M&A

Lakeshore Recycling makes northern Illinois acquisition

Morton Grove, Illinois-based Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) has announced what it calls its largest acquisition to date, that of Maywood, Illinois-based Roy Strom Co.

LRS calls Roy Strom “among the most respected independent waste haulers in the Chicagoland market.” The addition of Roy Strom to the LRS portfolio “positions LRS for accelerated growth throughout Chicagoland and the broader Midwest,” adds the firm, which also refers to itself as the nation’s seventh-largest privately held waste and recycling company.

According to LRS, it is gaining “an extensive, long-tenured residential and commercial customer base, well-positioned single-stream and C&D [construction and demolition] recycling operations and a strategically located transfer facility in Maywood that serves many local operators.”

“As the fourth generation of Strom leadership, I am excited to carry on my family’s values of hard work, putting the customer first, and fierce independence; at LRS those values will be preserved for generations to come,” says George Strom, president of Roy Strom Co.

LRS says George Strom will continue with LRS as an area vice president, leading operations at the LRS Roy Strom facilities in Maywood.

LRS CEO Alan T. Handley says, “For more than 75 years, Roy Strom Co. has built a rich legacy as one of the most respected independent waste and recycling leaders in Chicago. This critical partnership demonstrates how trusted LRS remains as a first-choice acquirer for independent, family-owned waste and recycling companies throughout the Midwest.”

Handley adds, “LRS has been built by entrepreneurs with many of the acquired businesses’ family members continuing to serve as key executives throughout the organization. Maintaining our entrenched local roots with an unyielding commitment to the customer experience differentiates LRS and fuels our growth and innovation. LRS remains the local alternative to large national waste haulers who lack the community connection so essential to successful waste and recycling service delivery.”

Chicago-based Much Shelist served as legal advisor and KPMG LLP provided financial and tax advisory services to LRS. Additionally, in conjunction with the acquisition, Comerica Bank’s Environmental Services Department led the senior financing and Ironwood Capital provided mezzanine financing, says LRS.

In conjunction with the acquisition, Ironwood Capital announced a subordinated debt investment in LRS.

“We’re very excited about partnering with Alan and his team to support the company’s acquisition of Roy Strom Company, one of the most respected independent waste haulers in the Chicagoland market,” Dickson Suit, managing director of Ironwood Capital, says. “LRS has established itself as a dominant independent waste management company serving Chicagoland and surrounding regions, and differentiates itself from competitors because it is built by entrepreneurs, with deep roots in its commitment to customers.”

Ironwood says with this deal, it has now made more than a dozen platform investments in the waste management vertical.

Waste Connections acquires Colorado waste company

Waste Connections has acquired Spring Waste Systems, the last remaining locally owned company among the four largest trash haulers in Colorado's Colorado Springs area, reports The Gazette.

The Toronto-based company bought Spring Waste Systems and trash companies in Baily, southwest of Denver, and in Omaha, Nebraska, in December 2020 from the Shrader family. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

According to The Gazette, the deals make Waste Connections the largest waste disposal company in the Colorado Springs area, employing 167 people to serve 75,000 residential customers on 90 routes.

“[Springs Waste Systems] is a great company. We are excited to make it a little bit better by installing our culture and values [where] safety comes first. We operate in a decentralized structure, so decisions in the Colorado Springs market are made here," said Ty Tostenson, district manager for Waste Connections in Colorado Springs. "We are thankful that the Shraders decided to sell to us. I'm sure they had multiple options and we are glad they chose us."

Waste Connections notified Springs Waste Systems customers of the sale in January and plans to complete the integration of the two operations by early in the second quarter, said Paul Breiterman, assistant district manager in Colorado Springs for Waste Connections.

The company plans to operate from both its own office in eastern Colorado Springs and the Springs Waste Systems office in southern Colorado Springs to improve efficiently by reducing the travel distance to customer homes.

The Gazette reports the Shrader family, which includes Mike, Mark, Dan and Darren Shrader, started Springs Waste Systems in 2000 after selling a trash company they owned in the Lincoln and Omaha areas of Nebraska to Waste Connections.