Merging technology with waste management has placed Richmond’s RecycleSmart first among its peers nation-wide.
RecycleSmart snagged the number one spot on a list of the fastest-growing industrial services companies. The firm also placed 25th fastest-growing among all companies nation-wide and fourth fastest-growing among all Metro Vancouver companies.
These annual rankings are announced on Canadian Business and Maclean’s Growth 500, which ranks Canada’s top private and public companies based their on five-year revenue growth.
The waste management company utilizes the Internet of Things (IOT), where computing devices are embedded in everyday objects and access the internet to send and receive data.
In the case of RecyleSmart, this IOT technology takes the form of a small sensor installed in dumpster and recycling bins. It tracks how many recyclables, or how much waste, is in the container and how that amount changes over time, and when it’s time to pick up the container.
The sensor then reports this information to the company’s clients, which range from local independent businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
“By having this crucial information at our fingertips, we’re able to add in more efficiencies, identify areas for improvement and manage performance,” said Jaclyn McPhadden, RecycleSmart’s co-founder and chief administrative officer.
This technology helps clients meet financial, environmental and operational goals, and diverts up to a third of waste from landfills, and promises a minimum 10-per-cent savings to clients.
According to McPhadden, the company operates on a no-cost consultancy model, meaning that clients don’t pay for RecycleSmart’s services.
This is the third year that RecycleSmart has earned a top-30 spot on the overall Growth 500 list. In 2017, the company was ranked the fastest-growing in Richmond and 14th nationally, with revenue growth from $400,000 to $20 million over five years.
And between 2013 and 2018, the company saw a growth of 2,822 per cent, with revenue between $10 million to $20 million last year.
“We’ve been in a hyper-growth mode for several years now,” said McPhadden, “largely due to organic growth as a result of very satisfied customers referring us within and across their networks.”
This is something that the company is “extremely proud” of, added McPhadden, and assures them that RecycleSmart’s services are needed and valued across Canada.
Currently, the company is expanding into Ontario and Quebec, has hired its first chief information officer and is enhancing and refining its technological systems, which helped earn RecycleSmart’s rankings this year.
“Our goal is to continue to be the largest provider for smart waste management solutions in Canada, while maintaining exceptional customer service,” McPhadden said.
