Scott Weaver, president and CEO of APR Supply Co., acquired a majority share of Environmental Recovery Solutions, a first-of-its-kind mobile refrigerant reclamation company based in Lebanon, Pa.
The acquisition, which was finalized in October, immediately expanded the services that APR can offer at each of its 38 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. In addition, the growth of ERS’ mobile systems and storage capacity will allow APR the opportunity to partner with other regional wholesalers across the nation, creating their own security in refrigerant supply.
“With the production of R-22 coming to an end in 2020, the refrigerant will grow increasingly scarce,” Weaver said. “The market will most likely see the same scenario develop for the supply of R-410 in a number of years.”
While ERS acts as a traditional refrigerant reclamator, the company’s specialty is traveling to commercial jobsites in order to collect refrigerant onsite. By acquiring ERS, APR has secured its supply of clean refrigerant.
Beyond guaranteeing the availability of refrigerant, APR can now offer on-site collection, faster turn-around times and project time savings for customers. The heavy-duty reclamation equipment used by ERS is able to draw down large systems about 10 times faster than a conventional refrigerant recovery machine. This allows contractors to be more competitive and profitable.
“We continue to operate independent of APR,” said Rich Bond, a founding partner of ERS. “There’s already been an overall increase in our recovered and reclaimed gas.”
ERS has served clients as distant as Oklahoma when project size warrants long-distance travel.