Welcome to the Haul of Fame, a weekly series from Rubicon in which we sit down with a hauler partner to talk about their company, their community, and how they’re collaborating with Rubicon in our mission to end waste.
Wuestco Waste Solutions is headquartered in Randolph, New Jersey, and services customers across the Northern part of the state, including Morris, Warren, Passaic, Sussex, Bergen, Esses, Union, Somerset, and Middlesex counties. The company has four trucks in its fleet serving both residential and commercial customers, and it continues to grow. Originally founded as part of a scrap metal company, Wuestco has now grown to become a full-service waste solutions company with roll-off and front end loaders used for waste and recycling. Wuestco began partnering with Rubicon in early 2019.
Tom Wuesthoff, Co-Owner of Wuestco, sat down with Rubicon to talk about his company and mission for the Haul of Fame.
How does Rubicon’s mission to end waste match-up to Wuestco’s own company mission?
Wuestco: Recycling in New Jersey has gotten really big in the past 30 years. Being new haulers and having a background in scrap metal, recycling is really all we’ve known as compared to a lot of bigger companies who have been around for 30-plus years who had to transition in the late 80s and early 90s. Here in New Jersey, we are lucky to have transfer stations as well as materials recovery facilities, not just landfills. We entice our customers to separate the materials instead of putting everything in one dumpster. For example, instead of an eight-yard trash dumpster, we would give our customer a four-yard trash dumpster and a four-yard single-stream dumpster at a discounted rate. This allows for separation and a better overall sustainability solution.
How does Wuestco distinguish itself from the competition?
Wuestco: I’d say the biggest thing that separates us from our competitors is our prices, our contract terms, and now the technology that we have added to our service solution that Rubicon has supplied us with, which puts us in a different class entirely.
We pride ourselves on having some of the best prices in all of New Jersey for roll-offs as well as commercial front-load services. We don’t like to force our customers into long contracts like our competitors. The last thing we at Wuestco want is for our customers to feel trapped. If the customer has a problem, I want to know about it and find a resolution to the problem as soon as possible. Along with great prices, we recently implemented Rubicon’s technology in our trucks. The feature that I like the most is the service notifications to our customers. This one feature provides a level of transparency between me as the hauler and my customers. I’ve found it to be a big selling point when customers are choosing a new hauling company, and I talk up how I can ensure delivery confirmation and transparency.
What is the view of Wuestco when it comes to participating in the circular economy and helping build a more sustainable future?
Wuestco: I was in the scrap business for five years before I began the waste management business here at Wuestco, so I like to say that I have a scrap mentality with everything. In the scrap business, everything is reused and recycled. We apply this same principle in our everyday operations at Wuestco, going as far as separating materials back at our yard so they don’t end up in the landfill. If Wuestco can help in making the environment a better place for the future, we are 100 percent in.
How has the Rubicon technology in your fleet of vehicles helped you and your drivers in their everyday job?
Wuestco: Having Rubicon’s technology in our trucks is changing our lives for the better on a daily basis. The routing software sends us on the most effective routes, provides a service notification feature, and gives us the option to confirm key information like weight slips right there on the platform. Prior to us using Rubicon’s technology, our company was planning routes with pen and paper. I can honestly say I wouldn’t know what to do without Rubicon’s technology in our trucks. It saves time, energy, and resources, and allows us to focus on serving our customers.
What do you love most about the community in which you work, and the customers you serve?
Wuestco: New Jersey is an amazing state. You can be in one part of the state and be in farmland, and then 45 minutes later be downtown in a metropolitan city or on a beach boardwalk. Our customers and Wuestco are all part of the business community here in New Jersey, working together, helping each other out, and furthering our business goals all at the same time.
Where does Wuestco see itself five years from now?
Wuestco: At Wuestco we are just scratching the surface of what is possible for our company. I see us growing and having a presence across all of New Jersey and into Eastern Pennsylvania over the next five years.
Lori Sullivan is Vice President of Hauler Operations at Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.
