Industry News

Proshred Acquired by Iron Mountain

Long-time Canadian document destruction franchiser Proshred Security International Inc. has been acquired by Iron Mountain Inc., Boston. Iron Mountain has announced the acquisition of the assets of Ottawa-based Proshred as well as eight of its Canadian franchisees.

The acquisition widens Iron Mountain’s Secure Shredding division coverage in 12 existing and five additional Canadian markets, according to the company. The new markets for Iron Mountain will be in Victoria and Kelowna, British Columbia; South West Ontario; Peter-borough, Ontario; and Saint John, New Brunswick.

"We are actively growing our Secure Shredding business throughout North America via start-up operations and by acquiring first-rate service providers," says Richard Reese, chairman and CEO of Iron Mountain. "With Secure Shredding, we’re able to help our clients implement shredding programs responsibly as a core component of their records management programs. We’re also very pleased to have the Proshred employees join the Iron Mountain team and continue to provide their expert support to customers that seek to manage their organizations’ private information securely and without compromise."

Proshred was Iron Mountain’s fifth shredding acquisition of 2004 and its second Canadian acquisition.

Overall, since the end of the first quarter of this year, Iron Mountain has completed 13 acquisitions across all segments of its business, with some acquisitions in international markets such as Germany and Chile.

In its most recently completed financial quarter, Iron Mountain Inc. reported higher revenue and operating income. For the quarter ended June 30, 2004, the company’s quarterly revenue grew to $445 million, an increase of 24 percent compared with figures the same time last year. For the quarter, storage revenues grew 22 percent and service revenues grew 26 percent compared to the prior year.

Core services, led by Secure Shredding, grew at a rate of 7 percent compared to 2003, and complementary services were roughly flat to last year’s levels due primarily to the absence of large special projects and lower product sales.

Allshred Breaks Ground

Allshred Services Inc., Toledo, Ohio, has broken ground on a new facility that will be located in a township adjacent to the northwest Ohio city.

According to a report in the Toledo Business Journal, construction started late this summer on a new 46,000 sq. ft. building on four-and-a-half acres of land in Monclova Township, Ohio. The new facility will reportedly cost $3.25 million and house the company’s 35 employees and fleet of 11 shredding trucks.

Allshred is headed by Willie Geiser (pictured at right), a former president of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). The company was also featured in the April 2003 edition of Recycling Today.

Willie Geiser

Geiser says the new facility will be equipped with a closed circuit television system that will allow the firm to offer plant-based secure destruction services that can be viewed by clients.

The company has secured an SBA (Small Business Administration) 504 loan through the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to help finance the new building, according to the Toledo Business Journal report.

The company is also planning to upgrade its plant-based shredding system when it moves into its new facility, gearing up from it current one 75-hp shredder to operating two shredders, one a 150 hp model and the other a 125 hp shredder.

Safety First At Infoshred LLC

Infoshred, LLC, headquartered in South Windsor, Ct., is one of 20 companies in New England to earn the highest certification for workplace safety and health. The Connecticut Department of Labor’s Division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor have awarded Infoshred for completing the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).

SHARP recognizes small employers who operate an exemplary safety and health management system.

According to the Department of Labor, companies participating in SHARP must request a consultation visit that involves a hazard identification survey and involves employees in the consultation process. Identified hazards must then be corrected and the company must implement a safety and health management system to lower the lost-workday injury and illness rate and total recordable case rate below the national average.

"At Infoshred, our two foremost concerns are safety for our employees and security for our customers," says Jack DiPiazza, general manager. "We have 18 employees and operate a state-of-the-art secure facility that includes a 125-horsepower industrial shredding machine, conveyors, and bailing equipment. We were pleased to work with the CONN-OSHA consultants to improve our overall safety level and we’re proud to have earned the SHARP certification."

Founded in 1993, Infoshred, LLC is a provider of secure document management services.

Recycler Sees Secure Shredding Future

Southern Recycling Secondary Fibers Inc. has opened a plant in West Nashville, Tenn., on more than 25 acres of land. The firm is a subsidiary of Houchens Industries Inc. of Bowling Green, Ky.

The new facility represents an investment of more than $4 million, and its managers say they see the document destruction market as a segment that will help make the investment worthwhile.

Southern Recycling Secondary Fibers will concentrate initially on recycling paper and cardboard products, beginning ferrous and nonferrous metals operations after June 2005. According to reports in the Tennesseean newspaper and American Metal Market magazine, the company’ officers have also identified document storage and destruction as target market niches.

"In addition to the immediate Nashville area, we also plan to market our services throughout Middle Tennessee," says Steve Nedelman, president of Southern Recycling. The staff leading the Nashville operation worked with the former Steiner-Liff Iron & Metal Co. in Nashville and then its parent company, PSC Metals.