Thermaco

What Thermaco does

Thermaco, Inc. is a privately held US manufacturer founded in 1984 and headquartered in North Carolina, specializing in pretreatment equipment that separates fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from wastewater generated by food service establishments. The company operates two primary branded product lines: Big Dipper, an Automatic Grease Recovery Unit designed for above-floor installation at three-compartment sinks, and TrapZilla, a high-efficiency grease interceptor targeting underground and high-capacity installations. Both product lines are engineered around Stokes Law-based separation principles and are certified to UPC, PDI, ASME, and UL standards, which are effectively procurement requirements for municipal pretreatment programs.

Thermaco's go-to-market is channel-led: products are sold through a network of US sales representatives and international distributors, supported by dedicated microsites for each brand and public-facing locator tools. The company markets primarily to three constituencies — food service operators, municipal pretreatment officials, and specifying engineers/architects — using an extensive content marketing footprint including a blog authored in part by founder Bill Batten, sizing tools, downloadable specifications, and certification libraries. With 50,000+ documented installations across all 7 continents and 40+ years of operating history, Thermaco's revenue model is straightforward hardware sales (a single disclosed revenue stream) with pricing handled through a quote-based process via channel partners rather than published list pricing.

The company operates as a small (11–50 employees), founder-influenced, self-funded industrial business with no disclosed equity funding, no parent company, no M&A activity, and no publicly available financial metrics. It addresses a structurally regulated market — the US grease interceptor market is valued at approximately $485M in 2024 with projected 4.3% CAGR through 2033 — where code-mandated certification and incumbency with engineering specifiers are the primary competitive levers.

Name

Thermaco

Legal name

Thermaco, Inc.

Website

https://thermaco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Thermaco is a privately held North Carolina manufacturer of grease interceptors (Big Dipper and TrapZilla brands) sold through US representatives and international distributors to food service establishments, pretreatment regulators, and specifying engineers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grease Interceptors and Wastewater Pretreatment Equipment

akta.pro primary industry

Grease Trap & FOG (Fats, Oils, Grease) Pumping & Management (BPALAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grease Trap, Used Cooking Oil & FOG Services (Collection & Recycling) (EUAIAGAK)

Keywords

• Grease interceptors
• FOG management
• Wastewater pretreatment
• Commercial kitchen equipment
• Grease recovery units

Headquarters

HQ city

Asheboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grease Interceptor Equipment Sales: Sale of Big Dipper and TrapZilla grease interceptor products to food service establishments, pretreatment regulators, engineers, and installers. Products are sold through channel partners including US representatives and international distributors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Thermaco manufactures grease interceptors and solids-separating pretreatment accessories for the food service industry. The company's two branded product lines—Big Dipper Automatic Grease Recovery Units and TrapZilla high-efficiency grease interceptors—capture fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from commercial kitchen wastewater before discharge to sewer systems. Products are sold to restaurants, food service operators, engineers, pretreatment officials, and installers primarily through a network of US representatives and international distributors.

Product overview

Thermaco manufactures innovative grease management solutions for the food service industry, operating two primary product lines: Big Dipper (Automatic Grease Recovery Units) and Trapzilla (high-efficiency grease interceptors). Both products serve the same fundamental purpose of separating fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from wastewater in commercial kitchens, but target different installation scenarios - Big Dipper is typically plumbed to three-compartment sinks while Trapzilla is designed for underground or larger-capacity applications. The company has been in operation for over 40 years with more than 50,000 installations worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Big Dipper: Automatic Grease Recovery Units (AGRUs) designed for easy installation and maintenance in commercial kitchens
• Trapzilla

Products and services

• Big Dipper Automatic Grease Recovery Unit Automatic Grease Recovery Unit (AGRU) designed for easy installation and maintenance in commercial kitchens, plumbed to three-compartment sinks to automatically skim and recover grease from kitchen wastewater before it enters the sewer system. Targets food service operators seeking regulatory compliance with reduced maintenance.
• TrapZilla High-Efficiency Grease Interceptor High-efficiency grease interceptor with a compact design featuring horizontal baffles that reduce retained grease from contacting soaps and detergents, minimizing emulsification and improving grease capture. Targets food service establishments, engineers, and pretreatment officials needing compliant, higher-capacity FOG separation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ installations completed worldwide across all 7 continents
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Schier Products: Schier Products manufactures grease interceptors and FOG management devices for commercial kitchens, directly competing with Thermaco's Big Dipper and TrapZilla lines across similar foodservice and pretreatment channels.
• MIFAB: MIFAB manufactures plumbing drainage products including hydromechanical grease interceptors and floor drains, directly overlapping with Thermaco's TrapZilla line on engineering specifications for commercial kitchens.
• Jay R. Smith (Smith-Cooper): Jay R. Smith is a long-established manufacturer of hydromechanical grease interceptors and drainage products, competing directly with Thermaco on engineered commercial foodservice installations.
• Josam Company: Josam produces commercial plumbing drainage products including grease interceptors and separators, targeting the same engineering/specifier channels that drive Thermaco's TrapZilla sales.
• Canplas Industries: Canplas manufactures plumbing drainage fittings including grease interceptor products, overlapping with Thermaco in the under-sink and hydromechanical grease interceptor segments, particularly across North American distributors.
• Anvil International: Anvil produces drainage and plumbing products including grease interceptors commonly specified in commercial kitchens, competing with Thermaco in specification-driven foodservice buildouts.
• Wade (McKinnon): Wade manufactures commercial drainage products including grease traps and interceptors for institutional and foodservice facilities, directly competing with Thermaco on commercial kitchen specifications.

Broad incumbents

• Zurn Elkay Water Solutions: Zurn is a large, established plumbing products manufacturer offering commercial grease interceptors among a broader portfolio of drainage, water safety, and flow systems—competing head-on with Thermaco in foodservice pretreatment.
• Watts Water Technologies: Watts Water is a diversified plumbing and water treatment equipment manufacturer with grease interceptor products inside a much broader valves, flow, and drainage portfolio, competing with Thermaco for specification-driven commercial kitchen jobs.

Emerging players

• Ashland PolyTrap: Ashland offers polymer-based grease trap additives and FOG treatment solutions targeting the foodservice pretreatment market, providing an adjacent alternative/supplementary approach to mechanical interceptors like Thermaco's units.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Thermaco