AMCS, a technology provider for the waste, recycling and resource management industry with U.S. offices in Boston, is offering its AMCS Platform Summer Release, which showcases the latest solutions for Smart Collection, Smart Recycling and Smart Engagement. The company debuted its AMCS Platform Summer Release at WasteExpo in Las Vegas, which was June 28-30.

According to a news release from AMCS, the highlight of the AMCS Platform release is its embedded Transport Management System (TMS) and the launch of a new data-rich Telematics Service for waste haulers.

“We are proud to be the first company in the waste and recycling market to offer an industry-specific Transport Management System embedded in the AMCS Platform, which eliminates the need for interfacing siloed applications,” says Elaine Treacy, global product director at AMCS. “We are solving one of the biggest challenges that companies in the industry face by offering a smarter platform where CRM, billing, scale and materials management work seamlessly in real-time to leverage the full potential of smart waste collection processes.”

The new AMCS Telematics service is designed to capture rich tracking and telematics data like driver behavior, engine performance and fuel usage. It also provides the route details to provide planners with full visibility via an intuitive, data-rich dashboard.

The company says the Transport Management System is designed to automate all aspects of transport. This includes resource and roster management, planning, execution, live monitoring, route optimization and analytics. The process is enhanced by a modern browser-based user experience, designed to boost planning productivity through ease of use and automation of frequent planning tasks. The process removes the need for complex integrations between different systems and vendors.

Other key highlights of the Summer Release include:

• a “Request to Pay” feature to support simple and quick card and ACH payments;
• a web-based service, available on multiple devices, to manage all yard activities from grading, loading, stock checks and barcode scanning;
• an added intuitive shopping cart experience, leveraging geo-targeted advertising to support efficient order-to-cash model on the customer portal; and
• a new price hierarchy and pricing basis so that operators can compete with flexible, differentiated services.

Cummins Inc., a power solutions manufacturer based in Columbus, Indiana, and Rush Enterprises, a solutions provider to the commercial vehicle industry in New Braunfels, Texas, has announced an agreement for Cummins to acquire a 50 percent equity interest in Momentum Fuel Technologies from Rush Enterprises.

According to a news release from Cummins, the proposed transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to completion of customary preclosing activities and approving mutually agreeable transaction documentation. The joint venture between Rush Enterprises and Cummins will produce natural gas fuel delivery systems for the commercial vehicle market in North America. The systems provide the strengths of Momentum Fuel Technologies’ compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel delivery systems, Cummins’ powertrain expertise and support infrastructure of both companies. 

“This collaboration shows Cummins’ continued commitment to natural gas powertrains,” says Srikanth Padmanabhan, president of the Engine Business segment at Cummins. “This partnership will improve customer service for both CNG and [renewable natural gas or RNG] through an improved support network. We are thrilled to expand our network of clean and reliable power solutions.” 

The joint venture will offer aftermarket support through Rush Truck Centers dealerships and Cummins distributors, which can serve both the engine and the fuel delivery system. The partnership between Cummins and Rush Enterprises will benefit customers by providing them with access to extensive CNG vehicle parts and service network. Both Cummins’ and Rush Enterprises’ respective networks, representing more than 250 locations in the U.S. and Canada, will be equipped with certified technicians and a comprehensive CNG vehicle parts inventory.

“The immediate environmental benefits of CNG and RNG, combined with upcoming regulatory requirements, will drive growth in natural gas vehicles for the foreseeable future,” says W.M. Rush, chairman, CEO and president of Rush Enterprises Inc. “This partnership will enable Rush Enterprises to continue to provide unparalleled support to our customers through our mutual, wide-ranging portfolio of Cummins’ and RushCare aftermarket solutions and keep trucks up and running across the country.”

Despite concerns that COVID-related impacts might slow merger and acquisition activity heading into 2021, appetites for attractive waste businesses have kept pace in the first half of the year.

Moderated by Bert Rosica, managing principal of A.E. Rosica & Co., a June 30 WasteExpo session titled “Understanding your company’s valuation” featured panelists Rob Michalik, managing partner at Kinderhook Industries; Joe Cassin, VP of business development at Waste Management; and Mike Teplitsky, partner at Wynnchurch Capital.

The panel discussion centered on parameters that affect valuation, what businesses look for when evaluating companies, and how prospective sellers can maximize value when coming to the table.

According to Michalik, the management infrastructure of a company is critical for assessing value.

“For us as financial investors, we’re looking at the team,” he says. “For [platform acquisitions], we want to have the right team to grow the business. Management capability and the executives within an organization are the most important thing for us when we look to buy a business. We’re ultimately looking to back a team to build the company. There is no such thing as a great company that doesn’t have great people. The learnings we’ve had over time is that when we’ve been successful, it has been because our management team has a great strategy and has a cadence and a rhythm of how they run a business, and they’re successful at it.”

