Case Study: VLS Recovery Services
VLS Recovery Services is a leading provider of waste services. They offer waste stream management, cleaning up waste by reselling salvageable materials and disposing the rest, and also provide specialized railcar cleaning for freight carriers. The company has locations in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. Graycliff exited the business when management completed a buyout.
Headquarters
Hockley, TX
Industry
Waste Management
Exit Date
November 2010
Transaction Dynamics
Graycliff first entered VLS by funding a management-led carve-out of the business from a publicly held Dutch company called VoPak N.V. The waste management and railcar cleaning operations were essentially “orphaned” assets in the U.S. We later sold the carved-out business in full to its American management team through a buyout.
Investment Thesis
Partner with the existing management team to re-energize the U.S.-based assets, which we viewed as underutilized by the Dutch parent company
Strategic advantage as the leading independent provider of specialized chemical tank car cleaning
Favorable regulatory tailwinds in terms of railcar inspections and demand for cleaning services
Supportive sentiment and demand trends for greener disposal of industrial waste streams
Sizeable revenue opportunities given a largely installed customer base among Fortune 500 companies
graycliff Value Enhancement
Invested in capex and facility expansion to increase railcar cleaning capacity
Streamlined operational flow with the aid of consultants
Recruited company’s first CFO
Used strategic guidance of Graycliff operating partner through carve-out, transition and exit process
“I can’t thank them enough for what they did for me and for my company.”