Jeff Bittner, CEO of Exit Technologies in Naples, Florida, says he’s always looking for new concepts in the information technology asset and disposal (ITAD) industry. When he was approached to launch a podcast about ITAD earlier this year, he jumped at the opportunity—now he’s sharing them with an audience of 10,000 listeners.

Bittner launched ITAD Talks in August, a weekly podcast about the ITAD industry. The show features Bittner speaking with industry leaders such as Sean Magann, chief commercial officer for Sims Lifecycle Services, West Chicago, Illinois; Cal Braunstein, the research director at the Robert Frances Group, Westport, Connecticut; and Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, San Luis Obispo, California.

“This is a way to have a really productive and insightful conversation that can be shared with others,” Bittner says. “We’re providing value while finding value for ourselves.”

Since August, Exit Technologies has released more than 19 episodes, broken into smaller segments. Some of the topics include the labor shortage, R2 (Responsible Recycling) certification and sustainability. However, the podcast also covers topics such as growing and expanding a company and market trends affecting the industry. 

Bittner records each episode with the help of Jeremy Schaller, the marketing director for Exit Technologies.

“We wanted to give a platform to really awesome people,” Schaller says. “It doesn’t seem like there’s enough content specific to our industry that’s readily available.”

Each interview is broken into two to four segments, which are released on consecutive days. Schaller says this release schedule gives the audience an easier time navigating the information discussed on the show.

He says he hopes the podcast can increase access to ITAD information and provide a way for people to network with others in the field.

Bittner founded his ITAD company in Naples in 1994 as SMS. In 2001, the company changed its name to Exit Technologies. It has17 employees and dropbox locations in Illinois and California. 

Bittner’s company specializes in refreshes for corporate America and sells computers, laptops, servers and storage devices. Exit Technologies handles equipment from Dell, HP and Cisco, with degaussers, shredders and custom-made erasure racks that the company created. It also tests memory processors on custom-made devices. The company primarily sells to data centers in North America but also does business in overseas markets.

Exit Technologies is ISO45001 certified, a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization, and R2 certified, a standard developed by the Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI). Bittner says the company is working toward its R2v3 certification I and hopes to earn it next year. 

While the podcast was meant to connect industry professionals with one another and shed light on new ideas, it also has helped Bittner and Schaller identify emerging trends in the market. Recently, the most important trends discussed include the right to repair movement, the chip shortage and the disposition of electric vehicles as they become more prominent.

While the duo’s goal is to share new ideas about the ITAD industry, Bittner says he hopes the podcast helps new businesses get off the ground and establish themselves.

“When I got into this business, it was a pretty cutthroat industry,” Bittner says. “I think that mentoring others and helping each other is really important to do right now.”

Quest Resource Holding Corp., an environmental waste and recycling services provider based in The Colony, Texas, has announced the purchase of RWS Facility Services in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and InStream Environmental of Greenville, South Carolina. The company says the national asset-light waste and environmental service providers will expand Quest’s presence in the commercial property space and add to the industrial market customer base.

“These transactions are estimated to increase our annual revenue, net income and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by more than 50 percent, adding significant scale as well as customer diversification,” says S. Ray Hatch, the president and CEO of Quest. “With the increased scale and scope of our combined businesses, we are well-positioned to maintain strong customer relationships and provide more services for existing and prospective customers.”

According to a news release from Quest, the company agreed to acquire the membership interests of RWS for $33 million in cash and the assets of InStream for a total consideration of $11 million and an additional $1.5 million of consideration that might be earned based on future performance.  The combined transaction price of about $44 million is estimated to add more than $80 million of revenue, about $2.2 million in net income and $5.5 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA. The transactions are expected to be accretive on a free cash flow per share basis.

“Quest is committed to growing long-term shareholder value and to supporting our customers’ sustainability goals,” Dan Friedberg, board chairman, says. “Our strategy is to grow by expanding services to existing customers, organically adding to our customer base and acquiring businesses like RWS and InStream, whose customers can be better served on the Quest platform. We are focused on building scale and scope to our national platform, bringing value by lowering the costs to serve, enhancing our technology capabilities and offering a broad range of sustainability solutions across services and industries.”

The company says RWS will add incremental volume to its existing market verticals and establish a more meaningful position in the commercial property management market. The acquisition also will add to Quest’s industrial market customer base. InStream brings an attractive roster of multinational manufacturers to Quest.

As part of the transactions, Quest further announced that it has amended its lending agreement with Monroe Capital, increasing its borrowing facilities up to $75 million, lowering borrowing costs by 350 basis points and providing other improved terms.

Wieland, with North American headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, says it will invest approximately $52 million in its East Alton, Illinois, casting operations to meet growing demand for sustainable flat-rolled copper and copper alloy products. The company’s East Alton operations are the center of Wieland‘s core casting and rolling processes in North America.

The Ulm, Germany-based copper and copper alloy producer says investment plans include the construction of a new casting unit and a building expansion, which will create a platform for future growth investments.

The investment project will begin in the spring of next year with an expected completion date in 2024, according to a news release from the company.

"By investing in state-of-the-art technology at East Alton, we aim to sustain and grow important partnerships with our valued customers," says Greg Keown, president, Wieland Rolled Products North America. "Additionally, these upgrades will strengthen our ability to be a lasting community partner and great place to work in East Alton, Illinois."

Wieland says the investment reaffirms its commitment to customers and end consumers, further supports its commitment to North America and is complementary to its recently announced major recycling initiative in North America.