The future of Dirt Hugger
It’s been over 12 years now, since Pierce and Tyler started brainstorming around the idea of building a business that was all about composting food and yard waste. They saw an opportunity to contribute to their local community in the Columbia River Gorge and figure out a way to successfully turn waste into into valuable organic matter that helps rebuild our soils.
In the time since, our dream of impact and innovation has continually expanded with three facilities built and four expansions at the Dallesport site. We’ve consistently looked for ways to do more while working towards building the best quality compost possible. For us, however, we’ve known that the ceiling of what was possible with our existing capital structure, systems, and team was quickly approaching. We still wanted to grow capacity and build more sites, but realistically needed help.
In June of this year, we were acquired by Atlas Organics. This move was made after many months, and really years, of thought and friendship. As a company, we knew that to achieve greater impact we were going to need the support and resources of a larger operation. Atlas Organics not only provided the financial backing needed, but also an alignment of culture and mission that we knew would make this change one that could last! After a meeting earlier this year, both companies' founders found that not only were our visions aligned but that the limitations of each company could be alleviated through this move. Dirt Hugger has experience in high-tech, low-cost infrastructure, brand building and unique soil blends. Atlas has strong scalable management systems, world-class team building, and infrastructure development. Together, we could be a good team.
“We are thrilled to join the Atlas team to leverage some of our site design and operations expertise at a much larger platform. It has been challenging for Dirt Hugger to grow beyond our one processing facility in Dallesport, WA, and with joining Atlas, they have some great experience and systems in place for building and managing multiple facilities.” said Tyler Miller “After 12 years in the composting industry, we still love it, have no desire to leave it, and look forward to building high-quality compost facilities with the Atlas team.”
We acknowledge that the word “acquisition” can leave a bad taste in the mouths of local customers that’ve supported us over the last 12 years. Examples of this done well are few and far between, however, to be honest, we are excited for the challenge! Our entire Dirt Hugger team has been looped in from the start. Both teams have had several visits out to the Atlas headquarters in Spartanburg, SC and to our Dirt Hugger locations. Together, we are taking our time to integrate into one, big, and diverse team. Here at Dirt Hugger, the possibilities and scale of impact have been broken wide open. We are excited to be a part of a greater network that reaches from our local Columbia River Gorge community to six other states around the country all working under the Atlas Organics name.
This is brand new territory for us and for you, as well. We are doing our best to make this change as smooth as possible, however we acknowledge we will drop the ball at certain points. When that happens, please reach out! It’ll be the same voices and faces that you’ve come to know over the last several years – we are still here to support you.
We’ve included an FAQ at the bottom of this page to answer some of the pressing questions. Below, we also wanted to share the post that Pierce wrote on LinkedIn about this acquisition so you all could hear about the process in his own words and better grasp the breadth of thought that went into making this decision Thank you for taking the time to read this and for the years of support! We are excited to start this new chapter with you.
“Today we sold our business. Dirt Hugger started as a dream to make an impact, to own a local business, to learn, and to have fun. It began with two test piles in Tyler’s back yard. He’d just attended a week-long training class put on by the US Composting Council taught by Matt Cotton, Jeff Gauge, Will Bakx and Cary Oshins. Newly minted with composting know-how, he was testing recipes. I didn’t have a clue, but I thought it was cool.
We built an office out of a trailer, rented 10 acres for $500/mo, and borrowed a loader from Crestline Construction. We had never driven loaders, but Erik Kerr taught us and told us we’d be proficient after six hours of practice. We wrote grants and put up $26k each with proceeds from our last work together to build our first site. For five years we scraped, struggled, and fought to make good compost. We poured ourselves into learning everything we could, toured every facility, went to every conference. At first we didn’t get paid, and didn’t care - it was awesome.
In 2015 we had to leave our site in The Dalles, OR, and thought about wrapping it up. The outpouring of support from our Kickstarter campaign provided us the emotional energy to give it another go, this time in Dallesport, WA. All our supporters’ names are still on the wall of our office. When I read the names, I still feel guilty, responsible, and embarrassed by the help we desperately needed and received from the community.
Again, we scraped, we struggled, and we fought to make the best compost possible.
12 years later we are starting a new chapter. Our team of 26 has big goals to build more sites, steal more material from the landfill, and make more compost, but, we’ve reached our limits. Tyler and I were personally guaranteeing more bank debt than we could ever repay. Our systems were not yet ready to scale, and we didn’t have the capacity to manage new sites remotely.
Enter Gary and Joseph, the co-founders of Atlas Organics. We’ve known and respected each other over the past seven years as fellow compost hustlers. Each year at the USCC conference, we’d trade notes, war stories, and ideas. They’d taken the outside capital route, we took the self-funded route, but we were on the same path. We met for two days this past winter and talked values, mission, and ambition and were remarkably aligned.
