Coastal Waste & Recycling has acquired South Carolina-based Pro Disposal, expanding its footprint in the southeast United States.
Coastal, which has been backed by a Macquarie Asset Management fund since June, launched in 2017 and quickly became a major player in the region. Prior to the deal, it operated nearly 600 trucks serving customers mainly in Florida and Georgia.
Investment firm Ironwood Capital, which backed Pro's acquisition of Carolina Containers of Beaufort and Barnwell Resources last year, announced it had exited its investment in Pro following the merger. The firm, which specializes in investments in the $10 to $30 million range, came on after Laurel Mountain Partners and Comerica Bank had also invested in Pro to grow its business.
“We have enjoyed working with Alex Cano, who continues to lead Pro Disposal, Jeff Kendall of Laurel Mountain Partners, who invested with Alex in 2020, and the management team at Pro Disposal to help the company execute on its strategy of vertical integration and geographic expansion, which they achieved through both organic growth and acquisitions," Ironwood Capital Partner Alex Levental said in a statement.
Pro Disposal’s presence in a fast-growing part of the country motivated its acquisition of Carolina Containers, which focused on C&D. The deal allowed Pro to internalize most of its C&D waste, according to Ironwood.
Cano founded Pro in 2007 and grew the company to encompass two transfer stations and two landfills, with more than 80 trucks offering subscription residential, front load commercial and roll-off services as of last year. Pro’s business ranged from the Charleston, South Carolina, market to Savannah, Georgia.
After last year's acquisition, Cano estimated his company had quadrupled its sales in two years. Following the merger with Coastal, he will remain on as an area president overseeing Georgia and South Carolina assets.
Coastal was on a rapid growth path before the Macquarie investment, growing to more than 800 employees, 11 collection depots and eight post-collection facilities by June. Following the recapitalization deal, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners CEO Karl Kuchel said his firm would continue to support the next phase of Coastal’s growth.
