Infused with a recapitalization by Macquarie Asset Management last August, Rosemont, Ill.-based LRS has grown its footprint dramatically across the greater Midwest in just over a year. Achieving exponential growth organically and through acquisition, LRS remains hungry for continued expansion, and in attracting successful, family-owned businesses in search of continuing their legacy with LRS.
The company grew significantly in 2021, executing 22 successful acquisitions and already announcing another three in 2022: Sunshine Sanitation in greater Rochester, Minn., Auburn Disposal in Chicago, and Junoll Services in South Bend, Ind.
Since its formation in 2013, LRS has served as an independent agent of change for the waste diversion, recycling and portable services industries. From being the first in North America to invest in Machinex’s high-speed artificial intelligence-based recyclables robotic sorter, to pioneering the circular operating model that focuses on repurposing and diverting material from the waste stream to positively impact its bottom line.
LRS today is among the largest private waste and recycling companies in North America with over 60 locations in nine Midwest and South-Central states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Arkansas, Kansas and Tennessee.
LRS President and CEO Alan T. Handley attributes the company’s success to two factors: the dedication, passion and commitment of its more than 2,000 employees, and the continuing contributions made by the independent family-owned businesses it acquires.
“I continue to marvel at the hard-working, multi-generation, family-owned businesses we acquire, who share our values of hard work, exceptional local service, common sense pricing and a shared commitment to sustainability,” Handley said. “What differentiates us is our ability to retain top talent, from founding family members to operations managers and leaders from other lines of business who helped these companies achieve the staying power needed to help make them truly admired within the communities they served.”
Handley added that extending family legacies post-transaction is an important priority for acquired companies and in particular future generations. One example is George Strom, who today serves as Vice President of Municipal Services after his family-owned business, Roy Strom Companies, was acquired by LRS in January 2021.
“We always had interest from a wide range of potential acquirers in recent years, but without a doubt it was LRS who presented the most attractive exit opportunity,” Strom said. “Not only were we rewarded by LRS for the goodwill built among our employees, customers and the communities we served over seven decades, but we had a real opportunity to extend our family legacy into the foreseeable future and I couldn’t be more happy with our decision to go with LRS.”
Another senior executive, Brian Grosse, rose through the ranks at LRS after his company, Prime Portables, was acquired in mid-2018. Today, Grosse serves as LRS Senior Vice President of Portables, leading all portable restroom and street sweeping services at LRS, which now ranks within the top five largest portables providers in the nation.
Both Strom and Grosse recently went on to pursue Executive MBAs during their LRS employment, and are responsible for day-to-day and strategic decision making with increasing responsibility as the company continues to grow.
KJ Loerop served as a senior executive and owner at West Chicago, Ill.-based K. Hoving Companies, acquired by LRS in January 2017, and enabling LRS to enter the profitable portable toilet and street sweeping markets in northern Illinois. Today, LRS is not only a market leader in both lines of business, Loerop has risen through the ranks and today serves as Vice President for Mergers & Acquisitions.
“We are a company built on experience and success, but the real equity in our transactions is not in the dollar value we pay, but in the post-transaction investments we make in the exceptionally talented and hardworking people who choose to stay with LRS to advance their careers and make a difference for our customers,” Handley said.
LRS is just getting started, according to Handley, in accelerating its footprint growth across the nation’s mid-section and beyond, as its strategy for attracting top talent through acquisition remains a top priority and a large reason for the company’s success.
“At the end of the day it’s about sticking to our core operating values of bringing our people home safely to their families each day, and remaining unabashed in rethinking the way waste is generated, sorted, allocated and diverted from landfills toward reuse and repurpose.”
Next year, LRS will celebrate its 10-year anniversary, and Handley said his company will continue to seek well-run independent waste, recycling and portable toilet companies to continue their journey by joining the LRS family of companies.
“Any interested business can visit our website at www.lrsrecycles.com to learn more about our company, and receive more information on potentially extending their success through LRS.”
