Garbage hauler Winters Bros. bought by waste behemoth WM for undisclosed amount

Winters Bros. Waste Systems, Long Island’s largest independent hauler of garbage, has been purchased by industry behemoth WM, formerly called Waste Management, for an undisclosed amount, both companies confirmed.

Winters Bros., based in West Babylon, dates to the 1950s and specializes in solid waste removal and recycling on the Island and in New York City. It has about 525 employees and serves homeowners, businesses and governments.

The company has proposed building a large waste transfer station in Yaphank that would facilitate moving garbage off Long Island via train in response to the planned closure of the Brookhaven Town landfill in 2027-28. However, the proposal has been met with community opposition, including from environmental groups and the NAACP.

How the project will be impacted by the sale of Winters Bros. is "to be determined," Will Flower, a senior vice president at the company, said on Tuesday in response to questions from Newsday.

The pending closure of the Brookhaven landfill has left Long Islanders to grapple with where construction debris, other waste and ash from garbage incinerators will be disposed of in the future.

WM, based in Houston, is a publicly traded company with 48,000 employees in the United States, Canada and India. The company operates 263 landfills, 332 transfer stations and 102 recycling facilities in North America, according to a securities filing.

"This acquisition will grow WM’s footprint and add complementary assets and operations, as well as a team with a shared focus on safety, outstanding service and operational excellence," WM said in a statement to Newsday on Monday after the deal had closed.

The deal involves Winters Bros.’ 12 transfer, recycling and processing facilities, a residential dual-stream recycling center and 275 trucks, according to a news release from an investment group.

Executives said all facilities and equipment would continue to operate and there were no plans to lay off employees.

"It is anticipated that the workforce will remain the same," Flower said on Tuesday. "As a matter of fact, we anticipate growing our workforce and adding more talented people to our payroll as the company continues to grow."

He added that customers would continue to be served by the same Winters Bros. employees that they now work with.

Sean Winters, the company's CEO and board chairman, says he and his family have known the WM team for many years.

"The time is right for us to take the next logical step in our evolution, allowing us to accelerate the applications of technology to enhance services on Long Island," he said in a statement after the sale had been completed. "WM has an extensive presence across the United States, and there are opportunities to internalize significant volumes of waste while ensuring environmentally-sound solutions for customers on Long Island."

The Canadian investment firm that helped the Winters family buy back Winters Bros. in March 2015 — Clairvest Group Inc. in Toronto — said it received $191 million from the sale to WM.

Clairvest, in a statement, said it and the Winters family would "continue to hold real estate assets associated with the transaction, which could generate incremental proceeds."

Michael Castellarin, managing director of Clairvest, said the investment firm had worked with the Winters family for 18 years. Since the family took over from Progressive Waste nine years ago, Winters Bros. has made 11 acquisitions and increased its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 500%, Castellarin said.

Discussions about WM purchasing Winters Bros. began in January "and it quickly became apparent that this transaction would be beneficial for customers, municipalities and our people," Flower, the Winters Bros. executive, said on Tuesday. The sale "truly is an excellent development for Long Island's long-term sustainability."

WM officials did not respond to follow-up questions.

Winters Bros. traces its roots to the 1950s, when James "Big Jim" Winters and his brother, Joe, started a trash-hauling company on Long Island.

The business soon expanded to Florida and more family members became involved. At one time, Winters Bros. also had operations in Vermont, Connecticut and the Hudson Valley.

With Paul LaRocco

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.