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Clean Harbors history
Clean Harbors company history timeline
Since 1980, field service centers have been strategically located across North America to provide emergency response services and perform planned work on customer locations.
Since its inception in 1980, Clean Harbors has become the leading environmental and industrial service provider and largest hazardous waste disposal company in North America.
Clean Harbors, Inc. began in 1980 in suburban Boston, near the shores of the famously polluted Boston Harbor.
Clean Harbors, Inc. was founded in 1980 in Brockton, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, by Alan S. McKim, who continues as the company's CEO and Chairman.
Its first project came in 1984 when it removed oil from a tanker, which foundered off Cape Cod in a snowstorm.
In 1985 it bought a solvent recovery plant and a transfer station in Braintree, Massachusetts, giving it more capacity to handle materials in its own facilities.
In 1986, our laboratory chemical packing services, CleanPack®, was formed to provide industries, schools and universities, and communities with vital services to manage the collection, packaging and disposal of laboratory chemicals and household hazardous waste.
In 1986, founder McKim began receiving queries from parties interested in funding Clean Harbors.
Revenues continued to climb approaching $50 million in 1986.
Clean Harbors held its initial public offering (IPO) offering of one million shares at $9 a share on the NASDAQ on November 24, 1987.
McKim laid plans in the spring of 1987 to take Clean Harbors public in the early fall.
In 1987, Safety-Kleen began its oil recovery business, which reclaimed used oil and re-refined it through their first re-refinery in Breslau, Ontario Canada.
Clean Harbors' incinerator permit was denied in 1991, and it later purchased incinerators in Texas, Utah, Nebraska, and in Ontario and Quebec.
In 1998, Clean Harbors Industrial Services was established as division to handle in-plant cleaning and maintenance services, including chemical cleaning, vacuuming, steam cleaning and hydroblasting of chemical processing equipment.
Unfortunately the success of the merger was short-lived and Safety-Kleen filed for bankruptcy in 2000.
The top player in the United States was Waste Management, Inc., with more than $11 billion in revenue in 2002, while 28 other companies had revenue of $50 million or more.
But revenue for 2003 was less than expected, at around $600 million.
Rowland, Christopher, "Some Massachusetts-Area Firms Suffer As Spooked Investors Caused Stock Slides," Boston Globe , May 18, 2004.
By that time, Clean Harbors appeared to be recovering from the shock of digesting such a large acquisition. It claimed its fourth quarter of 2004 was its best ever, and the company finished the year with a 5 percent increase in revenue over the year previous, to $643.2 million, and net income of $2.6 million.
In 2005, after sustained revenue and EBITDA growth, Safety-Kleen obtained new financing.
In 2008, the Company acquired two solvent recycling facilities in Chicago, Illinois, and Hebron, Ohio.
Early investments from Clean Harbors’ founding until 2009 were primarily in the environmental services, waste management and industrial services areas.
Also in 2017, Clean Harbors acquired Lonestar West, further broadening its daylighting and hydro excavation services throughout the United States and Canada.
© 2022 Safety-Kleen Systems.
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Clean Harbors competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Services | 1998 | $16.0B | 35,000 | 1,754 |
| The Williams Companies | 1908 | $10.5B | 5,425 | 283 |
| Waste Connections | 1997 | $8.9B | 16,000 | 694 |
| EQT | 1888 | $3.1B | 624 | 24 |
| Progress Energy | 1925 | $22.7B | 11,000 | - |
| Exelon | 2000 | $23.0B | 33,383 | 220 |
| Koch Industries | 1940 | $115.0B | 100,000 | 12 |
| Cameron Welding Supply | 1963 | $8.8B | 35,000 | - |
| Harris Waste Management Group, Inc. | - | $50.0M | - | - |
| AVANGRID | 1852 | $8.3B | 7,000 | 2 |
Clean Harbors history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Clean Harbors, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Clean Harbors. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Clean Harbors. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Clean Harbors. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Clean Harbors and its employees or that of Zippia.
Clean Harbors may also be known as or be related to Clean Harbors, Clean Harbors Inc, Clean Harbors Industrial Services, Inc. and Clean Harbors, Inc.