With climate change mitigation ramping up across the globe, CIBC is proud to have supported the merger of 2 complementary businesses which joined forces to transform the compost production industry.
Here’s how our CIBC’s Environmental Services Group’s helped a newly formed company not only with bank financing, but also through valuable industry connections.
From green waste to organic compost: Closing the loop
In the summer of 2021, RFE Investment Partners, a private equity firm, purchased 2 businesses in the greater Tampa metropolitan area: Consolidated Resource Recovery (CRR) and Florida Organic Solutions (FOS). CRR is a green waste collection and processing company. FOS is a compost producer. “Green waste” consists of grass, leaves, wood, landscaping and other foliage waste.
By combining CRR’s green waste collection with FOS’s compost production, in a combined company called Veransa Group, RFE believed it could make compost production more efficient and more environmentally friendly. To accomplish that, the FOS composting site, which produced a very high-quality compost product, needed upgrading of its facility and equipment to increase capacity and reduce the time frame needed to create compost. And, with the expected increase in production and sophistication of the combined composting operations, the company was also looking to professionalize the operating team.
The role of CIBC: Experience, networking and partnership
To commercialize the compost production business and fully address the organic compost market, the collection and composting businesses needed to be integrated, and the composting site and equipment needed to be upgraded. To fund these important initiatives, RFE and Veransa reached out to a number of lenders to assist with their banking needs; however, RFE said that CIBC stood out for a number of reasons.
“With its extensive experience in environmental services, the CIBC team quickly understood the company's business model and our investment thesis,” said James Karle, vice president at RFE. “Given CIBC’s experience in the space, they were also invaluable in connecting us with the right people to help build out our management team and board of directors,” Karle said. “We also sensed who was willing to not only speak to what we needed today, but to step up and become a bigger partner as we execute on our growth strategy.”
CIBC’s Environmental Services Group offered a comprehensive solution to Veransa beyond financing.
Jeff Lobbezoo, a 20-year veteran of the environmental services industry who heads up CIBC’s Environmental Services Group, says the group’s industry knowledge and experience was one of its chief advantages. “Given the bank’s experience in the environmental services space, CIBC was able to provide a competitive banking solution to Veransa. Our relationship approach to banking, combined with our industry expertise, gave us an immediate credibility and allowed us to ultimately win a competitive deal in the marketplace.”
CIBC’s experience brought other benefits as well. The bank introduced the company to an industry placement firm that facilitated the hiring of a new chief operating officer with decades of industry experience. In addition, Brenna Hooker, CIBC’s Private Banker in Tampa, introduced the CEO of Veransa to the local Tampa business community.
Ultimately, it’s the partnership and the related benefits that really matter. “It’s important to have partners who do what they say they are going to do, but it’s even more important to have partners who go beyond that,” said Roger Johansson, former investment banker and Veransa’s executive chairman. “CIBC is a perfect example of a partner that has exceeded our expectations. It’s when you get that extra mile — that’s what makes the difference.”
If you have any questions for CIBC’s Environmental Services Group, please contact Jeff Lobbezoo at Jeff.Lobbezoo@cibc.com Opens your email app.. Or you can call 773-899-4801 Opens your phone app..
