Veolia Expands Operations In Brazil With Strategic Acquisition In The State Of Alagoas

Strengthening its footprint in Northeast Brazil, increasing its capacities and amplifying its services portfolio, Veolia integrates leading regional waste management companies into its national operations.

Veolia, the global leader in resource management in the waste, energy and water sectors, has announced a major expansion in Brazil with the acquisition of prominent companies in Alagoas: Alagoas Ambiental and Serquip Tratamentos Resíduos AL. These companies are recognized leaders in solid waste management, treatment, and recovery in the Northeast region.

This acquisition marks a significant step in Veolia’s strategic consolidation in Alagoas and in its mission to lead and strengthen decarbonization, depollution and regeneration of resources in the entire country. Alongside Grune by Veolia — Veolia’s subsidiary providing clean steam energy from biomass to Braskem’s industrial plant in Marechal Deodoro (AL) since 2023 — the company now adds three new EcoParks and two healthcare waste treatment facilities to its operations in the state.

Approved by Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), the transaction strengthens Veolia’s presence beyond São Paulo and Santa Catarina — where the company already operates seven EcoParks — and is part of its ongoing merger and acquisition strategy in Brazil initiated in 2020. The goal: to scale up operations aligned with the Ecological Transformation purpose, specially in regards to municipal and hazardous waste management and recycling, as well as energy recovery. These segments being identified as important growth boosters in the strategic plan of the company, GreenUp.

The newly acquired facilities in Alagoas bring an increase of around 15% in the amount of waste managed by Veolia in Brazil, surpassing 5 millions tons of waste per year. Also, the transaction reinforces Veolia’s operations, offering a comprehensive portfolio of services, including tire valorization, energy generation through biogas, incineration and autoclave treatment of medical waste, recycling of construction waste, and the treatment and final disposal of Class I (hazardous) and Class II A and B (non-hazardous) waste. They also feature leachate treatment through reverse osmosis, a biomass power plant, a blending facility for co-processing, and a wastewater treatment station.

With this expansion, approximately 380 employees will join Veolia’s team, bringing its total workforce in Brazil to over 2,900, and will bring several private customers and nearly 80 municipalities from Alagoas, Pernambuco and Sergipe, serving more than 1.7 million northeastern residents, to its customer base.

“This acquisition represents how much Veolia believes in the potential of the region, and of these companies, as an important platform for ecological transformation, not only in the northeast, but in Brazil as a whole”, said Pedro Prádanos, CEO of Veolia Brazil. “We give immense value to what has been built and we are committed to maintain and potentialize it: high quality operations and performance, strong principles of environmental education and social development. This operation boosts our business presence in the country, in line with our multifaceted performance and value generation point of view.”