Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB) announced on Nov. 1 that the McLean, Virginia-based solid waste management consulting firm would be getting a new president for the first time since Harvey Gershman assumed the role upon co-founding the company in 1980.
Gershman, who will serve the company as founder owner associate, is passing the reins of GBB president over to 35-year industry veteran Steve Simmons, effective Jan. 1.
Waste Today talked with Simmons about the new role, the direction he hopes to lead the company and where he sees the waste and recycling industry going in the future.
Waste Today (WT):What will be some of your top priorities as you take over as president of GBB?
Steve Simmons (SS): GBB will continue to provide its clients with objective, independent and actionable advice regarding solid waste and renewable energy policies, programs, technology and infrastructure. Our success will be driven in large part by the talent of our employees. Attracting and retaining the next generation of consultants and thought leaders will be a top priority for me. One of my favorite activities is mentoring new staff. I find it rewarding personally, and it helps our bottom line to have an agile, experienced and adaptable base of consultants who can tackle new challenges facing our industry as a team.
WT: What does it mean to you to be taking the baton as president from Harvey after nearly 40 years?
SS: I am both honored and humbled to be following in Harvey’s footsteps. Harvey has been an icon in our industry and, together with co-founders Tim Bratton and Robert Brickner, created GBB and helped it grow into a leading consulting resource for almost four decades. He will be a tough act to follow. But GBB has a great group of employees, and alongside our co-owners Chris Lund and Tom Reardon, we look forward to continuing GBB’s proud heritage of providing independent advice to our clients.
WT:Has he given you any advice on guiding the company into its next phase?
SS: Harvey’s advice has been simple: If you always do right for the client and the environment, GBB will continue to be valuable and a vital consulting resource for its clients and the industry for years to come.
WT: You’ve been in various roles in the industry for 35 years. How have the waste management needs of municipalities and businesses changed in that time?
SS: When I came into the industry, the big issues were disposal capacity and flow control. The unlined publicly owned dumps were closing. Urban communities were uncertain where their trash would go. There was great interest in adding significant recycling programs and employing waste-to-energy technologies to address waste, materials and energy issues. Today’s communities and businesses are retooling their waste management approach. There is still the primary driver of cost, which drives many communities to choose landfilling options with traditional waste diversion efforts. However, many companies and communities are putting more emphasis on social aspects of waste prevention, minimizing their carbon footprint, and have adopted zero-waste-to-landfill policies or policies geared to do more sustainable things with their waste streams. Those communities are implementing new policies, programs and infrastructure to meet their aspirational goals.
WT: What are some of the most important issues that you see facing the waste and recycling industries in the coming years, and how do you hope to position GBB to capitalize on these opportunities?
SS: As we all know, the recycling industry is under tremendous stress due to the pressures of international market constriction. Markets for low-quality recyclables have collapsed. How to revamp, or even to continue their recycling program, is the chief concern of many communities. A strength of GBB has always been the implementation of technology-driven programs and infrastructure. While I do not see a return of the combustion-based waste-to-energy option, emerging technologies such as mechanical biological treatment and biofuels have promise. GBB is positioned for these changes to help our clients not only with waste management, but with sustainable materials management.
WT: What projects are you most enthusiastic about right now?
SS: All our clients’ projects are important, and we cover a lot of ground in the solid waste management industry. Some of the projects I am most excited about include the work we are doing in the advanced waste processing and conversion sectors, as well as the circular economy waste management models we are helping advance domestically. Our municipal clients such as Prince William County in Virginia and Kent County in Michigan have leaders with long-term visions that take a multifaceted approach to waste management with a local focus. I believe that in the next five to 10 years, those leaders and projects will be seen as the early pioneers in the implementation of the new sustainable materials management economy.
The author is the editor for Waste Today and can be contacted at aredling@gie.net.
Plastics Recycling 2019, National Harbor, Maryland, Resource Recycling Inc., www.plasticsrecycling.com
March 18-20
12th Annual International Biomass Conference, Savannah, Georgia, BBI International, www.biomassconference.com
March 31-April 3
34th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management, Annapolis, Maryland, The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, www.solid-waste.org
April 8-11
ISRI 2019 Convention and Exhibition, Los Angeles, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc., www.isri2019.org
For a comprehensive list of industry events, please visit www.WasteTodayMagazine.com/events. To have an event listed, please send details to Assistant Editor Theresa Cottom at tcottom@gie.net.