Beyond a strong team, Michalik looks for growth opportunities within the company’s market when assessing an acquisition.

“We want to see the opportunity to take a middle-market business, a business that has $20 million to $50 million in revenue, and we want to figure out how we can grow that to be $100 million to $150 million in a 3- to 5-year time horizon,” he adds.

Cassin shares that as the biggest player in solid waste, Waste Management has a defined set of criteria it looks at when assessing companies for a prospective acquisition.

“As a strategic buyer, we are looking for companies that are well run, that have good equipment that isn’t 15 or 20 years old, and we’re looking for a good, reliable customer base and cash flow with long-term contracts and decent margins. Because of Waste Management’s footprint across North America, a lot of our deals are considered tuck-ins, so we can eliminate a lot of the back-office staff and get a lot of synergies out of [our deals],” he says.

Michalik says that when examining a business, “quality of earnings starts with quality of customers” and that the waste a company manages is its most important asset. To control this waste, companies need to provide good service at a fair price, he notes.

With the operational hazards that pervade the solid waste sector, Michalik says that companies with a good safety record have a substantial leg up when being analyzed for purchase.

“One of the interesting things with the waste industry at the moment is that insurance premiums are going through the roof. Worker, medical, collision—all of these premiums continue to skyrocket. … The independents are getting hammered, so safety protocols are critical,” he says.

Michalik says that for every business the company buys, if they don’t have a camera system in their trucks, they are installed on “day one” to improve training and accountability while reducing liability.

Teplitsky, speaking on experience investing in waste equipment manufacturers, says that the systems and equipment that a company has in place are some of the central things Wynnchurch Capital looks at before making an investment. He also says that, contrary to popular belief, private equity firms often seek to infuse money into a business rather than strip costs as a way to boost value.

“Private equity gets a reputation for coming in and stripping costs out of a business,” he says. “The reality is that when we get involved, a lot of times, we’re coming in and putting in new systems and tools and hiring new people as we increase investments.”

Due to the complex nature of performing due diligence on a company, Cassin says business owners can expedite the process by getting their ducks in a row prior to engaging with a prospective suitor. He says owners should get organized and find an experienced business attorney that can help guide them through the process. 

“Prior to a sale, often entrepreneurs will think, ‘Gee, I don’t want to spend on a new software package, or that new piece of equipment because I’m going to sell.’ My advice is that you should always run your business like you want to own it when you’re preparing for a sale. … If you’re happy owning your business, and you don’t care whether you sell it, you have a better chance of selling it. If you’ve underinvested, and all of a sudden you’re stuck with it, you’re going to be pretty anxious,” he says.

Teplitsky says that coming to the table with a valuation in mind is essential, and this valuation should be diligently researched.

“You have to figure out what your real valuation is. You need to talk to people, get advice and figure out [if what you are hoping to get] is realistic. Most deals die because of [discrepancies] in valuation,” Teplitsky says.

Rosica concluded the session with parting advice for those contemplating a sale.

“Seller expectations need to align with market realities. If they’re not aligned, then now is not the time to sell,” he says.

A federal judge has dismissed Chicago-based Southside Recycling’s lawsuit it brought against the city of Chicago.

Southside Recycling, which has constructed a scrap recycling facility on the city’s southeast side, filed a federal lawsuit in mid-May seeking a court order directing the city of Chicago to issue a final permit to the company. The lawsuit alleged that the city had wrongfully failed to issue the last permit needed for the facility to begin operating, despite acknowledging for months that Southside Recycling had satisfied its requirements.

Southside Recycling and RMG Investment Group LLC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago against the city of Chicago and Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. The company sought a court order that would direct Arwady to issue the final permit, alleging that the city broke its agreement with RMG and violated the company’s constitutional rights by taking private property without just compensation. The company also sought more than $100 million in damages due to the permit delay.

United States District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. rejected Southside Recycling’s claim that its constitutional rights were violated. He wrote that the arguments in the dispute are better suited for state court and that the case is terminated.

“Southside Recycling will immediately seek a prompt ruling in state court ordering the city to issue the permit, based on the city’s broken promises and the fact that we have met every requirement imposed by the city’s own rules, which businesses have a right to rely upon,” Southside Recycling states in response to the ruling. “Despite multiple attempts since early May to understand how and when the city intends to proceed, the additional analysis that it is purportedly intending to perform remains undefined and the timing undetermined.”

The company adds that it is “damaging to the environment and the local metal recycling market” that its project is on hold while “the only other shredder in Chicago continues to operate without pollution controls.

“We will continue to fight for our right to service our suppliers and responsibly perform the critical service of metal recycling for Chicago,” the company concludes.