Harry Davis & Company

What Harry Davis & Company does

Harry Davis & Company is a privately held, family-owned (three generations) industrial brokerage and auction firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded in 1955 and operating exclusively within the food and beverage industry. The company operates a four-line service platform: asset valuations and appraisals, equipment auctions, an equipment marketplace, and turnkey facility sales. Its core commercial asset is a 70-year network of 35,000+ unique buyers and a track record of 2,500+ facility sales and $30B+ in appraised assets, used to match corporate sellers of surplus dairy, beverage, and food-processing assets with qualified buyers — both through private negotiations and scheduled auctions. The revenue model is transaction-fee based, with commissions on completed facility sales and auction transactions, supplemented by professional-services fees for appraisals.

The technology stack is a conventional B2B web platform: a public marketplace, an auction calendar with online bidding, digital inspection-booking, online payment, and wire-transfer request tools. There is no public API, SDK, or disclosed AI/ML capability. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by content marketing (industry blog, newsletter), targeting food and beverage manufacturers — with dairy as the dominant vertical — alongside CPG brands and consumer packaged goods companies (Blue Bunny, Nestle, Danone, Saputo, HP Hood, Land O'Lakes, JBS). Distribution is dual: direct relationship-based deal-making for enterprise facility transactions and self-serve auction/marketplace participation for mid-market equipment buyers. Recent mandates include the 2024 turnkey sale of HP Hood's Philadelphia ESL facility to MDVA's Maola Local Dairies, the 2026 sale of Alpenrose butter operations from Smith Brothers Farms to Plant Based Innovations, and the 2026 sale of the former Harrisburg Dairies to Patanjali Dairy USA.

Name

Harry Davis & Company

Legal name

Harry Davis & Company LLC

Website

https://harrydavis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Harry Davis & Company is a Pittsburgh-based, family-owned food and beverage industry broker founded in 1955, providing appraisals, equipment auctions, an equipment marketplace, and turnkey facility sales to dairy, beverage, and food manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Facility Sales Commission: Commission-based revenue from facilitating turnkey facility sales for food and beverage companies, connecting buyers and sellers in completed transactions
2. Equipment Auctions: Auction services for idle assets and equipment, generating fees from successful sales
3. Valuations & Appraisals: Asset valuation and appraisal services for food and beverage industry assets
4. Equipment Marketplace: Platform connecting buyers and sellers of used food and beverage processing equipment

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Harry Davis & Company is a Pittsburgh-based brokerage and auction firm specializing in asset solutions for the food and beverage industry. The company facilitates turnkey facility sales, used equipment marketplace transactions, live and timed auctions, and asset valuations/appraisals, connecting buyers and sellers of food and beverage processing facilities and equipment.

Product overview

Harry Davis & Company operates as 'The Food & Beverage Market Makers,' offering a unified suite of asset solutions for the food and beverage industry. The company's portfolio consists of four core service offerings: Asset Valuations & Appraisals (providing reliable asset values), Auctions (selling idle assets or buying specialized equipment), Equipment Marketplace (leveraging the HDC buyer network for equipment transactions), and Turnkey Facility Sales (facilitating complete facility sales for immediate market entry). Supporting these are the Auction Archive and Equipment Marketplace Archive, which provide historical transaction records. The company has facilitated over 2,500 facility sales, appraised over $30B in assets, and maintains a network of 35,000+ unique buyers. Their expertise spans dairy, cheese, ice cream, beverage, meat processing, and broader food and beverage sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Asset Valuations & Appraisals Trusted valuation and appraisal services providing reliable asset values for food and beverage industry equipment and facilities; offered to food and beverage companies needing formal asset valuations.
• Auctions Timed and live auction services enabling sellers to dispose of idle food and beverage processing assets and buyers to purchase specialized equipment; offered to food and beverage industry participants.
• Equipment Marketplace Online marketplace that leverages the HDC buyer network of 35,000+ unique buyers to enable sellers to capitalize on idle equipment assets and buyers to purchase used food and beverage processing equipment.
• Turnkey Facility Sales Full facility brokerage service providing turnkey operations ready for immediate entry into the marketplace, connecting buyers and sellers of complete operating food and beverage facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Facilitated sale preserving about 35 local jobs at Alpenrose facility
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Patanjali Dairy USAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 June 2026Harry Davis & Company completed the sale of former Harrisburg Dairies (3-acre Pennsylvania facility) to Patanjali Dairy USA LLC. The Pittsburgh-based dairy industry broker facilitated the transaction which preserves local dairy production capacity and jobs under new ownership. Harrisburg Dairies had served the local community for 94 years before operations ceased in October.
• Plant Based InnovationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 April 2026Harry Davis & Co. facilitated the acquisition of Alpenrose butter, sour cream, and ice cream mix business operations in Clackamas, Oregon from Smith Brothers Farms. The transaction preserves approximately 35 local jobs and ensures continuation of dairy production operations, supporting the regional dairy supply chain.
• HP HoodcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHarry Davis & Company brokered the 2024 turnkey sale of HP Hood's Philadelphia ESL facility to MDVA's Maola Local Dairies. The company leveraged relationships and expertise to navigate the pathway to a successful closing, with expert negotiation and professional communication exceeding expectations.
• Tillamook County Creamery AssociationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHarry Davis & Company facilitated the purchase of former Prairie Farms Ice Cream Specialties facility in Decatur, IL. The sale brought sustained dairy production to the region.
• Smith Brothers FarmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHarry Davis & Company facilitated the sale of Alpenrose operations from Smith Brothers Farms to Plant Based Innovations, preserving regional dairy production capacity.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aaron Equipment Company: Used process equipment dealer specializing in food, dairy, beverage, and pharmaceutical processing equipment. Closely comparable to HDC's equipment marketplace and valuation services in dairy and F&B verticals.
• Barliant Auctions: Auction house specializing in food processing, packaging, and material handling equipment — a tight niche overlap with HDC's F&B equipment auction and turnkey facility disposition business.
• Machinery & Equipment Corporation: Used process equipment dealer serving food, dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. Overlaps with HDC on equipment sourcing, valuation, and complete-plant transactions.
• Perry Videx: Used process equipment dealer covering chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and beverage processing equipment globally. Comparable used-equipment marketplace and broker model to HDC.
• Loeb Winternitz Industrial Auctioneers: Industrial auction and asset disposition firm with exposure to food, beverage, and consumer products clients. Comparable to HDC in delivering live and online auction events plus private-treaty equipment sales.
• Maynards Industries: Industrial auction and appraisal firm with experience in complete plant and food processing equipment liquidations. Comparable to HDC in offering turnkey facility disposition and equipment auctions.
• Heritage Global Partners: Industrial asset auctioneer and valuation firm specializing in machinery, equipment, and facility sales across multiple sectors including food processing. Directly comparable business model to HDC's auction and appraisal services.
• Federal Equipment Company: Used process equipment dealer with strong presence in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical processing equipment — directly overlapping HDC's equipment marketplace offering and buyer base.

Broad incumbents

• Gordon Brothers: Global asset disposition, valuation, and auction firm serving consumer products, industrial, and food/beverage clients. Highly comparable to HDC's appraisal-plus-brokerage model but operating across many verticals at much larger scale.
• Hilco Global: Diversified industrial asset disposition firm offering valuations, auctions, and private-treaty sales across multiple industries including food and beverage. Competes with HDC for enterprise asset disposition mandates but at broader scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Harry Davis & Company