LRS CEO Alan Handley Speaks on Lee's Trash Service Acquisition and More to Come

In September 2022, LRS, formerly known as Lakeshore Recycling Systems, finalized the acquisition of Lee’s Trash Service.

Lee’s Trash Service is an Arkansas-based trash collection provider serving the Arkansas River Valley areas. Providing for both residential and commercial customers, the company will be “tucked in” to the LRS company and brand under the terms of the recent acquisition.

LRS is a privately-held waste diversion, recycling, and portable services provider primarily serving the following ten states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Kansas.

LRS’s acquisition of Lee’s Trash Service is the largest acquisition the company has completed in the Arkansas River Valley since its entry into the market was announced almost a year ago,  according to Alan Handley, CEO of LRS Waste Management.

In an interview with Handley, he told Waste360 about the company's acquisitions in the region to date. He says the company already has a high level of density in Arkansas.

“We'll continue to accelerate that density through acquisition in Arkansas. We bought Orion and Ramco almost a year ago to the day. Since then, we've closed two or three small transactions in that market. Lee’s is probably the biggest one that we've done,” shares Handley.

While the acquisition of Lee’s Trash Service stands out as the largest to date, it will not stay that way for long.

LRS is working on closing two larger deals in the region that will be indicative of the waste management company's goal to not only continue densifying but also drive more value from its Southern platforms operations.

All of these acquisitions are examples of LRS’s overarching plan to establish a wide team of hard-working and skilled employees.

“Frankly we are buying talent; we're not really buying assets,” says Handley.

When discussing assets gained through the purchase of Lee’s Trash Service, Handley emphasizes the importance of hard-working, talented, and dedicated employees.

“The acquisition included a transfer station, roll-off trucks, front-end waste collection trucks and packer trucks, but what we really got is a great pool of CDL drivers, a great back office, and an owner who wanted to stay with the business. That to me means more than anything.”

Handley goes on to say: “Anybody can go buy a truck but if you have good entrepreneurs and employees that means a lot more to me.”

LRS is focused on growing its company through various different mergers and acquisitions to complete vertical integration in its current areas of focus.

Lee’s Trash Service promotes this type of growth as a hauling company to contribute to the other areas of the waste stream it is involved with in Arkansas.  

The role of mergers and acquisitions is important for the growth of the company as it strives for an efficient market in which they have hands in different sectors of the waste stream.

This also takes shape in some of the work the company is doing with Arkansas state officials to set up recycling-oriented operations in the region to fill that lack in that market.

Looking forward through the rest of this year into 2023, the company is very excited to continue chiseling away at its aforementioned goals with two large acquisition deals they hope to close in the near future.

“I think we've done 36 transactions in the last 18 months,” says Handley.

With 36 deals completed in this year and a half timespan, this company is on a roll with obtaining meaningful deals that help institute an effective waste stream for the areas they provide as well as deliberate growth for the company.

“We organically grow our M&A through getting out and meeting and talking to owners and entrepreneurs.”

It is important to Handley that the merger and acquisition deals LRS pursues are of benefit to those within LRS and the other company as well.

In terms of the Lee’s Trash Service acquisition, here is what Handley had to say: “It's a win-win. It's a win for us. It's a win for Tony and his employees. So I think at the end of the day it was a very easy transaction for us to get in into our company process and close.”

While this acquisition is another success for the LRS company, it is only a stepping stone when compared to the leaps the company hopes to take in the coming months.

“This year we'll end up taking on a very large platform inside of our region, so that will be transformational.”

As for LRS, there is a lot more to come.