems”.
As part of the agreement, Greyparrot will acquire Bollegraaf’s vision-based computing intellectual property and esteemed AI development team. Greyparrot will also open its first office in mainland Europe in the Netherlands.
MRFs
Bollegraaf positions itself as world’s largest builder of recycling plants, while Greyparrot works with a string of waste facilities with its technology.
With this partnership, both companies say they aim to retrofit thousands of existing material recovery facilities (MRFs) and plastics recovery facilities (PRFs) with advanced AI capabilities to “significantly boost recycling rates and quantify material emissions”.
With over a 50% share in the global recycling plant market, providing turnkey recycling solutions, Bollegraaf is “well-positioned to provide the physical infrastructure”, while
Greyparrot’s “proven ability to embed AI waste analytics into software and hardware systems adds the essential digital layer”, a joint statement said.
Collaboration
Edmund Tenfelde, chief executive of Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions, said: “The future is clear: to further increase recycling rates we need more insight and collaboration across the value chain.
“We have been looking to implement AI that can power fact-based and automated decision-making to provide our clients with a much more accurate overview of their waste composition and ultimately maximise their ROI.
“We are thrilled to make this strategic investment and partner with Greyparrot to bring waste intelligence to both upcoming recycling infrastructure deployments and existing facilities worldwide.”
‘Revolutionary’
Mikela Druckman, chief executive of Greyparrot, said: “We’re excited to partner with Bollegraaf, and add to our team of experts in artificial intelligence and deep learning, to address this challenge and pave the way for the waste industry’s largest rollout of AI to date.
“Getting AI waste analytics in the hands of more plant managers, more quickly, will provide the industry the data-driven insights needed to build and operate smart MRFs
that unlock new value from recovered materials and decrease the environmental impact of waste. Collaboration with plant builders and other key players is critical to making this happen, and it’s a major reason why Greyparrot is hardware agnostic, making it possible to integrate our platform with all types of systems.”
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