Nashville’s S3 acquires assets of local electronics recycler

A Tennessee-based ITAD firm has acquired the assets of a nearby nonprofit that recently shut its doors following a five-year run.

S3 Recycling Solutions expects the equipment and assets of Electronics Recycling Solutions – formerly based in Gallatin, Tennessee, near Nashville – to integrate seamlessly into S3’s warehouse and logistics operations, according to a press release. 

To start the ball rolling, ERS reached out to S3, which had previously sent them equipment pro bono, said Rod McDaniel, president and CEO of S3. “I think it was for them a natural fit,” he told E-Scrap News. “They knew our heart for things and gave us an opportunity.”

The two businesses share several similarities, most notably in company culture, he said, which was evident in previous interactions. And when it came time for ERS to pass the torch, “they wanted to make sure that their clients landed with someone they knew would take care of their needs.”  

In the press release, he said ERS’s “customers can feel good about the fact that S3 is a good alternative that can serve their organizations with responsible and compassionate ways to manage access electronics.”

In addition, both organizations have made a point to provide a structured and supportive workplace for adults with autism and other disabilities. S3’s program is led by Stephen Polkowski, who has been diagnosed with autism. 

“Hiring those adults with autism is not charity, there’s a business case for us,” McDaniel said. “My goal as a CEO is to create a work environment where everyone feels valued, and we all work together to provide excellent customer service while maintaining an inclusive company culture.”

California integration provides roadmap for future moves

In 2024, S3 expanded outside of Tennessee with the acquisition of iGlobal Asset Management near Los Angeles. Several months later, the two companies are now completely integrated, McDaniel said, and the California site has 12 employees. 

The first priority was to assimilate the company with S3’s technology and workplace culture. With that completed, “now we’re in the business development space,” he said. The company is looking to add new business within an eight-hour radius of the site. 

With an existing customer in the area at the time of the acquisition, “we were making sure we serviced them and got integrated, and made sure our culture was felt there, before we started bringing on new clients,” McDaniel said.

The transition went fairly smoothly, he said. “I’d say the team really bought into our culture pretty quickly.”

As with any transition, the integration brought some challenges. 

“This was our first acquisition, and we didn’t quite have a real playbook,” McDaniel said. “And so what I think we’ve done over the last eight months is created a playbook for what the next ones look like, and what to look for.” 

The newest members of the team have provided helpful feedback as well, he said. 

“The things that we thought were important aren’t as important, and there’s just a lot of learning lessons in it,” McDaniel said.