Commercial Paving Changes Hands

A new ownership and management team is in place at Commercial Paving & Recycling Co. LLC of Scarborough, Maine, following the sale of the company by founder Marshall L. "Jack" Gibson to John Adelman and a team of investors. Adelman, who now becomes CEO, has served as part of the company¹s senior management since December 2002.

“Jack’s vision and diligence built a successful company that grew and prospered for 59 years,” says Adelman. “The challenge for the future is to expand on his dream and fully leverage the most innovative aspects for the company,” he adds.

Founded in 1945 as a paving company, the organization grew in recent years to become one of New England’s leading innovators in the recycling of C&D scrap materials. The company was recognized by the Maine Resource Recovery Association as Recycler of the Year in 2003, preventing more than 300,000 tons of commercial and consumer debris materials from being deposited in landfills.

Reprocessed materials are used for road and highway base construction, replacing virgin aggregates. Recycled road paving materials have not only become popular locally, but the technology has spread nationally. In addition, recycled wood has found a place in slope stabilization on roads and highways as well as being used as fuel for biomass boilers.

Many of the New England states and 80 municipalities that supply recyclables to Commercial Paving & Recycling receive building, paving and landscaping materials in return as part of a unique municipal material exchange program where states and municipalities reduce their expenses for waste handling as well as road construction and maintenance.

“Less than a dozen years old, the recycling division provides the greatest potential for growth, offering opportunities to expand its proprietary technologies and municipal and state exchange programs to other regions throughout the country,” remarks Adelman.

In addition to Adelman as CEO, the new management team includes James Hiltner, who serves as COO. Before joining the company, Hiltner spent two decades in the waste management business, most recently as a regional vice president with a major solid waste company in the New England market.

“As pressure mounts on municipal and state governments to economize operating expenses, we believe municipal and state leaders will search for creative solutions to waste handling and road maintenance,” says Hiltner. “Our fully integrated system of waste pick-up, recycling and then returning high-value road building materials, alternative fuel and landscaping products will become critical for many governmental entities that need to continue to provide the same level of services to constituents despite smaller budgets.”

Commercial Paving & Recycling has 55 employees at its headquarters and production facilities in Scarborough. The company serves customers throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.