Advanced Disposal Buys Illinois’ Disposal Management Systems

Advanced Disposal has acquired waste and recycling firm Disposal Management Systems Inc., based in Schaumburg, Ill., for an undisclosed amount.

The purchase of certain assets includes commercial customers throughout the Chicago area, and various trucks and containers. The Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based Advanced Disposal added four Disposal Management Systems employees with the purchase.

“Advanced Disposal continues to seek ways to expand our footprint, and the acquisition of Disposal Management Systems Inc. was a great opportunity to do just that in our Chicago market area,” said Dan DeWaard, Advanced Disposal regional vice president.

The deal represents the fifth acquisition for Advanced Disposal in 2015. The company in May purchased Sturgeon Bay, Wis.-based waste hauler Little Hoppers. The previous month it bought the Beloit, Wis.-based waste and recycling hauler Rock Disposal Inc. In January Advanced Disposal bought two haulers in separate deals. It acquired Henderson, Ky.-based waste hauler Pea Ridge Waste Management LLC, and it also purchased Hornback Recycling & Disposal Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.

In an exclusive interview with Waste360 last September, CEO Richard Burke says the company is targeting between $30 million to $50 million this year in growth through acquisitions and municipal contracts.

“Acquisitions, they’ve been a key part of our growth ever since the company’s inception,” he says. “We’ll continue to look for opportunities to grow strategically in key markets and enhance our vertically integrated geographic hub strategy. Acquisitions are lumpy. They are opportunistic. We’re ready to seize opportunities when they become available, and we’re out looking for deals all the time to enhance our positions.”

For 2014 Advanced Disposal’s operating firm, ADS Waste Holdings Inc. reported a net loss of $17.1 million, compared with a net loss of $117.8 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 6.4 percent to $1.4 billion, from $1.32 billion in 2013.

It got a little better in the first quarter, as the company posted a smaller loss on increased revenue. The net loss for Advanced Disposal totaled $10.8 million; a year ago the net loss reached $19.3 million.

Leone Young’s latest Business Insights column came out before ADS’ first-quarter results were posted, but she wrote about general trends in the first quarter as reflected by the industry’s Big Four publicly held companies. She sees improving results and volume, but factors outside the industry’s control are hurting the business. Those include the difficult winter weather and tougher comparables, as well as slower energy waste results.