Waste Management makes first Australian purchases

1 June 2001

Waste Management makes first Australian acquisitions

Waste Management NZ Ltd has made two acquisitions in different states of Australia, securing a strategic position in the East Coast waste processing business.

The two companies, Barkoola Environmental Pty in Brisbane and Hines Waste Technology Pty in Melbourne principally handle oily waters and grease trap waste streams. Both are major players in the profitable liquid waste collection, treatment and recovery niche in their respective states.

The combined turnover of the companies is NZ$17M. In both cases the founder shareholders are contracted to remain in senior management positions. The combined purchase price is NZ$28M.

Waste Management managing director Kim Ellis said the moves come after lengthy analysis of the Australian market and he was particularly pleased to have concluded the two negotiations concurrently so the acquisitions can proceed in tandem.

“Through achieving control of both companies at once we have hurdled a number of critical criteria we set ourselves for entry into the competitive Australian market. We set our sights on a profitable niche in the industry where there was natural growth and where we could make an entry without stretching our resources.

“To have achieved this in two states in one hit is exciting,” said Ellis.

“Waste Management has considerable expertise in this sector having previously owned and operated a similar plant in Auckland for more than 10 years. On sale of this business in 1996 the management and technical skills were retained, and have been used to spearhead our successful entry into site remediation and municipal water contracts in New Zealand.

“In the context of where the Australian federal and state regulations on waste minimisation are heading these businesses are ideally placed as they are at the environmentally responsible end of the spectrum. Wherever possible waste oil is recycled and grease trap waste is composted.

Their focus is on reducing toxicity of waste streams and minimising landfill volumes. The increasing emphasis on recovery is where we believe the long term growth of the waste industry resides,” said Ellis.

The two operations have state-of-the-art facilities and operate under licenses of the Environmental Protection Agencies in each state.

“We believe we can add value by cross fertilizing the strengths and weakness across both businesses and introducing expertise from New Zealand, said Ellis.

“Significantly both businesses were ‘cold starts’ about five years ago, and their current market share illustrates the strong growth they’ve achieved in a growing market.”

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Kim Ellis
Phone: DDI 09 574 0881
Mobile: 025 938 276
Fax: (09) 570 5595
Email: kellis@wastemanagement.co.nz

Grant Tietjens
Phone: DDI 09 574 0886
Mobile: 025 923 221
Fax: 09 570 559
Email: gtietjens@wastemanagement.co.nz

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