Industry News

According to published reports, Sydney-based Brambles Ltd. has withdrawn the planned sale of its Norcross, Ga.-based Recall subsidiary because offers for the businesses were less than the company’s expected $2 billion. Brambles had initially announced its divestment plans in August 2011, with the sale expected to be completed by March 2012.

Recall, which provides storage, retrieval and destruction services, operates in more than 20 countries.

Brambles Chairman Graham Kraehe says in a statement, “Amid challenging capital markets conditions, and following complex negotiations, offers from bidders for Recall did not reflect its value or offer sufficient certainty.”

He continues, “It is in the best interests of Brambles’ shareholders to retain Recall, which is a profitable and growing business.”

New Brambles shares will be issued at A$6.05 (US$5.96) each with the intention of raising A$448 million (US$432 million) through a renounceable entitlement offer. The offer price was at a 10.9 percent discount to its closing price Friday, June 1, 2012, of A$6.79 (US$6.69) each.
 

Iowa Agency Warns ofPossible Records Breach
The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) has reported that a fire in December 2011 and a waste-handling error in March 2012 may have exposed confidential records in its Warren County, Iowa, office.

After the fire, some documents were beyond repair and were moved to a secure facility owned by Warren County prior to being shredded, according to the Iowa DHS.

Warren County officials have acknowledge that in early February a county maintenance worker mistakenly moved a container full of damaged documents from the secure location to the destroyed building.

The error was not discovered until March 14, when the department received a call from a neighbor of the burned building to say that DHS papers had blown into her yard. Iowa DHS officials say they confirmed the report that evening and spent the next day collecting as much of the debris as possible.

The recovered documents were individual pages within files, not complete files, according to the agency. DHS officials say they could not be certain that they found all of the mistakenly placed documents amidst the trash, so warning letters were sent to all people with open or recently closed cases in Warren County. None of the misplaced documents contained bank or credit card information, the agency says.

Iowa DHS sent notices to 3,000 Warren County residents stating that their records may have been exposed. The agency offered to pay for one year of credit monitoring service for anyone who feared the breach could lead identity theft.

Pat Penning, service area manager for the region, says department officials are treating the case seriously.
 

Iron Mountain Acquires Three Firms
Iron Mountain Inc., headquartered in Boston, has announced the acquisition of the records storage firms File House Offsite Record Storage, Fredericksburg, Va.; Document Systems Inc., Columbia, S.C.; and First National Safe Deposit, Philadelphia.

Harry Ebbighausen, president of Iron Mountain North America, says, “We welcome the customers of File House Offsite Record Storage, Document Systems and First National Safe Deposit and are committed to providing them secure storage and reliable service.”

He adds, “Acquisitions are a key component of our overall strategy to drive growth and returns on invested capital, and we will continue to seek opportunities that enhance existing operations or expand our service footprint.”

File House Offsite Record Storage has provided document storage to customers in the Fredericksburg area since 2005. Document Systems has offered document storage and scanning since 1992 to customers in central and coastal South Carolina. First National Safe Deposit provides secure storage of magnetic backup tapes, serving customers in the Greater Philadelphia area since the 1980s.
 

GRM Opens RIM Facility in Baltimore
GRM, a records and information management (RIM) company based in Jersey City, N.J., has opened its newest RIM facility in Baltimore. This is the second new GRM facility in 2012, as the company opened a facility in Boston in April.

With the new facility, GRM says it is able to service customers in 11 U.S. markets: New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Baltimore, Houston and Washington, D.C.

“We’re excited about this new facility,” Dave Nolan, GRM general manager, says. “The company has wanted to serve the Baltimore metropolitan area for some time, and now it’s happening. Better yet, the new facility is strategically positioned to lend support, as needed, to our Washington, D.C., location.”

GRM provides document storage, data protection, digital/electronic document management and certified destruction services. The company also offers high-volume scanning/imaging capabilities, including a scan-on-request service that converts select paper records to digital files.
 

Access Acquires Assets in Pennsylvania
Access Information Management, a Livermore, Calif.-based provider of records management, storage and destruction services, has acquired the assets of Priority Records Management, Priority Archives and Priority Shred, Boothwyn, Pa., near Philadelphia. According to Access, the acquisitions launch its service expansion into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, as it will now serve Delaware, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

“The integration of the Priority acquisitions included transitioning over 700 clients and 23 team members, and I am extremely proud of the way our team is managing the process,” says Rob Alston, Access CEO. “While the entire Access team shares in the excitement of welcoming our new clients and team members from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, we are also dedicated to carrying out each acquisition, client and team member transition and operational integration with integrity while delivering value to all parties.”

Rob Rydel, manager of Priority Archives, has been named branch manager of the newly acquired operations. He will oversee regional operations from the company’s Philadelphia location.

Access says it will offer current and future clients end-to-end records information management (RIM) services.
 

2-20 Records Management Acquires InfoStore
The records and information management (RIM) firm 2-20 Records Management has acquired InfoStore Records Management, based in Edison, N.J. The deal expands 2-20’s service area to include New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

2-20 is owned by New York City-based AUA Private Equity Partners, which describes itself as an “operationally focused lower-middle-market private-equity firm.” On its website, 2-20 Records Management lists digital imaging, data protection, destruction and document management as its core services.

According to a press release issued by 2-20, the acquisition allows Info-Store to expand its service offerings to provide “the complete suite of 2-20’s Smart Storage Solutions, including document storage, digital solutions, data protection and document shredding.”

Alex Van Veldhuisen, vice president of sales for InfoStore, says, “InfoStore and 2-20 Records Management provide perfect synergies in services as well as customer-driven business philosophies. It is this service/solution mindset that allowed InfoStore to so easily fold into the 2-20 family of companies.” he adds, “With the strength of the Smart Storage Solution service suite, InfoStore now has the ability to offer the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets a new and innovative RIM experience.”

2-20 Records Management also operates facilities in Arizona, Florida and Southern California under the names Arizona Records Storage Center, Certified Records Management and Storetrieve, respectively.
 

DataChambers Changes Name
DataChambers Records Management, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based firm specializing in management, storage and distribution of paper and electronic records, has changed its name to COR365 Information Solutions. The company also launched a new website at www.cor365.com.

The renaming follows the recent sale of a sister company to North State Communications, which retains the DataChambers name.

“Our new COR365 Information Solutions name reflects the core, foundational role we play in managing vital business records for companies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” says Andy Brown, COR365 president. “Though our name is changing, the fundamentals remain the same. We are the same company, with the same ownership, leadership team and staff, delivering the same service and support our clients have come to know and trust.”

The company says it stores and manages more than 1.3 million cubic feet of paper records and 250,000 electronic backup tapes. COR365 shreds and recycles 200 tons of paper per month and has the capacity to capture more than 1.5 million document images per month with secure online access and other electronic content management resources.