BT Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: BTBD) announced a new strategic collaboration between Aero Velocity Inc. and HMT LLC, a leader in above‑ground storage tank technology and environmental solutions. The partnership designates Aero Velocity as HMT’s preferred provider of drone and robotic data acquisition for tank inspection and asset‑integrity programs, combining Aero Velocity’s high‑resolution imaging, LiDAR, and DaaS capabilities with HMT’s inspection engineering, interpretation, and certification expertise.
The U.S. above‑ground storage tank inspection market is estimated to be several hundred million dollars annually, and the partnership positions the combined entity to capture a large, regulated, recurring revenue stream. Aero Velocity’s UAVs are American‑made and NDAA‑compliant, a critical requirement for government and federally funded projects that restrict the use of foreign‑made components. This compliance gives the partnership a competitive edge in the regulated inspection sector and aligns with the growing demand for safer, more efficient inspection methods.
BT Brands’ role in the collaboration is to facilitate the integration of Aero Velocity’s technology into the merger framework. The partnership is expected to add a new revenue stream and strengthen the overall value proposition of the pending merger, which is anticipated to close in early 2026. The collaboration also signals BT Brands’ strategic pivot from its traditional restaurant operations toward a technology‑focused business model, leveraging Aero Velocity’s drone platform to expand into industrial services.
BT Brands reported FY2024 revenue of $14.8 million, a 5.3% increase from the prior year, but the company remained unprofitable with an operating margin of –12.4%. The new collaboration is therefore a significant step toward diversifying revenue sources and improving profitability, as the drone‑inspection business offers a recurring, high‑margin model that contrasts with the thin margins of the restaurant sector.
Mark Hastings, CEO of Aero Velocity, said the partnership would be a cornerstone of revenue growth in 2026 and beyond, noting that the U.S. tank‑inspection market is large, highly regulated, and recurring. Veronique Trudeau, CEO of HMT, highlighted that the collaboration will deliver high‑quality, consistent datasets at scale, improving safety, reducing costs, and enabling better maintenance planning for asset owners.
The collaboration positions BT Brands to capture a sizable share of the regulated inspection market, while Aero Velocity gains a preferred customer and a platform to scale its DaaS model. Together, the companies can modernize tank inspection processes, lower costs, and provide better data for maintenance planning, thereby strengthening the strategic fit between BT Brands’ restaurant operations and Aero Velocity’s technology platform and setting the stage for a technology‑centric future for the combined entity.
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