Dive Brief:
- Florida-based Waste Pro has acquired Louisiana-based Better Waste Disposal for undisclosed terms.
- In June, Waste Pro was awarded a municipal contract in Terrebonne Parish. The acquisition of Better Waste, which services 10 parishes in southern Louisiana, will help the company expand its service capabilities in the area.
- Better Waste was founded in October 2005 as a response to clean-up needs after Hurricane Katrina and has grown since then to include a fleet of 11 collection vehicles.
Dive Insight:
Waste Pro describes itself as one of the "fastest growing" private waste companies in the country right now and this is the latest in a series of acquisitions they have made in the region this year. This includes Mississippi-based Unified Waste Systems, Arkansas-based Downum's Waste Services and Florida-based Celebration Demolition Services. The company now has more than 2 million residential and 40,000 commercial customers.
The company has also boosted its Louisiana credentials by naming former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister the new president of Waste Pro of Louisiana. Following that they also announced a multi-year partnership with the team to handle collections at its facilities. This local angle was appealing to Better Waste.
"We have been doing business in this region for several decades, so we wanted to partner with a company that stays connected locally but has the financial resources to meet whatever needs arise in Southern Louisiana. We had no interest in partnering with large public waste companies," said Better Waste CEO, Byron Talbot, in a press release.
Large public companies have consolidated their control of many local markets through acquiring smaller operations recently, and are poised to continue that trend, though it seems that some may not be interested in selling to them.
