GrayMatter Acquires New Frontier Technologies, Strengthening Industrial Automation Pillar and Anchoring a New Kansas City Presence

Combination deepens GrayMatter's industrial automation capabilities across oil and gas, process industries and data centers — and grows the team to more than 500 strong, with partnerships built to last.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GrayMatter today announced the acquisition of New Frontier Technologies (NFT), a Kansas City-based industrial automation specialist with deep roots in oil and gas (employees in Midland/Odessa and Houston meccas), a strong portfolio across hydrocarbon and process industries and growing momentum in the mission-critical data center market. The acquisition deepens GrayMatter's Industrial Automation pillar, adds real pipeline operational experience to the firm and establishes GrayMatter's presence in the Kansas City and Texas markets.

An Industrial Automation Story Built on Oil and Gas

NFT brings a distinguished industrial automation pedigree to GrayMatter. Founded with a focus on the oil and gas industry, NFT has spent years engineering durable control, integration and vision systems for some of the most demanding operating environments in the country. The firm has earned its reputation the right way — by showing up, solving real problems and standing behind the work.

From that foundation, NFT has expanded steadily into various industry sectors, including chemicals, hydrocarbon-powered utilities, alternative energy utilities, and other hydrocarbon-driven sectors. The team has also built a fast-growing data center practice, where the reliability engineering, controls expertise and process discipline translate directly to the mission-critical infrastructure powering the next generation of hyperscale environments.

A particular point of differentiation is NFT's vision-based material handling expertise. Of the two locations in Kansas City, one focuses solely on this. The team designs and deploys machine-vision and automation systems that move, sort and quality-check materials at scale — capabilities increasingly in demand across logistics, manufacturing and energy operations as customers push for higher throughput, fewer errors and tighter integration with their broader operational technology stack.

"GrayMatter is built the same way as NFT — focusing on relationships, technical depth and outcomes that make a difference. This combination gives our team a bigger platform to do the work we love for the customers who depend on us." — Craig Walker, CEO, New Frontier Technologies

Strengthening GrayMatter's Industrial Automation Pillar

The acquisition directly strengthens GrayMatter's Industrial Automation pillar, one of the firm's three core practice areas alongside Factory Transformation and Brilliant Operations. NFT's deep technical bench, its oil and gas heritage and its growing data center footprint expand the industries GrayMatter serves and broaden the engineering, integration and applications expertise the firm can deploy at scale. With NFT joining the team, GrayMatter will now stand at more than 500 people strong — giving customers in oil and gas, life sciences, food and beverage, distribution and data center operations a single partner with the breadth and depth to support them end to end.

"Acquiring NFT strengthens our Industrial Automation pillar in exactly the way we want to grow — by adding a team of Thinkers and Doers who care about their customers the way we care about ours," said Paul Galeski, CEO of GrayMatter. "Craig and the NFT team have built something durable in Kansas City. Bringing them into GrayMatter gets us to more than 500 strong, with relationships built to last."

Built to Last — In Our People, In Our Partnerships

The cultural fit between GrayMatter and NFT was clear early — both organizations have grown by hiring smart, capable Thinkers and Doers who care about their customers' operations, and both have spent years earning trust in industries where the cost of failure is high. Bringing NFT's team into GrayMatter is an investment in both companies' future and in the customers who have counted on each of them.

"Our team is the heart of New Frontier — the engineers, technicians and project leaders who show up for our customers every day," said Craig Walker. "GrayMatter recognized that, valued it and built this combination around it. Kansas City has been a great home for us, and joining GrayMatter gives our people a stronger platform to serve the industries we love."

A New Dot on the Map: Kansas City

The acquisition establishes GrayMatter's first dedicated presence in the Kansas City metro, an emerging hub for industrial automation, advanced manufacturing and data center investment in the central United States. Kansas City sits at the intersection of energy, logistics and infrastructure — three markets where GrayMatter is actively investing — and gives the firm a strong geographic anchor for serving customers across the central corridor and beyond.

The NFT acquisition marks GrayMatter's next chapter — accelerating growth across the Industrial Automation pillar while deepening the regional presence and customer relationships that define how the firm operates.

About GrayMatter

GrayMatter is a team of Thinkers and Doers helping manufacturers, life sciences companies and infrastructure operators modernize the systems that run their work. GrayMatter delivers across three core pillars — Factory Transformation, Brilliant Operations and Industrial Automation — advising from the factory floor, pairing operational technology with data, engineering and designing solutions that are built to last. GrayMatter, a portfolio company of Tailwind Capital, leverages strategic investment to fuel our mission of making industrial ideas real. Learn more at graymattersystems.com.

About New Frontier Technologies

Founded in Kansas City with two locations there and employees throughout Texas, New Frontier Technologies (NFT) is an industrial automation specialist serving oil and gas, hydrocarbon and process industries, data centers and vision-based material handling applications. NFT designs, integrates and supports the control, automation and vision systems that keep mission-critical operations running.

SOURCE GrayMatter