Perca
Perca is a privately held U.S. water treatment company that designs and deploys its patented Drilo2 vermifiltration system, using earthworms and microorganisms to remove up to 99.9% of contaminants from industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastewater without chemical inputs or harmful byproducts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersWalla Walla, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Perca does
Perca, Inc. is a privately held U.S. water treatment company headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington, that designs and deploys nature-based wastewater treatment systems under its proprietary Drilo2 platform. The core technology is vermifiltration — wastewater is passed through a biofilter composed of earthworms, associated microorganisms, and a plant-based substrate, driven by gravity with no chemical inputs and no high-pressure energy requirements. Perca holds a registered patent on the vermifiltration process and operates the Vermitech Innovation Center (VIC), an in-house R&D facility focused on worm species optimization, substrate alternatives, microbial adaptation, and emerging contaminant (PCB, PFAS, PAH) reduction. The system is deployed as a customizable Full-Service Unit that can serve as pre-treatment, primary, or tertiary supplementation to existing infrastructure, with reported contaminant removal rates of up to 99.9%.
Perca generates revenue through a combination of one-time system sales, multi-year service contracts, 90-day trailer-based demo deployments, paid R&D wastewater testing (covering BOD, TSS, nitrogen species, coliforms, PCBs, PFAS, PAHs), and bespoke consulting and design services. Its go-to-market is a consultative enterprise field-sales motion targeting municipalities, industrial facilities (food processing, agriculture, wineries), and environmental remediation projects — pursued through direct engagement, industry conferences (e.g., APWA), PR/earned media, and partnerships with geoengineering firms and academic institutions. Pricing is quote-based with no public price list, reflecting the project's custom-engineering nature.
The company's customer base to date is small and concentrated, anchored by a municipal reference deployment with the City of Walla Walla and an actively-running seafood-processing trial at Bornstein Seafood in Astoria, Oregon. The latter is partially grant-funded and supported by Oregon State University, the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, and the Oregon Wildlife Foundation. Perca is founder-led (CEO Russell V. Davis), privately financed with no disclosed institutional funding rounds, and operates with a small team (11-50 employees) that includes a Chief Science Officer with a Ph.D. in earthworm ecology, a CFO, R&D leadership, and field operations staff.
Perca firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Perca
- Legal name
- Perca, Inc.
- Website
- https://perca.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Perca is a privately held U.S. water treatment company that designs and deploys its patented Drilo2 vermifiltration system, using earthworms and microorganisms to remove up to 99.9% of contaminants from industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastewater without chemical inputs or harmful byproducts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Perca industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wastewater Treatment Systems
- NAICS
- Remediation Services (562910), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622)
- SIC
- Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industrial Wastewater Reuse (Cooling/Process/Boiler Feed) (EUANADAM), PFAS & Emerging Contaminants Treatment Services (IMAIAGAJ)
Keywords
Where Perca is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Walla Walla
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Perca business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Drilo2 Wastewater Treatment Systems: Perca sells and deploys its Drilo2 Full-Service Unit — a fully customizable, green-technology wastewater treatment system tailored to each client's specific application. Revenue is generated through system sales, installation, and ongoing service contracts. The system can be deployed as a pre-treatment, primary, or tertiary supplement to existing purification infrastructure.
- Demo Unit and Testing Services: Perca offers trailer-sized demo units deployed at client locations for a 90-day evaluation period, allowing clients to test the technology in real-world conditions. These units provide revenue through service fees and serve as a lead generation tool for full-system sales.
- Consulting and Design Services: Perca provides expert consulting services and custom wastewater treatment system design. The team offers guidance from initial assessment and system design through implementation and ongoing maintenance, providing personalized support throughout the client lifecycle.
- R&D Wastewater Testing: Perca conducts rigorous testing of wastewater samples from various sources, evaluating the efficacy of its vermifiltration system in reducing contaminants. Testing covers BOD, TSS, nitrogen species, coliforms, PCBs, PFAS, PAHs, and more, generating revenue from analytical service fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Custom-built Drilo2 Full-Service Unit |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Demo Unit (90-day deployment) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Perca product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Perca designs, manufactures, and deploys the Drilo2 vermifiltration system, a bio-based wastewater treatment technology that uses earthworms, microorganisms, plant-based substrate, and gravity to remove up to 99% of toxic contaminants from industrial and municipal wastewater. The company sells custom-built Drilo2 Full-Service Units, trailer-sized demo units for 90-day field evaluation, and offers R&D wastewater testing, custom system design, and consulting services.