A Weighty Decision
Features - Equipment Focus: Scales and Weighing Systems
Finding the right weighing scale for your waste management needs requires proper due diligence.
The waste and recycling industry is reliant on precise measurement for monitoring volume transported by trucks. Scales and weighing systems are essential for tracking these loads. However, with the number of these systems available, facility operators need to work to find the right scale or weighing system for their particular needs. Having the right equipment for waste management applications will allow professionals to better track collected waste, monitor the inputs and outputs during material recovery, extract energy and dispose of the waste properly.
Understanding different types of waste management scales
Vehicle and axle scales
Vehicle and axle scales are used to monitor the weight of refuse vehicles to ensure they are not overloaded. An overweight vehicle can shorten its life and damage the roads they travel on. These scales provide the axle and gross weight information for all types of waste vehicles, ranging from vans to heavy-duty trucks. The scales are portable, adaptable to any vehicle and have a low cost of installation.
Floor scales and bench scales
Floor scales are used to weigh waste during sorting processes or as it moves in and out of a facility. These scales reduce the possibility of revenue loss that can occur due to incorrect weighing. Floor scales can be placed on top of a level flooring surface or in a pit where the top of the scale is level with the area surrounding it. Waste can then be loaded directly onto the scale to weigh, or operators can drive compacted pallets onto the scales to weigh them.
Bench scales are compact in size and frame and can be used to weigh waste up to 500 pounds. Due to their compact nature, bench scales are convenient to use, as they can be placed easily on a workbench or surface. Bench scales are ideal for placement on shipping and receiving docks to log weights of incoming and outgoing materials.
Truck scales
Truck scales are the most popular and versatile weighing solution used in the waste management and recycling industry. Truck scales help operators ensure their vehicles are filled to the right capacity while preventing unsafe overloading. These scales allow for accurate weighing and, due to the rugged nature of operations, are highly durable to withstand extreme weather and on-road conditions. These scales can be integrated with radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to better track and monitor trucks in operation.
There are three main types of truck scales:
Onboard truck scales: Onboard truck scales ensure the right waste volume is loaded on the vehicle at all times. This helps reduce accidents and liability exposure while increasing safety. Onboard truck scales are often integrated with GPS mapping and data collection equipment to provide a seamless package of information for fleet management operators. This technology allows waste personnel to keep a check on weights while trucks are out on the road, identify the routes of the overloaded trucks and perform route audits using various software packages.
Weighbridges: Weighbridges are similar in many respects to full-length truck scales. The main difference is that weighbridges can be utilized to offer more complex and nuanced measurements. Available in multiple sizes, weighbridges can be customized to suit individual company needs. They are mostly used throughout the waste management industry to assess truck weights or to weigh large volumes of wastes.
Portable truck scales: Portable truck scales are able to make on-the-fly measurements and include a built-in weight ticket printer. These scales can be integrated into tracking systems to reflect a truck’s workflow, allowing personnel to stay updated while on-the-go.
Rail scales
Rail scales are used to weigh heavy waste loads on trains and transport vehicles mounted on rails or carts without having to derail them. These scales can be used for both static and in-motion weighing. Often, rail scales are used in the form of modular decks, which are spaced to match the distance between the train’s wheels. Rail scales are often integrated with RFID tags for digital display systems and detailed data collection in order to make weighing, tracking and reading easier and more accurate. These systems provide the total van weight and can be optimized to provide readings for individual wheels and axles.
Different types of rail scales include static rail scales, in-motion rail scales, combined truck and track scales and coil car scales.
Forklift scales
Forklift scales are used to lift and weigh the bundled materials on a forklift truck. Forklift scales allow drivers to transport and weigh goods at the same time. Apart from tracking the weight, these scales can be used to track the storage location and origin of the waste products during transport. They are also compact, which makes them ideal to use in busy waste and recycling environments. Integrating forklift scales with in-cab instruments, such as barcode scanners, allows forklift operators to capture important data and transmit it wirelessly to computer systems for real-time monitoring.
