Eyes on the road

Formerly Bulk Express Transport, Bulk Environmental & Industrial was founded in 1993 by brothers Ramon and Bernie Mijares and has grown from its roots in disaster debris collection to become a leading transportation and logistics company.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, the Miami-based company focused on transporting hurricane debris in Miami-Dade County. Tasked with moving tens of thousands of tons of debris from county staging areas to landfills further north, Bulk Environmental became one of the first companies in south Florida to use walking floor trailers.

Once hurricane debris cleanup was completed, the company transitioned to providing municipal solid waste transportation at various transfer stations in south Florida and, eventually, throughout the Florida peninsula.

Today, Bulk Environmental’s scope has broadened substantially into a diversified transportation provider, servicing Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas.

Building on a solid foundation

In December 2022, Bulk Environmental was acquired by Alterna Equity Partners (AEP), a Delray Beach, Florida- based lower-middle-market private equity firm. The acquisition included Bulk Environmental’s portfolio of companies: Bulk Express Transport, Soil Tech Distributors, M3 Transport and Inter City Disposal.

In a news release announcing the acquisition, Jack Montero, who joined Bulk Environmental in 1994 as president and currently serves as chief operating officer, said, “I am excited about the opportunities presented by the new partnership and firmly believe that we are well- positioned for significant continued growth as the company seeks new markets and opportunities.”

According to AEP, Bulk Environmental exhibited several key characteristics that led to its acquisition of the company. In addition to long-term, contractual revenue with blue-chip clients underpinned by noncyclical end markets, AEP says it admired the company’s range of services, which it called “mission-critical” to the waste value chain.

Like many companies in the industry, Bulk Environmental benefits from continuous demand for its essential service alongside strong industry tailwinds. Continued population growth in Florida and the Southeast has necessitated investment in scaled, reliable models of waste transportation and disposal. AEP says it also appreciated the company’s “excellent operational performance” and talented management team, which has developed a reputation for being reliable and efficient while also prioritizing safety and sustainability.

Finally, the equity firm says it could see actionable growth opportunities, including the expansion of Bulk Environmental’s service offerings to include liquid bulk hauling, further penetration into new and existing markets and the use of enterprise and fleet technology solutions to drive operational efficiencies.

Shortly after the acquisition, the company expanded its presence across the Southeast, acquiring Attaway Hauling and Choice Bulk Carriers, both based in Gordon, Georgia.

“This significantly expanded the combined company’s geographic footprint, transforming the business from a single-market leader in Florida to a regionally dominant player across [the Southeast],” Montero says.

He adds that Attaway, which provided outsourced transfer management and long-haul transportation services for more than 50 transfer stations, expanded Bulk Environmental’s existing customer relations and formed new relationships across the company’s footprint.

Choice Bulk Carriers supplemented Attaway’s core business by providing long-distance dry and liquid bulk hauling of basic materials, minerals and chemicals.

Diversified services

Today, Bulk Environmental is led by Tony Morsovillo, who previously served as president of the transportation company Boasso America. The Mijares brothers have remained at the company as advisors.

With the addition of Attaway and Bulk Choice, Bulk Environmental’s core business is focused on transfer station management and the transportation of waste and recycling materials, using both walking floors and tipper trailers.

The company also offers transportation of denser, aggregate-type materials in dump trailers and dump trucks through its industrial division; scrap metal in steel dump trailers and roll-offs; dry bulk products in pneumatic trailers; and leachate and other liquid waste in tanker trailers. 

Bulk Environmental’s fleet comprises 900 power units, 1,000 assorted trailers and 65 loaders and excavators across its service areas.

Its typical customers include major integrated solid waste and recycling companies, but the company also contracts directly with local governments to provide waste transportation services. The industrial division serves major cement producers, metal recyclers and other producers and users of aggregates and industrial materials. 

Navigating challenges

Bulk Environmental’s longstanding reputation means it has experienced the ebbs and flows of the waste transport industry. Both Morsovillo and Montero note that employee retention, increased roadway congestion and integrating technology have been challenges in today’s market.

To help control recruitment and training costs and ensure institutional knowledge for stable operations, Bulk Environmental recently implemented an enhanced employee benefits package and has focused on fostering a positive workplace culture that encourages open communication.

The company is working with its customer base to refine its services to be as efficient as possible, including proposals to transport waste during off-peak hours and initiating new technologies to route trucks and track fleet optimization.

The company also has experienced some redirection of waste from landfills within urban areas to more distant disposal sites, particularly out of densely populated areas with growth encroachment on waste disposal infrastructure.

In terms of legislative or regulatory hurdles, Montero says strict enforcement of environmental regulations at origin locations, during the transit of materials and at delivery destinations adds to the cost of the waste transportation services.

Complying with litter control and maintaining volume of material on the floor of transfer stations have added to overall management costs, as well.

“Stricter upcoming EPA diesel emission standards and improved tarps and tarping systems that minimize the potential of blowing debris during transit will add to transportation costs,” Montero says. “Bulk Environmental is committed to sustainable business practices across all our operations.”

The author is associate editor of Waste Today and can be reached at hrischar@gie.net.