Product overview
Perca offers a unified product portfolio centered on the Drilo2 vermifiltration system for wastewater treatment. The core product is the Drilo2 Full-Service Unit, a customizable bio-based treatment system using earthworms and microorganisms. Supporting the core system are add-on services including R&D Wastewater Testing (short-term testing units deployed for 90 days), Consulting Services, and Treatment System Design. The company also provides Demo Units for clients to evaluate the technology in real-world conditions. All offerings leverage Perca's proprietary vermifiltration technology that uses earthworms to remove up to 99% of contaminants from wastewater.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Drilo2 System: A bio-based wastewater treatment system that harnesses the power of earthworms and biological processes to detoxify water, achieving up to 99.9% reduction in toxic contaminants.
- Vermitech Innovation Center (VIC)
Products and services
- Drilo2 Full-Service Unit Perca's flagship Drilo2 Full-Service Unit is a fully customizable, green-technology wastewater treatment system using earthworms, microorganisms, plant-based substrate, and gravity to detoxify water. It can be deployed as pre-treatment, primary, or secondary/tertiary supplementation to existing infrastructure, and is targeted at municipalities, industrial facilities, and environmental remediation projects.
- Demo Unit and Testing Service Trailer-sized demo units deployed at the client's location for a 90-day evaluation period, allowing clients to test the Drilo2 technology in real-world conditions. Two units are currently in production to meet testing demand across industries such as food processing, agriculture, and municipal applications.
- R&D Wastewater Testing Rigorous analytical testing of client wastewater samples conducted at Perca's Vermitech Innovation Center, covering BOD, TSS, nitrogen species, coliforms, PCBs, PFAS, PAHs, and other contaminants to validate vermifiltration efficacy. Delivered as a standalone analytical service to clients evaluating the technology.
- Consulting Services Expert consulting engagements guiding clients through every step of the wastewater treatment process, from initial assessment and feasibility through system design, implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance and optimization support.
- Treatment System Design Custom engineering and design of vermifiltration treatment systems tailored to each client's specific application, facility size, and contaminant profile, delivered from conceptualization through execution as a standalone design engagement.
Companies that use Perca
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Perca technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Perca partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Oregon State University Seafood Research and Education CentercoreOregon State University Seafood Research and Education Center is collaborating with Perca on the vermifiltration trial for treating shrimp processing wastewater at Bornstein Seafood in Astoria, Oregon. The university provides scientific expertise and research validation for the trial's scalability assessment across seafood processing operations.
- West Coast Seafood Processors AssociationcoreThe West Coast Seafood Processors Association is a collaboration partner in Perca's shrimp processing wastewater vermifiltration trial, contributing industry perspective and facilitating access to seafood processing facilities for technology validation and scalability demonstration.
- Oregon Wildlife FoundationsupportingOregon Wildlife Foundation is a grant partner and environmental collaborator in Perca's shrimp processing wastewater treatment trial, providing funding support and environmental conservation expertise to assess the technology's ecological impact and scalability.
- Anatek LabssupportingAnatek Labs is one of Perca's premier laboratory partners in the Pacific Northwest, providing accurate and comprehensive sample testing services to validate the effectiveness of Perca's vermifiltration system in reducing contaminants.
- Pacific Rim LabssupportingPacific Rim Labs is a premier laboratory partner in the Pacific Northwest collaborating with Perca to ensure accurate and comprehensive testing of wastewater samples from clients evaluating the vermifiltration system.
- Umpqua ResearchsupportingUmpqua Research is a premier analytical laboratory partner serving Perca in the Pacific Northwest region, contributing to comprehensive testing and validation of Perca's vermifiltration treatment outcomes.
- Geoengineering FirmssupportingPerca collaborates with geoengineering firms as part of its strategic partnerships, working with like-minded stakeholders committed to environmental restoration and nature-based wastewater treatment solutions.
- MunicipalitiescorePerca partners with municipalities including the City of Walla Walla to deploy its Drilo2 vermifiltration system in municipal wastewater treatment applications, providing eco-engineering solutions for regulatory compliance and sustainable water management.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Perca competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Smith & Loveless: Smith & Loveless designs and manufactures factory-built, packaged wastewater treatment plants and pump stations for municipal and industrial customers. It is a direct head-to-head with Perca's Drilo2 Full-Service Unit in selling prefabricated, modular wastewater treatment systems to similar buyer profiles.
