Tag: Waste Harmonics

Waste Harmonics is growing, adding workers and capabilities, as the business expands its footprint across the United States and Canada.

Waste Harmonics is based in Victor and has 122 employees. The company has added nearly 15 employees over the past few months and Hess expects to add at least another 25 people over the next six months. 

He knows that a one-size-fits all approach does not work and that mindset is what makes Waste Harmonics stand out from its competition.

The business provides efficient, cost-effective and sustainable waste and recycling solutions for companies of all sizes. Waste Harmonics manages over 25,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. 

The firm’s compound annual growth rate from 2018 to 2022 was 30 percent. 

Hess said growth, both organically and through acquisitions, has had a positive impact on the company’s performance. That growth was recognized with Waste Harmonics being named a Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 company this year.

In 2021, the company acquired Contelligent, formerly OnePlus, a provider of intelligent container monitoring solutions and analytics. 

Earlier this year, Waste Harmonics acquired Arizona-based Meridian Alliance Partners, a certified solid waste and recycling specialist that implements no-cost sustainable waste and recycling programs to reduce hauling costs and increase recycling credits. 

The most recent acquisition allowed Waste Harmonics to expand the range of its service offerings and leverage sustainable waste and recycling programs, he said. 

It also allowed the company to grow its strengths in cloud-based analytics, monitoring and reporting by continuing to expand the footprint for deploying iWaste monitoring devices. 

Hess said recent acquisitions have resulted in more technology and market share for the business.

“We continue to work in a very fragmented market which we believe will be a tremendous growth driver for our business,” he said. “The technology additions have allowed us to gain speed to market through acquisition versus internal development.” 

Hess said the company would consider future acquisitions moving forward.

“We have a strong pipeline for continued M&A,” he said. “We will continue to pursue the right candidates that can increase our market presence and allow for further device deployment.” 

Anthony Diienno, vice president of recycled materials, said continuing to invest in innovative technologies has been another growth driver for Waste Harmonics, as is continued customer education in areas such as recycling.

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to recycling education is dealing with personnel and/or supply chain changes, Diienno said.

New personnel may not know how the program is set up and the different recyclables being produced and the importance of how and why the program is set up how it is,” he said, adding that changes to the supply chain can be an issue if new material is being produced or there any changes to existing material that may require different procedures. “This is only an issue if we are not aware of the changes to make sure the correct process is set up to maximize value and landfill diversion.” 

To overcome the challenges, Diienno said it is important to stay in constant contact with the customer, both at the site and corporate level, as well as monitoring monthly activity to track any changes to volume being produced or any new material being sent out and performing site audits at customer locations to make sure the program set up is being followed properly and that the customer’s recycling program is being utilized to its full potential. 

Melissa Modica, director of business development, sustainability, said the company has placed an emphasis on green efforts. 

Those efforts include expanding upon its current sustainability policy, implementing a Waste Harmonics Green Team that will engage with the local community and continuing to provide clients with sustainability programs tailored to their specific needs, driving landfill diversion, zero waste and education and ensuring compliance with local ordinances. 

In addition to growth initiatives, the company is taking steps to deal with current challenges in the sector; two of which are driver shortages and pricing, Hess said.

“Our vendor partners continue to struggle with finding qualified drivers which, in part, is driving prices higher,” he said. “Fortunately for us, we have invested in technology that allows us to create efficiencies in services, which in turn allows us to better control program costs.” 

As the supply chain continues to show signs of recovery, Hess expects to ramp up manufacturing and deployment of the firm’s monitoring devices across its entire service footprint.

Once completed, he expects Waste Harmonics will have its largest deployment of devices, eclipsing 75,000 units. 

Having its headquarters in the Rochester region brings additional advantages; the biggest of which is the firm’s employees, Hess noted.

“I have an amazing team that I work with,” he said. “They are focused every day on delivering value to all our stakeholders.”  

[email protected] / (585) 653-4021