Municipal & IC&I

Lakeshore Recycling makes northern Illinois acquisition

Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS), Morton Grove, Illinois, has announced that it has acquired Roy Strom Co. of Maywood, Illinois. The company says this is its largest acquisition to date.

Photo courtesy of Lakeshore Recycling Systems

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,” the company says, referring to itself as the nation’s seventh-largest privately held waste and recycling firm.

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.”

George Strom, who served as president of Roy Strom Co. as of its purchase, says, “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.”

LRS says Strom will remain 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.”

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