Weighing the variables
With the number of scales available, waste and recycling facility owners should spend time becoming acquainted with the functionality of different pieces of equipment to best suit individual needs. The right kind of weighing scale will be dependent on the type and scope of operation, as well as the processes and materials particular to each facility.
The following are some considerations to account for before investing in weighing scales:
Placement
Scales should be conveniently placed based on need and layout of a facility. Before purchasing, operators should think about where a scale will be placed and how it will fit into the company’s operations. It is critical to understand that not every type of scale is right for different companies. For example, while a portable scale might offer the versatility one company needs, a stationary scale might be perfect for a different business with little variation in processes. The configurations of a facility will also play into this decision. For instance, operators should check if there is an outlet or a source of electricity where the scale will be placed prior to purchase. If there isn’t, it is probably better to search for a scale that can operate via a generator or battery.
Capacity
Different businesses deal with different volumes. Before buying a scale, companies should determine the largest total gross weight that the scale will be required to weigh. Once this is determined, it is important to find a scale capable of exceeding these weight requirements to account for exceptionally large loads and the tare weight that a pallet or container could add.
Type of material
Some scales are better suited than others to handle different types of material. Service requirements and upkeep should be considered prior to purchase to help a facility find a scale that can be easily maintained. For example, an operation that is weighing mainly liquids would require a liquid-resistant scale to account for accidents and spills. Foresight when considering a scale purchase can make adoption and implementation more seamless.
Accuracy
What good is a scale if it isn’t accurate? Scale accuracy can be assured by performing regular calibrations; however, it is also important to make sure to buy a scale that is suited to the environment and setting that it will be used in. Since industrial scales are regularly exposed to different environmental elements, variations in pressure or temperature and potential location changes, they can become less accurate over time. It is also common for scales to lose calibration accuracy with regular use, so it makes sense for operators to think about buying the right scale that can maintain its precision for its intended use.
Readability
The readability of a scale determines how many decimal places it has to read. A large capacity industrial scale with a 500-pound capacity might have a readability of 0.1 pounds, which may be less precise than a 50-pound capacity bench scale with a readability of 0.01 pounds. Companies should choose a scale based on both the volume that will be processed and the readability that is needed for its operations.
Use of the scale
As has been outlined, not every scale serves the same purpose or has the same applications or features.
Industrial weighing scales are crucial in the operation of waste and recycling facilities. These instruments offer custom software applications that can be interfaced with the scales themselves to help in streamlining operations and increasing productivity and efficiency. By pairing scales with the right software, operators can enjoy more seamless data processing, faster transactions, reduced errors and higher ROI.
There is no one-size-fits-all scale for waste businesses. However, operators who do their homework prior to adoption can help themselves find a solution that allows them to enjoy more seamless waste processing, greater accuracy, more improved data tracking, reduced workloads and greater efficiency.
Regardless of the size of the company, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity affects everyone in the solid waste sector. The mid- to large-size companies use M&A to grow their profile, while smaller operators can leverage the appetite of these larger players to sell out if the price and opportunity are right.
This never-ending cycle of buying and selling is inextricably linked to a number of micro- and macro-economic factors that help determine the viability, and success, of a transaction.
At this year’s Capital Markets Conference, a Waste Today event that was held Oct. 17-18 in Chicago, a who’s who of operators in the waste management and environmental services space, as well as financial market participants, came together to talk about the state of activity in the environmental services sector.
The consensus seemed to be that while company valuations have been healthy in 2018, they could be inching closer to a range that might make potential investors think twice about the price of doing business.
Daniel Butturini, a principal with New Jersey-based Sterner Consulting, says that variables such as the type of operation and waste managed, landfill capacity, tonnage handled, and revenue under a long-term contract, among other factors, ultimately play an important role in determining how high the value of a waste company can grow.
But along with questions on where the economy might be headed in the next 12 months, the fallout of the tightening recycling sector is the elephant in the room for those thinking about pursuing opportunities in 2019.
Butturini issued a word of caution during a presentation at the conference about how the state of recycling might affect business in the near-term, saying, “We believe that active recycling operations can be a detraction from the overall value of an integrated solid waste business due to the perception in public and industry media, the frequent stories about the cost of collected and/or processed recyclable material being approved by oversight agencies for landfill or waste-to-energy disposal, the current market constrictions brought on by a dramatic reduction in the longstanding marketplace’s clients, and export pricing and limited destinations.”
