Dive Brief:
- Republic Services has acquired Wallace Bros. Disposal & Recycling, a company based in Brazil, Indiana, that services parts of the Wabash Valley area. The transaction closed Dec. 1.
- The hauler and transfer station operator, which services West Central Indiana, previously described itself as “the largest, family-owned disposal service in the region.”
- A Republic spokesperson confirmed the transaction on Tuesday, adding in a statement that the company “looks forward to providing customers with industry-leading service and innovative waste and recycling solutions.”
Dive Insight:
The Wallace Bros. acquisition adds to Republic’s existing vertically integrated presence in multiple parts of the state, including the greater Indianapolis market.
According to a prior version of the company’s website, Wallace Bros. was founded in 1996. The company offers a range of residential, commercial and roll-off collection services. Federal data indicates it has an estimated 70 vehicles of unspecified types in its fleet.
The company also operates a transfer station and recycling drop-off center. While recent data on the transfer station is not available, a report from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management indicates the facility handled more than 52,000 tons of MSW in 2019.
Last December, Wallace sold certain assets — including accounts in Greene, Martin, Knox and Daviess counties — to Rumpke Waste & Recycling, as reported by WBIW. “We’ve seen amazing growth recently, and we want to ensure our customers receive the friendly, on-time service we promised,” said owner Larry Wallace at the time.
While the Indiana market has been quiet this year in terms of announced acquisitions, the state did see multiple transactions in 2022 and there have also been others in nearby parts of Illinois. Most notably, WM acquired major Indianapolis hauler Ray’s Trash Service. GFL Environmental completed multiple small transactions around the Fort Wayne area and Rumpke also made a small acquistion. Additionally, Republic purchased JB’s Disposal in Bloomington.
Republic reported spending $948 million on acquisitions through the end of Q3 and said during a late October earnings call that it was on track to spend at least $1 billion for the year.
