LRS acquires Orion Waste Solutions territories, Waste Recycling Solutions’ business

LRS, a waste diversion, recycling and portable services provider based in Chicago, has acquired Orion Waste Solutions territories in Arkansas, Kansas and Wisconsin as well as Waste Recycling Solutions’ (WRS) Ramco-Alternative Waste Management (AWM) vertically integrated waste and recycling business in the Little Rock, Arkansas, market.

LRS reports that both of these acquisitions are effective immediately and financial terms were not disclosed.

According to a news release from LRS, the vertically integrated platform acquisitions add a combined 19 municipal contracts across Arkansas, Kansas and Wisconsin; 140 new employees; 115 trucks; one C&D landfill; and nine facilities. LRS says the acquisition of the Orion territories includes central and northwest Arkansas; Topeka, Kansas; and Appleton, Wisconsin. The acquisition of WRS’ Ramco waste recycling and roll-off business includes its Alternative Waste Management division and its C&D landfill located in Mayflower, Arkansas.

All Orion and WRS employees, including the WRS leadership team and Orion territory leaders, will remain with LRS to oversee the newly acquired territories.

“This new LRS-South platform will allow expanded product offerings and cross-selling opportunities throughout the entire state of Arkansas, along with Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri,” says Alan T. Handley, president and chief executive officer of LRS. “The rapidly growing northwest Arkansas market has little or no recycling services, and these acquisitions provide the perfect environment to graft LRS’ world-class recycling offerings into this progressive market. I am thrilled to welcome the Ramco and Orion teams to the LRS family. Under their collective leadership, we look forward to explosive organic- and acquisition-related growth in this market.”

According to LRS, WRS President David Steinmetz, Ramco Chief Financial Officer Rusty Janssen and AWM President Lannis Nicholson all decided to join LRS in what LRS calls the best interest of their employee base, their customers and the region.

“It’s very personal to us, and a lot of hard work has been built to get us to where we are today,” Nicholson says. “We couldn’t be more excited to join a winning organization like LRS, enabling us to expand best-in-class service offerings for our customers.”

Janssen adds that through the acquisition, WRS-Ramco employees have more career growth opportunities as LRS expands its recycling services across Arkansas and the region. “LRS is not only a recycling industry innovator and leader but a company that treats their employees well by investing in them personally and professionally,” he says. “For our customers, particularly our larger customers, recycling is a natural evolution, and we have seen demand surge for more recycling service options. From their perspective, this announcement brings a huge value-add to our relationship.”

LRS has made more than a dozen other acquisitions to date this year, including Maywood, Illinois-based Roy Strom Cos.; Oregon, Illinois-based Big John; Woodstock, Illinois-based Crown Restrooms and Arrow Septic and Sewer; Janesville, Wisconsin-based Ace Portables; Niles, Michigan-based Joy’s Johns; Kingston, Indiana-based Johnson Johns; Milwaukee-based Commercial Rubbish Collection LLC; Mauston, Wisconsin-based Clark Disposal; Minneapolis-based Atomic Recycling; North Branch, Minnesota-based Jimmy’s Johnnys; Monmouth Transfer Station from the city of Monmouth, Illinois; Seaton, Illinois-based Jackson Disposal; and select assets from GFL Environmental in northern Minnesota and northern Illinois.