Although the impact of recycling on value is still muddy, Butturini says that any major ill effects would most likely be temporary: “This condition will likely improve as the ‘new normal’ works its way through the national and international marketplaces, and as the commodity resale markets stabilize,” he says.
Regardless of outside factors and shifting economic realities, M&A activity has long been the single-biggest influencer on the landscape of the waste sector. As long as there are pieces of the pie to be had, you can be sure there will be companies waiting in the wings to seize the opportunity.
Check out “When the numbers add up," as well as our cover profile of the GFL Environmental and Waste Industries merger (“Coming to America”) to learn more about the biggest M&A transactions of 2018.
Coming to America
Features - Cover Profile
How GFL Environmental’s merger with Waste Industries is changing the waste management landscape in North America.
GFL Environmental made waves Oct. 10 when the Toronto-based waste management company announced it would be merging with Raleigh, North Carolina-based Waste Industries. The completed merger, which was announced Nov. 15 with Waste Industries holding a total enterprise value of $2.825 billion, was celebrated by the participants as the creation of the largest private environmental services company in North America, encompassing operations in all Canadian provinces (except Prince Edward Island) and 20 states in the U.S.
The combined company will operate 98 collection operations, 59 transfer stations, 29 material recovery facilities (MRFs), 10 organics facilities and 47 landfills with a total staff of more than 9,000. Together, the company will service four million residential solid waste customers and 135,000 commercial and industrial solid waste customers.
While GFL has been a significant player in Canada’s waste management sector since 2007, the move marks the company’s first widespread entry into the U.S. market.
“Waste Industries will more than double GFL’s current footprint of operations in North America, adding collection, transfer station, materials recovery and landfill operations in fast-growing United States markets (including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee, Virginia and others), growing our customer base and forming an extended platform from which GFL can continue to execute on our proven organic and acquisition growth strategy,” GFL founder and CEO Patrick Dovigi, who will continue as president and CEO of the combined company, said in a statement at the time of the deal. “Waste Industries strongly complements GFL’s brand with an over 47-year history of providing excellent customer service to its local communities and has a management team with a proven track record of harnessing technology, processes and systems to drive operating efficiencies. We are excited to welcome the management team and the more than 2,850 employees of Waste Industries to the GFL family.”
According to Dovigi, although the announcement of the merger was sudden, the blockbuster deal has been a long time in the making.
“Waste Industries will more than double GFL’s current footprint of operations in North America, adding collection, transfer station, materials recovery and landfill operations in fast-growing U.S. markets.” -Patrick Dovigi
“We’ve known the Waste Industries team dating back to 2015 thanks to common ownership between the two companies back with Macquarie [Infrastructure Partners] being the biggest shareholder of GFL and of Waste Industries,” Dovigi tells Waste Today. “And back in 2015 and 2016, we got to spend a lot of time with the Waste Industries management team looking at and replicating some of their systems and back office functions as we were building out our infrastructure.”
Dovigi says the common shareholder dynamic between the two companies and the relationships formed over this period were instrumental in laying the groundwork for the merger.
“It was just an easy fit and easy transition, and I think the timing was right for both companies,” Dovigi says.
Coming together
Leading up to the merger, the companies worked to get to know each other’s businesses and consolidate IT, treasury, health and safety, legal and other back office processes to streamline operations.
During this time, the company also worked to establish its executive team.
“M&A has obviously been a large part of what we’ve done over the last 11 years, and I don’t think that’ll change. ... For us, it’s No. 1 about if the acquisition fits in culturally with what GFL stands for.” -Patrick Dovigi
Among the most prominent moves beyond Dovigi’s appointment, GFL announced that Waste Industries former chairman and CEO Ven Poole will now serve on the board of directors and retain certain senior employment responsibilities for the U.S. solid waste operations. Additionally, former GFL EVP & COO Luke Pelosi has been appointed EVP & CFO of the combined company to replace David Bacon, and Waste Industries EVP & COO Greg Yorston will take on the same role for all of the company’s solid waste operations in Canada and the United States.
Dovigi says that although the merger includes some key personnel changes in the corporate office, it will be business as usual for most Waste Industries and GFL employees.