- BioMicrobics: BioMicrobics manufactures decentralized, packaged wastewater treatment systems (e.g., MicroFAST, BioBarrier) for municipal, residential, and small commercial applications. It competes head-to-head with Perca in selling turnkey wastewater treatment packages to communities and small-to-mid industrial customers.
- Cambrian Innovation: Cambrian Innovation develops biotech-enabled, nature-based industrial wastewater treatment and resource recovery solutions, including its EcoVolt and Ecopack systems. Like Perca, it targets industrial customers with biological treatment that produces a value-creating byproduct, making it the closest analog in business model and customer profile.
Broad incumbents
- Evoqua Water Technologies (now Xylem): Evoqua was a major North American provider of wastewater treatment products, services, and systems prior to its acquisition by Xylem. Its industrial and municipal treatment portfolio represents the conventional-technology incumbent alternatives that Perca's nature-based Drilo2 competes against.
- Veolia Water Technologies: Veolia (including legacy Suez Water Technologies) is the world's largest water and wastewater treatment technology and services provider, serving both municipal utilities and industrial customers. It is the primary broad incumbent that Perca must displace to win share in municipal and industrial tenders.
- Xylem: Xylem (now including Evoqua Water Technologies) is a global water technology leader offering a full portfolio of treatment, filtration, and monitoring solutions. Like Perca, it serves municipal utilities and industrial customers, but at vastly greater scale and across a much broader product portfolio.
- Ecolab: Ecolab's Water for Industry and Nalco Water businesses provide water treatment chemicals, equipment, and services to industrial customers, including food and beverage processors. It is a key incumbent competing for the same industrial wastewater customers Perca is targeting in food processing and seafood verticals.
Emerging players
- Aquacycl: Aquacycl provides bioelectrochemical treatment (BET) systems that use microbial communities to treat industrial wastewater with energy recovery. It overlaps with Perca on the vision of using biological processes rather than chemicals for industrial wastewater treatment, but uses electricity-driven biofilm reactors rather than earthworm vermifiltration.
- OriginClear: OriginClear develops decentralized water treatment and water reuse technologies aimed at industrial customers seeking on-site, lower-cost alternatives to centralized treatment. It overlaps with Perca in targeting industrial facilities with modular, on-site water treatment systems that reduce sludge and disposal liabilities.
Others
- Organix (Walla Walla): Organix is a Pacific Northwest-based organics recycling and soil amendment company that operates worm-based composting and previously employed Perca's Field and Operations Manager, Jerad Ashbeck, as a Field Manager. It is adjacent rather than competitive — a worm-based organics processor rather than wastewater treatment vendor — but its operational overlap in vermicomposting makes it a clear comparison point for the underlying biology.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Perca social profiles
Digital presencePerca financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Perca leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Perca funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Perca M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Perca
What does Perca do?
Perca designs, manufactures, and deploys the Drilo2 vermifiltration system, a bio-based wastewater treatment technology that uses earthworms, microorganisms, plant-based substrate, and gravity to remove up to 99% of toxic contaminants from industrial and municipal wastewater. The company sells custom-built Drilo2 Full-Service Units, trailer-sized demo units for 90-day field evaluation, and offers R&D wastewater testing, custom system design, and consulting services.
Is Perca a public or private company?
Perca is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Perca founded?
Perca was founded in 2023. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Perca based?
Perca is headquartered in Walla Walla, United States, in the North America region.
How does Perca make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Drilo2 Wastewater Treatment Systems are the primary driver. The others are demo Unit and Testing Services, consulting and Design Services and R&D Wastewater Testing.
Who are Perca's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Smith & Loveless, BioMicrobics and Cambrian Innovation. Broad incumbents are Evoqua Water Technologies (now Xylem), Veolia Water Technologies, Xylem and Ecolab. Emerging players are Aquacycl and OriginClear. Organix (Walla Walla) is listed as an others.
Does Perca have an API?
No public API is recorded for Perca.
What industry is Perca in?
Perca's product category is Wastewater Treatment Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAEAJ, Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems), with a secondary code of EUANADAM, Industrial Wastewater Reuse (Cooling/Process/Boiler Feed). Its NAICS code is 562910 and its SIC code is 3559.