Supplier News

Otto Environmental Systems North America Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, has named Michael Costello the company’s president. Costello takes over the role from former CEO Dave Piejak

“We all want to thank Dave [Piejak] for his time and commitment to the company,” Costello says. “Dave came in at a difficult time in our history and laid the groundwork for a new Otto. He worked hard to stabilize the company and prepare us for our transition to growth.”

Callidus Capital Corp., the owner of Otto that is headquartered in Toronto, appointed Costello to align with the customers they serve in the waste and recycling industry.

Costello has almost three decades of leadership experience in the waste industry, and he is committed to the manufacturing, sales and service of waste containers, the company says.

“I’ve been in the waste industry for over 25 years, holding leadership roles with Waste Management, Allied and Browning-Ferris Industries, and owning my own waste company. I know what our customers need to serve their residential customers,” Costello says. “What separates us is our commitment to our customers. Otto is the only residential cart manufacturer that focuses only on waste carts as our core business.”

Untha UK forms new management team

Untha U.K. has announced its new board of directors at the halfway point of the company’s financial year.

Managing Director Marcus Brew, who has been at the helm of Untha U.K. since 2016, is joined by Peter Streinik, who serves as director of global strategy.

Working with the team in the U.K., Austria-headquartered Streinik combines knowledge and insight from almost every continent of the globe, the company says.

Andrea Gratzer, based in Austria, has also joined the U.K. board as finance director. Gratzer has been with Untha for 16 years, and the company says she will be a key decision-maker as the U.K. operation strives to achieve 20 percent year-over-year expansion between now and 2022.

Gary Moore, promoted to sales director in September 2018, will blend his U.K. responsibilities with those of director for global business development. Untha says this dual company involvement represents the U.K.’s mounting presence on the international map.

“We’ve worked hard to secure the best possible people for these roles at a crucial time in our organization’s journey,” Brew says.

“Inviting Peter and Andrea to join our board from our Austrian HQ reflects our closer integration into this global business and the voice we now have within central operations,” he continues. “The U.K. market is very different than many others worldwide. Customer relationships matter a lot, and the growth potential here for both machines and service products is vast.”

Other recent appointments include Julian Lamb as Untha U.K.’s sales manager. Julie Cassidy serves as service coordinator and ex-chairman Chris Oldfield also has recently rejoined the team as commercial director.

Shred-Tech acquired by The Heico Cos.

The Heico Cos., Chicago, has announced it has completed the acquisition of a majority interest in Shred-Tech Corp. Shred-Tech specializes in the design and manufacture of mobile and stationary shredding equipment for the document destruction and recycling industries. Based in Ontario, Canada, Shred-Tech also has operations in the U.S., U.K. and Thailand.

Heico has partnered in the acquisition with Rob Glass, Shred-Tech’s president and CEO, who will continue to lead the company.

“Rob Glass and his terrific team have built a high-class company that is a leader in its field. We are excited to work with them to take the company to its next level,” says Emily Heisley Stoeckel, Heico chairman. “We are optimistic that Heico’s array of global resources will help Shred-Tech continue to grow and expand its offering of exceptional products and services to customers worldwide.”

“We reached a time when some of our founding shareholders were ready to exit the business, and we went on a search for a partner that would provide both a strong, long-term home for the company and its many valued employees and also the resources to continue our growth and development,” Glass says. “With its deep operating expertise, global network of businesses and long-term investing approach, Heico fits that requirement very well, and we are excited to work with it for years to come.”

Shred-Tech Corp. designs and manufactures a range of vehicles that provide mobile document destruction and secure document collection solutions for providers of records information management and secure document destruction services. The company also offers an array of stationary and mobile shredding systems for many different materials and applications in both the waste management and recycling industries.