LRS acquires 2 Michigan-based hauling firms

LRS says it has made its largest to-date acquisitions with its recent purchases of Niles, Michigan-based Michiana Recycling & Disposal and Modern Waste Systems, based in Napoleon, Michigan.

LRS, based in Rosemont, Illinois, says the moves further its “position as [a] national waste and recycling leader as it marks the start of its 10-year anniversary [following] an historic 2021 and 2022 driven by geographic expansion, continued investment in core markets and M&A growth across 36 transactions.”

LRS did not disclose the financial terms of the two acquisitions.

“We are honored today to announce the acquisition of Michiana Recycling & Disposal and Modern Waste Systems,” LRS President and CEO Alan T. Handley says. “I am incredibly proud to welcome the hard-working, dedicated and talented employees to the LRS family and look forward to carrying the legacy of these great businesses into the future.”

Michiana Recycling & Disposal President Jon Groot says, “Throughout the transaction, it became clear LRS puts its employees and customers first. I look forward to the team’s continued success in providing a great place to work and exceptional service to the communities and employees served throughout Michigan and Indiana. LRS brings a lot to the table for the continued growth and development of not only the business and market area as a whole but also for the employees. I’m wildly confident they will continue their course of being an industry leader in waste and recycling.”

LRS says the two acquisitions add “three state-of-the-art waste and recycling transfer facilities, along with [a] dense collections base across 100,000 residential, 9,000 commercial and 25 municipal-based customers covering the greater Michigan and Indiana region.” The contract base includes 25 “municipal-based customers,” according to LRS. The two firms have a combined 200 employees.

LRS made a previous acquisition in the Michigan and Indiana market in March of last year, when it acquired South Bend, Indiana-based Junroll Services.

Michiana says it broke ground on a materials recovery facility (MRF) in 2006; expanded the plant in 2008; recycled more than 7,000 tons of material through the MRF in 2009; and in 2016 “completed our third and largest expansion to the MRF, adding 20,000 square feet for a total size of 38,000 square feet and increasing our conveyors footage from 214 linear feet to over 1,100 linear feet.”

LRS describes itself as North America’s fifth-largest privately held waste and recycling company, with operations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.

The company owns and operates 85 facilities and a fleet of trucks, has 2,500 full-time employees and processes more than 3.8 million tons of waste and recyclables each year. LRS says it also offers roll-off container services, C&D recycling, portable restroom rentals, municipal and commercial street sweeping, mulch distribution, onsite storage and temporary fencing.