Liberty Tire Recycling, one of the leading providers of tire recycling services in North America, has announced the acquisition of Lakin Tire, with support from its majority equity sponsor The Carlyle Group.
Lakin, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California, and with operations focused throughout the Western United States and the Northeast, is one of the most established and technologically advanced tire removal and recycling companies in the U.S. Combined, the two companies collect more than 180 million tires per year and recycle approximately 2.6 billion pounds of rubber into innovative, sustainable products. Thomas Womble, CEO of Liberty Tire, will continue to lead the combined business, while key leaders of Lakin, including Bob Lakin and Sean Lakin, will take on expanded roles within Liberty to drive continued world-class customer service. Bob Lakin will maintain an equity ownership stake in Liberty.
The two companies have said central to the strategic vision of the joint business is an enhanced ability to provide high-quality, comprehensive tire collection services and sustainable, eco-friendly recycled products to new and existing customers. The merger will unite two complementary businesses, which share a focus on safety, service, quality and innovation, in order to leverage their respective strengths, share best practices and expand their combined geographic reach.
“Similar to Liberty, Lakin has a long heritage of providing outstanding customer service and has a deep commitment to sustainability,” said Womble. “Lakin’s culture of service and sustainability is a great match for Liberty’s innovative tire processing and recycling capabilities, which will enable the combined company to drive increased sustainable reuse of scrap tires.”
“From the time my great-grandfather started Lakin Tire over 100 years ago, we’ve provided best-in-class customer service with environmentally-friendly tire recycling solutions,” said Bob Lakin, who will become Executive Director at Liberty Tire. “Partnering with Liberty is an exciting step in the growth trajectory of our company, as their innovative technology will allow us to deliver our solutions to even more customers nationwide. I am excited to be an equity owner of the combined business.”
Equity for the investment came from Carlyle Strategic Partners IV and a key group of co-investors in Liberty.
