MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich.—Dinverno Group L.L.C., a Madison Heights-based waste hauler and recycler that focuses on nonresidential business, has acquired Waste Management Inc.'s rubber wheel division in Michigan for an unspecified price, said Guido Dinverno, the company's president.
"Waste Management was looking for a hauler to purchase these assets that could provide superior service to their customers," said Dinverno. He said his company was selected by Waste Management in a bidding process.
The acquisition included 97 rubber wheel trailers and four trucks. Dinverno, formed in late 2008, has grown from a company with one truck and 10 trailers into a fleet with 13 trucks and 300 containers.
"The purchase of this equipment will allow us to expand our rubber wheel division (increase revenue by 75 percent) while still focusing on improving the excellent response time and service that our customers have come to appreciate," Dinverno said.
Dinverno focuses on construction, auto supply, office complex and industrial business lines.
"It will allow us to get into home modernization for repairs and roofing," he said. "This is a more profitable line."
Tom Horton, vice president of communications with Waste Management in Wixom, said the company sold its rubber wheel division because it was not part of its regular service offerings.
"The rubber wheeled assets originally came to us as a small piece of a prior acquisition," Horton said.
Chuck Rizzo Jr., CEO of Sterling Heights, Mich.-based Rizzo Environmental Services, said Dinverno competes with Rizzo in the roll-off dumpster business. Rizzo operates 15 trucks to support its commercial dumpster business.
"The rubber wheel trailer business they purchased doesn't compete with Rizzo (because we aren't in that business)," said Rizzo, adding that the largest rubber wheel trailer business is Express Service operated by Warren-Mich.-based Metro Sanitation.
While Dinverno is small compared with waste haulers such as Republic Services, Advanced Waste Services, Metro and Rizzo, Dinverno said personable customer service has helped the company grow.
"We hold our own. We learned some pretty good lean practices in 2008-09 (recession) to keep our costs low," Dinverno said.
In 2014, Dinverno hopes to expand his company's business relationship with Bedrock Real Estate Services, the Detroit-based company owned by Dan Gilbert.
"We are looking to set up an office, maintenance, transfer station and material recovery center in Detroit, close to the Gilbert area" of offices in downtown Detroit, Dinverno said.
"We will continue to offer our other waste hauling and recycling services while focusing on reducing the amount of waste that ends up in local landfills," he said. "We strongly believe in keeping as much waste out of landfills as we can."
The family-owned business employs 12, which includes Dinverno, his wife and two sons.
"We expect to add two or three more drivers this year, and if we see growth as we expect, add a couple more in the office," Dinverno said.