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Greenstar Acquires Waste Company in West of Ireland
Greenstar, Ireland's largest integrated waste management company, has today (Sunday 1st October) announced that it has acquired the trade and assets of Sligo based waste company WDS (Waste Disposal Sligo ltd). WDS is the largest operator in the Sligo area, handling circa 20,000 tonnes of waste per annum, with turnover at €3.3 million. Greenstar's turnover in 2004 was €82 million.
The deal includes a 24,000 square foot state-of-the-art waste transfer station and a civic recycling facility, licensed by the EPA to handle 100,000 tonnes per annum. With the facility currently handling only 20,000 tonnes, this presents a significant opportunity for Greenstar to drive incremental volumes in the area.
The acquisition follows Greenstar's announcement earlier this year that it had earmarked €100 million for expansion and acquisition activity. In April, Greenstar acquired Wexford based waste management company, Kelly Recycling, one of the largest operators in the South East, collecting and recycling 15,000 tonnes of waste per annum. Greenstar is currently in discussions with other companies across the country about potential acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships.
Strategically, these acquisitions are very significant for Greenstar which plans to build its critical mass over the next year to 18 months, giving it an even stronger all Ireland presence in the MSW and C&I waste channels through its collection, transfer, recycling, composting and residual landfill businesses. A key benefit of this will be an extension of Greenstar's reach, which will in turn enable the company better support its regional multinational and corporate customers.
Furthermore, the WDS acquisition establishes a strong Greenstar presence in the West of Ireland, therefore providing an opportunity to secure a steady waste stream for its Kilconnell landfill in Galway, which is under construction and expected to be operational by early 2006. Kilconnell is licenced to accept 100,000 tonnes per annum of waste from the Connaght region. Greenstar has also recently won the contract to operate the Tubbercurry Recycling Facility on behalf of Sligo County Council. Greenstar currently operates Ireland's largest civic recycling facility on behalf of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in Ballyogan.
According to Steve Cowman, Chief Executive, Greenstar; "The waste industry is currently seeing strong levels of acquisition activity. Driving this consolidation is an increasingly sophisticated and technical approach to waste management, where a focus on compliance and regulation is being demanded by the market. A significant challenge for smaller companies is the requirement to invest in sophisticated technology, infrastructure and human capital.
The acquisition of WDS is part of Greenstar's growth strategy and we look forward to integrating the business under the Greenstar standard."
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