Advanced Disposal Buys Wisconsin Waste Hauler Little Hoppers

Advanced Disposal has acquired Sturgeon Bay, Wis.-based waste hauler Little Hoppers for an undisclosed amount.

The purchase by Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based Advanced Disposal includes municipal, residential and commercial customers in Door and Kewaunee counties; a municipal solid waste (MSW), construction and demolition (C&D) and metals transfer station; and various trucks, containers and other equipment, according to a news release.

Advanced Disposal added 10 Little Hoppers’ employees, including the previous owner, Steve Estes, who now serves as Advanced Disposal’s general manager for the hauling company and transfer station.

“This acquisition provides greater density and operational efficiencies within our existing Door County operations, in addition to granting the company a needed transfer station to more efficiently transport waste materials to their final disposal or recycling destination,” said Dan DeWaard, region vice president for Advanced Disposal.

It is the fourth acquisition for Advanced Disposal in 2015. Last month it purchased 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.