Tuesday, 21 September 1999
Avalanche-Journal

Andrews Waste Firm Steers Through Changes

By JOHN WISE
Avalanche-Journal

The majority owner of Andrews-based Waste Control Specialists has opted to transfer the company's accounting duties in Pasadena to Andrews, a company spokeswoman said Monday.

"It just makes sense," WCS spokeswoman Suzie Chase said of the move to Andrews. "That's where their main facility is."

The move comes roughly two months after majority owner Harold Simmons replaced Chief Executive Officer Ken Bigham, a minority owner in the company, with Dallas-based businessman Eric Peus.

Bigham still owns a minority share of the company and Peus consults with him regularly, Chase said.

Peus briefed Andrews community leaders on the issue at a joint meeting of the Andrews Industrial Foundation and local government boards last week.

Foundation president Lloyd Eisenrich said the move came as no surprise and he is not worried by it.

"As for the changes they made, none of them are a surprise to me," Eisenrich said. "It solidifies the company's and the county's relationship because they're going corporate. They're essentially eliminating some duplication of their accounting that was being done in Andrews and then again in Pasadena."

The move effectively eliminates 15 jobs in Pasadena but has no significant employment impact on the company's operations in Andrews, he said. No jobs will be lost.

Eisenrich said Bigham's departure from the CEO slot, a more visible position, is bittersweet.

"We'll miss Ken Bigham because it was his dream that brought this to us in the first place," Eisenrich said. "But I'm still pleased with Mr. Simmons and the financial stability he brings to the company."

Waste Control has been operating a hazardous-waste landfill in Andrews since 1997 and has since branched into the treatment and storage of low-level radioactive waste.

The company has a payroll of about $2 million and an overall economic impact of about $2.5 million to the county, Eisenrich said. He added, "I don't see that doing anything but growing."

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