Rick Kersey
How Rick Kersey Turned an Industrial Business Exit into a Waste-to-Energy Technology Platform
A discussion on entrepreneurship, engineering innovation, and building global partnerships to convert waste into clean energy.
Rick Kersey built and sold a successful industrial distribution company before turning his attention to one of the world’s biggest challenges: waste. In this episode, he explains how his team developed proprietary waste-to-energy technology capable of converting municipal waste into usable energy with virtually zero landfill impact.The conversation explores the realities of developing new technology, building global project partnerships, and turning waste streams into scalable energy infrastructure.
Watch / Listen
About This Episode
Entrepreneur Rick Kersey began his career in the industrial supply sector, eventually taking over a family-owned distribution business that specialized in atmospheric gases, welding supplies, and industrial equipment. After growing the company and selling it in 2007, he began exploring new ventures that could combine industrial engineering with long-term infrastructure opportunities.
That exploration ultimately led him into the waste-to-energy sector.
In this episode, Rick explains how an early technology acquisition that failed to perform as expected forced his team to rethink their entire approach. Through years of engineering work and iteration, they ultimately developed a proprietary system that processes municipal waste and converts it into usable energy products such as synthetic gas and electricity.
Henry Harrison and Rick discuss the realities of building new industrial technologies, the complexity of waste processing systems, and why proven operational performance matters in an industry where many projects remain theoretical.
Rick also shares how his team structures international projects by partnering with local operators who understand regional waste streams, regulatory environments, and infrastructure needs.
The conversation highlights the intersection of entrepreneurship, energy innovation, and environmental impact — and explores how scalable waste-to-energy systems could help address both landfill challenges and energy demand around the world.
Key Insights
Building new technology often begins with failure; Rick’s system emerged after an early technology acquisition did not perform as expected.
Waste-to-energy includes multiple approaches, from traditional incineration to advanced gasification systems.
Pre-processing waste streams to recover metals and recyclables improves both efficiency and economic viability.
Gasification allows municipal waste to be converted into usable energy products such as syngas and electricity.
Proven operational performance is critical; Rick’s gasification technology has logged more than 10,000 operational hours across multiple development generations.
International infrastructure projects succeed when local partners manage regulatory relationships and feedstock agreements.
Advanced waste-to-energy systems can operate energy-neutral by generating the power needed to run their own facilities.
Vitrified aggregate created during the process can be reused in construction materials, reducing landfill dependency.
Episode Transcript
This Transcript has been edited for readability:
Henry Harrison:
Welcome, Rick, to Entrepreneurs, Business & Finance. We’re fortunate to have Rick Kersey on the show today. He has a very interesting background, and we actually met indirectly through the Entrepreneurs’ Organization that we’re both members of.
We were introduced through a mutual entrepreneur in EO. It used to be called the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization when we joined, and then they changed the name. Of course, we all got older along the way.
With that in mind, you have an interesting background from the Midwest. I believe you had success in wrestling and even earned a scholarship. What did you focus on in college?
Rick Kersey:
Business — and staying out of trouble. And I did a little wrestling too.
Henry Harrison:
I also understand that you became an entrepreneur with your father and other family members in a family business that you eventually took over, grew, and sold. Is that correct?
Rick Kersey:
Yes, that’s right. It was an industrial distribution company in the Midwest. We also dealt with atmospheric gases, welding supplies, and related equipment.
My father bought the company in 1950. Eventually he decided he was ready to retire, so my brother, sister, and I bought him out. Later on, I bought out my brother and sister as well, and ultimately sold the company in 2007.
Henry Harrison:
That’s a great success story. Obviously you gained extensive experience working with gas, metals, machinery, and industrial systems.
Somewhere along the way you developed an interest in waste-to-energy. For people who may not be familiar with it, could you explain what waste-to-energy is, how you became interested in it, and how you eventually developed new technology in that space?
Rick Kersey:
It’s been quite a journey.
After I sold my first business, I was asked to get involved in a company that wanted to do waste processing. At that point I was looking for new opportunities.
We initially acquired a technology from a company in Texas. Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly as planned with that system. As a result, we began doing additional development work.
I personally spent a great deal of time working on the engineering and development side. Over time we ended up creating a completely new technology. While it was based on the same original concept, it ultimately became an entirely different proprietary system that we now use in our current projects.
Connect with Rick Kersey
Enjoyed This Episode?
Subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. Available on all major platforms.