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Sunshine Recycling addresses infrastructure needs in South Carolina

© Enrique del Barrio | stock.adobe.com

Sunshine Recycling of Orangeburg, South Carolina, is providing heavy highway contractors with recycled crushed aggregate for several ongoing bridge construction projects in the state.

Material from bridges that are being demolished is brought to Sunshine’s aggregate yard to be processed and recycled into South Carolina Department of Transportation-approved road base.

“[Owner] Joe [Rich] saw the growth potential in new construction and infrastructure in South Carolina over a decade ago,” Jim Pratt of Sunshine Recycling’s Business Development Department tells The Times and Democrat, also of Orangeburg. “Sunshine contacted heavy highway/bridge contractors and showed them how they could save money and time by removing the old bridge via trucking with flatbed and dump trailers. Sunshine has assisted at least a dozen contractors over the past decade by removing construction and debris bridge material.”

Current projects in South Carolina include:

• Charlotte, North Carolina-based Crowder Construction is replacing the bridge on U.S. 301 near the Four Holes Swamp;
• Charlotte, North Carolina-based Zachry Construction is replacing the bridge on S.C. 34 in Newberry County and the bridge on U.S. 378 in Richland County;
• Columbia, South Carolina-based Republic Contracting is replacing a bridge on Main Street in Darlington; and
• Jacksonville, Florida-based Superior Construction is replacing the bridge on Interstate 20 over the Savannah River in South Carolina and Georgia.

As reported by The Times and Democrat, Sunshine has its own concrete crusher, material screener and telestack to help meet the road base needs of county and city governments. Pratt adds that recycled concrete also meets the demand from small businesses and homeowners looking for an economical way to repair or build roads, parking lots and driveways.

Sunshine’s work on local road projects has been recognized statewide. Orangeburg County earned the “Project of the Year” award in 2013 from the Lower Savannah Council of Governments for its “Paving the Way” project using crushed concrete generated by Sunshine.

As part of that project, brick and concrete from structures the county had demolished were taken to Sunshine to be ground into aggregate, which was later sold back to the county at a discounted rate. The county used the aggregate on its roads.

In addition to Orangeburg County, Bamberg County; the town of Cordova, South Carolina; O’Cain Construction; Palmetto Sitework Service; and Porth Contracting Co. Inc. have purchased crushed concrete and asphalt milling for roads and parking lots for their projects in the Midlands, Pratt tells The Times and Democrat.

Personnel

LRS names new CEO

Morton Grove, Illinois-based LRS, an independent waste, recycling and portable services provider serving the Midwest, has appointed Matt Spencer as the its new CEO, effective Sept. 12.

He will oversee all aspects of LRS’ operations, including strategic direction, business development and customer relations.

With a strong background in safety and sustainability, Spencer is poised to drive LRS’ mission to provide innovative waste management solutions that promote a cleaner and greener future, according to the company.

Spencer replaces Alan Handley, who served as CEO from 2014 until his departure earlier this year.

Prior to joining LRS, Spencer was CEO of Sweeping Corp. of America, Cleveland, and chief operating officer at Waste Corp. of America (WCA), headquartered in Houston. WCA doubled in revenue and profits during the six years under his leadership, which was driven by a significant merger and acquisition strategy.

“I am honored to join LRS as the new CEO,” Spencer says. “LRS has a well-earned reputation for its unwavering commitment to safety while delivering cutting-edge waste and recycling solutions, and I am excited to build upon this legacy.

“I look forward to leading the organization with an employee-first mindset to ensure we continue to redefine waste diversion and recycling practices and contribute to a more sustainable future,” he adds.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Sims to acquire Baltimore Scrap

The Sims Metal business unit of Australia-based global recycling company Sims Ltd. has agreed to acquire the assets of United States-based Baltimore Scrap Corp. (BSC) and its affiliated entities.

BSC is a large, Mid-Atlantic metal recycler with 17 facilities in five states—Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Four of those facilities are home to auto shredding plants. BSC processes and sells approximately 600,000 metric tons of scrap each year.

Sims says BSC’s yards have access to “extensive rail, barge and port infrastructure, and the business is well-positioned with attractive proximity to both growing domestic demand markets and export [markets].”

Sims says it anticipates the transaction will close in October, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

“Baltimore Scrap Corp. is a company we have admired for many years,” Sims Ltd. CEO and Managing Director Alistair Field says. “They have a strong management team who has built an excellent business over many years.

“This acquisition is a highly complementary fit with our strategy to expand the metal recycling business in North America and increase our diversity of sales channels to growing U.S. domestic demand for ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal,” he adds. “I welcome the Baltimore Scrap Corp. team and their group of affiliates to the Sims family.”

Following Sims’ 2021 acquisition of the former Atlantic Recycling Group, based in Maryland, and its purchase of Philadelphia-based Northeast Metal Traders this year, the transaction could face questions concerning the concentration of so many Mid-Atlantic metal recycling facilities in the hands of one operator.

The remaining competitors in the region include the Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania operations, including auto shredding capacity, of United Kingdom-based EMR Ltd. and a handful of independent operators, such as the Mazza Iron & Steel shredder in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.

As currently proposed, Sims says it is completing the acquisition for $177 million plus working capital and other adjustments to be determined at closing.

The global company says the transaction implies an enterprise value/earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) multiple of 5.4 on a three-year trailing average, and on an equivalent postsynergies basis, the EV/EBITDA multiple is forecast to reduce to 4.2.

“The BSC acquisition is another example of our capital recycling strategy,” Sims Chief Financial Officer Stephen Mikkelsen says. “We anticipate the acquisition to be substantially funded through the redeployment of proceeds from noncore asset sales and other assets that are not likely to achieve their required rate of return.”