Strategic Partners

The Cetna Energy partnership under the BCS Energy joint venture (JV) represents a superior strategic alignment.  Cetna Energy provides the technology and direct operational know-how to run these thermochemical conversion plants with decades of manufacturing experience and direct experience in this space.  And the BCS JV partners - Burkes Mechanical and Cahaba Timber – have direct impact on the Cetna business model and have demonstrated the ability to build and successfully grow operating companies from a couple of dozen employees to over 1,000 employees and with both companies at well over $150 million in annual revenue. 

 Burkes Mechanical

Chip Burkes is the President of Burkes Mechanical and an equity joint venture partner with Cetna Energy (and Cahaba Timber) in the BCS Energy JV. Mr. Burkes, through Burkes Mechanical, and working closely with our ECP Partner, Buffalo Builders, will be handling proprietary equipment fabrication as well as fabricating and installing other reactors, heat exchangers and all piping. Burkes has a state-of-the-art fabrication facility that is already under expansion to match the build-out for Cetna, and will bring their learned experience with RNG Phase I to the construction and fabrication process.  Mr. Burkes has built Burkes Mechanical into a company of over 1200 employees and two locations in Alabama, one in Arkansas, and two in Florida with clients all over the Southeast in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.

RNG Phases I and II are built on Burkes property under a long-term lease. 

Cahaba Biofuels

Mr. Burkes and the partners in Cahaba Timber (Kermit, Kenneth, and Walter Stephens) formed Cahaba Biofuels specifically to engage and negotiate all feedstock contracts for all BCS Energy plants.  These brothers have quietly built in the rural stretch of Alabama the largest treated pole mill in the world producing poles for electric, telephone and internet service as well as ties for the rail industry. They have produced and distributed literally tens of millions of poles and ties not just in the US and North America, but around the globe.  That mill was recently sold to a new owner but the principals of Cahaba Timber remain involved in operations. This partner is an expert in the timber industry, has in-depth expertise in availability and pricing, and has relationships with many mills and their ownership groups throughout Alabama and the Southeast.

It cannot be emphasized enough the value that Chip Burkes and the Stephens brothers bring in real-world experience that cannot be acquired through retaining a C-Suite collection of executives coming from high-ranking positions in Fortune 50 companies or Wall Street. They have built from small to very large in the real world and through the toughest of times. 

 Gunvor USA

Offtake for all RNG is being handled under contract with Gunvor Group, Ltd, a $135 billion multinational commodity trading company with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and having over 1,600 employees worldwide. We are working directly with the USA subsidiary, Gunvor USA LLC, with offices in Houston, TX and Stamford, CT. Gunvor is one of the largest privately held trading companies in the world and is aggressively moving into renewables. 

 Cetna has an executed NAESB contract with Gunvor for  all of our RNG output and up to 10 billion cubic feet (BCF) per year.  Each standard Cetna RNG plants produce one BCF/year so we will be building 10 such plants.  

 Buffalo Builders, LLC

Cetna Energy has aligned with an experienced, vertically integrated construction organization to support the execution of its initial and follow-on facilities. Buffalo Builders, LLC brings deep experience in industrial, energy, and process-driven construction, with demonstrated capability delivering complex projects across petrochemical, refining, steel, chemical, and heavy industrial environments.

This relationship is structured to support both single-project delivery and repeatable, programmatic execution as the Cetna builds multiple facilities over time.

 Buffalo Builders is supported by senior leadership with more than100 years of combined experience in industrial construction, project management, and contract administration. Leadership experience includes:

• Direct management of large-scale industrial and petrochemical projects, including steel mills, chemical plants, refineries, and heavy manufacturing facilities. • Oversight of projects ranging from small capital improvements to programs exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars. • Deep familiarity with process piping, mechanical systems, industrial utilities, and complex site coordination. • Prior responsibility for project estimating, subcontractor procurement, scheduling, cost control, claims management, and dispute resolution. • Extensive experience working alongside engineers, licensors, and specialty fabricators to deliver technically complex facilities.

Scalable Delivery Model

To support anticipated growth, the construction partner is establishing a dedicated program team for process-industry projects, including:

• Senior EPC leadership with petrochemical and industrial plant experience • Dedicated project managers and superintendents for mechanical-intensive scopes • Integrated project controls (schedule, cost, forecasting) • Procurement and expediting resources for long-lead equipment • QA/QC and commissioning support tailored to process facilities

This model is designed to scale from the initial facility through multiple concurrent projects, enabling the Company to transition efficiently from first-of-kind execution to standardized replication.

Venture Engineering & Construction, Inc.

Founded in 2007, Venture Engineering & Construction, Inc. is a privately owned engineering and construction firm headquartered in Warrendale, PA just north of Pittsburgh.

Venture employs a robust staff of multi-disciplinary engineers, designers, project managers, and construction managers to accommodate process and environmental projects that range in size and scope. The Venture team provides a full range of services from front-end conceptual engineering to detailed design, construction, commissioning and operations and maintenance services.

Over the last 15 years we have built a strong leadership team with exceptional depth of experience and breadth of expertise. We have removed operational barricades that stand in the way of successful project outcomes, and we have invested in our employees, assets and technologies that will keep us at the forefront of emerging environmental concerns for years to come.

BlackBear Transmission