Advanced Disposal Buys Wisconsin Waste, Recycling Hauler Rock Disposal

Advanced Disposal has purchased the Beloit, Wis.-based waste and recycling hauler Rock Disposal Inc. for an undisclosed amount, continuing its aggressive growth strategy.

The purchase of Rock Disposal, which operates on the Wisconsin-Illinois border, represents the third hauler purchased by Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based Advanced Disposal in 2015. 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.

The latest acquisition includes municipal, residential and commercial customers in Rock, Green, Dane, Walworth and Jefferson counties in Wisconsin; Winnebago County in Illinois; a municipal solid waste (MSW) transfer station located onsite; and various trucks, containers and other equipment, according to a news release.

Advanced Disposal adds 40 employees with the purchase.

“The acquisition of Rock Disposal expands the Advanced Disposal footprint in southern Wisconsin by growing our municipal, residential and commercial operations and providing an important transfer station asset to increase volumes to our Orchard Hills and Mallard Ridge landfills,” said Dan DeWaard, Advanced Disposal regional vice president.

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.

Last September in his Waste360 interview, Burke talked at length about Advanced Disposal’s growth strategy.

“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.