Fluid Motion

Waste fluids are generated at thousands of locations across the country. Dirty oil can be found at lube shops, car dealerships and industrial settings. Spent antifreeze and coolant is removed from vehicles daily.

There is no shortage of firms that will pick up these fluids and dispose of them. There are far fewer companies, however, that will go a step beyond collection and will recycle many of these spent fluids for reuse.

One of the companies that takes on the challenge of collecting and recycling waste fluids is Thermo Fluids Inc. The Phoenix-based company collects and processes fluids in its own facilities spread across six divisions in 12 Western states.

Similarly, Thermo recycles waste diesel, jet fuel and fuels salvaged from underground tanks. The company markets the blended product as an alternative fuel to asphalt companies, paper mills and cement and lumber kilns.

Another major recycled product for Thermo is antifreeze. Thermo transports spent antifreeze from client facilities to its own plant in Las Vegas, where it refines out contaminants. The recycled antifreeze is sold to customers such as automotive repair and radiator shops, along with quick-lube stores.

"A majority of these places use recycled antifreeze that meets or exceeds most manufacturers’ recommendations," notes Barry Hinton, general manager Thermo Fluid’s Rocky Mountain Region in Denver.

Thermo also operates a parts washing service. The company’s services include selling or leasing parts washer equipment and providing equipment cleaning services. The company also supplies solvent or aqueous solution used in cleaning parts and tools and recovers spent solvent.

Another Thermo service is recycling oil filters. Thermo supplies customers such as auto dealers and lube shops with 55-gallon drums for accumulating used filters. It then transports filled containers to its filter processing facilities in Oregon and Texas. "Texas is one of those states where it is mandatory that filters are recycled," says Roy Schumacher, Thermo Fluids vice president of sales and marketing.

At the facilities, the company drains the remaining oil and separates the steel casings to be sold as scrap. The process also includes shredding the soft material and packaging it as a high-BTU fuel for making cement.

Thermo also treats industrial wastewater and sludge collected at fuel storage sites, car washes and manufacturing facilities. The company transports the oily waters in its trucks, equipped with vacuum tanks, to its processing facilities. The process involves separating oil and fuel layers, which are processed to make fuel oil. Remaining water is managed to meet federal, state and local regulations.

"Everything we do is focused on waste products and making them usable again," says Hinton.

Schumacher says all of the businesses have contributed to double-digit annual growth within the past five years at Thermo Fluids. During the same period, the company, which is a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, Miami, has expanded its services from six to 12 states through a combination of internal growth and acquisition.

"There are only a handful of companies in each part of the country that provide the full service, covering the collection of used oil, antifreeze, absorbents and oily water," says Schumacher. "Throughout the United States, however, there are hundreds of companies that offer just one or two services in this niche industry."