Portfolio Company Spotlight
A feature on a Closed Loop Partners investment
Recycling: The Proof is in the Profit
Balcones Resources is the largest privately held recycling company in Texas, providing recycling service to Austin and Dallas since 1994.
One of the United States’ largest and best-run material recovery facilities, with 26 consecutive years of profitable operations and dividend payments to shareholders, Balcones Resources became the Leadership Fund’s first investment in October 2019. When CEO Kerry Getter sought a values-aligned private equity buyer, having known Closed Loop Partners for nearly a decade, the firm quickly recognized, through our diligence, a strong alignment in financial targets, growth plans and impact.
Reach and Recognition
3 facilities in Austin, Dallas and Little Rock
National Recycling Coalition’s Award for Outstanding Environmental Leadership (2000)
Greater Austin Business Award (2018)
WasteDive’s Executive of the Year (2019)
By the Numbers
200,000 tons processed each year:
- 160K tons of paper
- 22K tons of glass
- 8K tons of plastic
- 4K tons of metals
Impact to Date
The company’s unique, 20-year service contract with the City of Austin has helped the city advance toward its ambitious goal to reduce 90% of its landfilled waste by 2040.
Strategically, Balcones has insulated itself from the China-driven downward price pressure of recycled commodity markets due to the strength of its North American-based clients, bale quality (low contamination rates drive higher prices), diversity of clients (municipal and commercial), long-term contracts with fixed pricing (overcoming commodity price volatility), and regular capital improvements to increase its efficiency and capacity.
Balcones’ facilities incorporate green design principals, from locally sourced construction materials to energy efficient equipment, low/no VOC paint and electric vehicle charging stations.