After a few weeks of reflection, we realized that joining forces would help us both move towards our shared mission - making phenomenal compost from recycled organics, at scale. We had experience in high-tech, low cost infrastructure, brand building, and quality compost. Atlas had experience in scalable management systems, world-class team building, and infrastructure development. We could use the Atlas scalable platform to deliver Dirt Hugger-style products across the country. That combination, along with our values-aligned capital partner, Generate, is intriguing and exhilarating.
We just finished a week of integration (ahead of our closing) working with both the Atlas and Dirt Hugger teams. With a team of 20 people on site across two visits, Gary and Joseph personally sat down with each member of our team 1:1 to discuss their concerns, fears, and aspirations. That level of care, humility, and respect is what reaffirms our belief that this is the right partnership. We have assembled an incredible group of people who proudly wear the Dirt Hugger shirt every day. Atlas will offer all of us opportunities for impact - beyond what Dirt Hugger alone could have provided.
We know acquisitions can be rough, bumpy, and fraught. I’m sure we will have our share of issues and dropped balls. But, both companies are committed to addressing those, fixing them, and moving on with an entrepreneurial spirit. I further realize that there will be a major adjustment to approach these new problems, no longer as the business owner, but as an employee. I swore I’d never be an employee again, but I think it’s worth it, especially with this team, to achieve greater impact in the long run.
Regardless of what happens next, Dirt Hugger has been a deeply fulfilling experience. The highs have been high and the lows very low (most of them both were people related). The people who taught us 12 years ago are proudly friends, colleagues, and still mentors (yeah, Jack and Winterbottom!). We owe a deep debt of gratitude to our community, to the industry, our employees, and our families. We couldn’t have done it without you.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds...”
FAQ’s
We have news!
On June 23rd, 2022, Dirt Hugger was acquired by Atlas Organics, one of the fastest growing composting companies in the US.
“This joining of our teams allows us to combine best practices from both companies to make Atlas an amazing place to work and an industry shaping company” - Pierce
How does this affect you as a local and loyal Dirt Hugger customer?
Not by much really!
You will see the same Hugger team faces, have the same great quality products and be a part of having a greater impact on a national level!
“Powered by” Atlas Organics means more opportunities will be coming our way to elevate our operations, compost quality and customer service! Both the Dirt Hugger Compost Facility in Dallesport and Landscape Supply Yard in The Dalles will continue to operate as usual.
Will product quality change at all?
It will change. The plan is for the better! This fall, we’ll be drawing up plans and rolling out phase one of improvements to our compost curing process. We now have the resources and larger team we need to pave and install air under our compost curing piles. This project will allow for the compost to be on air longer and reach a mature age more efficiently and thoroughly. In the end, a more consistent and cured organic compost for you and your soil.
Will prices change?
There won’t be any additional price changes due to the purchase. Come 2023, we’ll reassess prices like we’ve always done. So no real change there.
Will there be any job opportunities?
This acquisition will open doors to greater job opportunities within the local community. Find a list of open positions on our website at Dirt Hugger Careers and on Atlas Organics Indeed
What about Pierce and Tyler?
Pierce Louis and Tyler Miller, Dirt Hugger Co-Founders, are still here! Both are now a part of the Atlas central support team to drive alignment and impact.
“We are joining with Atlas Organics for a few reasons. Most importantly, we think they are a good culture fit and in joining with Atlas allows us to execute our mission and vision. This will provide us all with more career and impact opportunities” shared Pierce Louis, Dirt Hugger Co-Founder “We are excited to learn from the Atlas team and combine best practices from both companies to make Atlas an amazing place to work and an industry -shaping company.”
“We are thrilled to join the Atlas team to leverage some of our site design and operations expertise at a much larger platform. It has been challenging for Dirt Hugger to grow beyond our one processing facility in Dallesport, WA, and with joining Atlas, they have some great experience and systems in place for building and managing multiple facilities.” said Tyler Miller, Dirt Hugger Co-Founder “After 12 years in the composting industry, we still love it, have no desire to leave it, and look forward to building high-quality compost facilities with the Atlas team.”
Where do I go to purchase Dirt Hugger products?
Our hours, phone number and website are the same. Phone: 541-946-3478
Website: www.dirthugger.com & www.atlasorganics.net
Stop by our Retail Landscape Yard to pick up any Dirt Hugger products: Organic Compost, Soil Blends, Potting Mixes, Bark Mulch, Wood Chips, Rock and Gravel. Find us at 749 Snipes Street, The Dalles, OR (The old Jones Auto Wrecking Yard) You can even order online for delivery or pickup at: Online Orders
Need to drop off your yard debris or food waste?
Head to our Compost Manufacturing Facility at 111 East Rockland Road, Dallesport, WA. Find a list of what you can compost at our facility here: Accepted Items