Listen to this articleWinters Bros. Waste Systems has been acquired by Houston-based WM, the companies announced Monday.
Terms of the deal, completed July 15, were not disclosed.
The transaction includes all Winters Bros.’ hauling operations, long-haul logistics, 12 transfer stations and recycling operations on Long Island, according to a company statement.
West Babylon-based Winters Bros., which serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and New York City, operates about 275 trucks and employs about 525 people.
WM will centralize corporate functions and standardize business practices to improve productivity and create operating efficiencies. Decisions involving customers will be handled locally, according to the statement.
“Our two companies have known and respected each other for many years, and the time is right for us to take the next logical step in our evolution, allowing us to accelerate the applications of technology to enhance services on Long Island,” Sean Winters, Winters Bros. chairman and CEO, said in the statement. “WM has an extensive presence across the United States and there are opportunities to internalize significant volumes of waste while ensuring environmentally sound solutions for customers on Long Island. Winters Bros. developed a broad regional footprint across Long Island over the past 11 years.”
Since its founding, Winters Bros., under the leadership of Joe Winters, who died in Jan. 2021 after battling COVID, and his brothers Sean, Jimmy and Andrew, has grown to become Long Island’s largest recycling, refuse carting and garbage processing firms, serving thousands of businesses and dozens of municipalities.
Jimmy Winters, executive vice president of Winters Bros., said the combined companies can further improve productivity and operating margins.
“This merger allows us to capitalize on the attractive business opportunities on Long Island and enhance our ability to provide comprehensive solutions to the waste-stream management needs of our customers,” he said in the statement.
Founded in 1968 as Waste Management Inc., the publicly traded company, which does business as WM, reported 2023 revenue of $20.4 billion. In 2015, Winters Bros. took over all of WM’s operations in New York (excluding New York City) and Connecticut and had been serving those areas under contract with WM.
“As each company has done individually, the combined company will remain fully committed to serving the needs of our customers, municipalities and employees,” Will Flower, Winters Bros. Senior vice president, said in the statement. “The vertically integrated model of the combined company—linking collection, transfer, recycling and disposal services—results in a resilient solid waste system that is needed for Long Island. Additionally, our employees will benefit from enhanced career opportunities that result from a larger company positioned for future success.”