“[The merger] doesn’t change anything. Obviously both companies have great regional management and none of that’s changing,” Dovigi says. “I think for the employees of both companies, that continues to provide more stability for them. Thanks to having a business with more size and scale, we think it yields and lends itself to more stability, and most importantly, it leads to more career opportunities for those to advance in the organization. The ability to move between districts in different regions, and our philosophy of building and promoting from within, is going to prove out to be a great opportunity for all employees involved.”
Dovigi says that GFL and Waste Industries will continue to work through the merger over the course of the next calendar year to fully integrate the companies.
“Over the next nine to 12 months, we’ll fully execute these plans and move forward as one cohesive group,” Dovigi says.
Photos by Julia Drozdowsky | Angle Media Group
Navigating new markets
Dovigi says that while there are differences between serving customers in the U.S. and Canada, specifically in terms of the importance of vertical integration in the States, he doesn’t anticipate a substantial learning curve acclimating to new solid waste markets. The major challenge, Dovigi says, will be understanding and navigating the current recycling climate.
“What we’re seeing is a higher focus on sustainability and recycling, and obviously with the recent historic changes to how the business has operated, particularly around the single-stream market [due to disruptions from the China ban], I think that business has sort of done a complete 180,” Dovigi says. “I think we in the waste industry have to be focused on how we’re going to achieve the diversion goals of both large companies and municipalities. That’s going to be a challenge.”
To meet the material quality specifications that are required today, Dovigi says the company is currently focused on retooling its MRFs with the latest technologies to better sort incoming materials. He also says that the company aims to promote proactive diversion throughout the waste stream by better educating citizens and corporate customers on recycling best practices.
“In Canada, we’ve historically taken a little bit of different approach around landfilling,” Dovigi says. “There’s been a lot more focus specifically around organics and food composting. Going forward in the U.S., we want to find other alternatives to keep volume from going to landfills and to manage the sustainability initiatives of people, municipalities and large corporations. It definitely starts with the consumers and education on what should go into the recycling bin based on what can actually be recycled.”
Continuing to grow
According to Dovigi, the merger comes at the right time for GFL in its strategic mission to build off its recent growth in the Canadian market.
“If you looked at what was done in Canada over the last 11 years, we’ve basically built out infrastructure across every market, and I think things are running like a fairly well-oiled machine in terms of the infrastructure platform that we have here,” Dovigi says. “So, we felt it was a good time to look at doing something a little more transformational in the U.S. around a large-scale platform similar to what we’ve done in Canada, where we’ve done two or three large platform acquisitions and built out the rest of the business behind it.”
In addition to the Waste Industries merger, Dovigi pointed to GFL’s recent acquisition of Future Environmental as part of the company’s strategy to expand its North American presence into the U.S.
Based in Mokena, Illinois, Future Environmental is a provider of environmental services to the petroleum, pipeline, utility and chemical markets in the Midwest.
“With a liquid waste services company, we can really create a one-stop shop for all of our customers’ needs, and the recent purchase of Future Environmental is our first large U.S. acquisition in that space,” Dovigi says. “We’ll now be able to cross-sell between the various lines of our business and differentiate ourselves a little bit by offering the customers, particularly on that side of the business, a resource for all their waste needs.”
Dovigi says that GFL will continue to pursue M&A opportunities to expand its footprint in North America in the coming years. The key, he notes, is finding partners like Waste Industries that check all the boxes of what the waste management company is looking for.
“M&A has obviously been a large part of what we’ve done over the last 11 years, and I don’t think that’ll change,” Dovigi says. “Everybody has a little bit of a different lens when they look at M&A opportunities. For us, it’s No. 1 about if the acquisition fits in culturally with what GFL stands for. We look at culture and we look at certain geographies and regions that tick the box of where we want to be, but obviously reputation of the companies has to fit within what we’re doing.
“I think largely we’re in the geographies we want to be in with our presence in 20 states in the U.S. as well as the nine provinces in Canada we operate in, and we want to continue densifying our existing region to continue to grow and really focus on the core market we’re in today. That will be largely where we focus. Obviously solid nonhazardous waste is the biggest market, and then recycling and disposal services, but we will continue to focus on acquiring businesses that fit within that model in the markets it makes sense.”
The author is the editor for Waste Today and can be contacted at aredling@gie.net.
