Good Earth Resources
Management Summary
The initial management team depends on the founders themselves, and a small cadre of professionals. As GER grows, it will add additional consulting help, engineering, sales, and marketing.
6.1 Organizational Structure
GER has two founding principals whose duties will be divided between operations and administrative/sales. Once operations commence, GER will hire supervisors trained to assume responsibility for operations while the principals oversee the business.
One of the principals, Don Smith, has two adult sons who currently work with him at Smith Environmental Services. Both will take the Missouri and Illinois courses offered by each state’s landfill regulatory division for landfill supervisors and will assume supervisorial positions at the landfills.
6.2 Management Team
Co-founder Don Smith currently owns and operates Smith Environmental Services, one of the largest subsurface soil remediating businesses in Missouri with contracts throughout the state. In 1983 Smith built a transfer station in Wellston, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb that accepted waste, removed recyclables, baled and hauled it to the same landfill in Washington County that GER has under contract, Martin Creek. At that time, he obtained the landfill-operating permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and commenced operation. The facility was fully operational 16 years ago. After a partnership dissolution and the subsequent closure of Martin Creek, Smith became manager of three landfills in Chicago, Illinois for Land and Lakes, Inc. Prior to his departure, however, the business was fully operational and generating a reasonable cash flow.
Smith has a full operating familiarity with all of the equipment to be used in GER operations. He has worked with the companies who manufacture various components and suggested numerous design changes in their equipment, many of which continue to be in use to this day.
After his departure from the original Martin Creek operation, Smith took a position with Land and Lakes, Inc of Chicago and eventually supervised the operation of three Chicago landfills for the company. All three of these landfills were in permit violation by the Illinois State Department of Natural Resources prior to Smith’s involvement. Within months under his supervision, all permit violations were cleared. Additionally, he stopped the landfills pollution of the Little Calumet River. This river is no longer polluted and is safe for fishing and boating. Later he worked for D & D Disposal to operate their Gary, Indiana landfill. During these periods he became familiar with all forms of disposal, tire shredding, hauling, and landfill problems.
Between 1990 and 1994 Smith operated a hazardous waste treatment, storage, & disposal facility (TSD) for Industrial Fuels & Resources, Inc. Through his stewardship in this venture, the business went from a $600,000 annual loss prior to his joining the company to an $800,000 net profit on gross sales of $6,000,000+ in the first year, and growing from 33 employees to 130 employees. The business was sold in 1994 to Environmental Services of America, Inc. (Missouri Division). Smith continued to operate the facility through 1995.
After leaving he founded Smith Environmental Services that he currently owns and operates. Smith Environmental has remediated several hundred sub-surface tank sites and hazardous waste spills throughout Missouri, both private and municipal owned.
Co-founder John App met Smith in 1984 and has maintained a business relationship since that time. App owned several mobile home parks, one in House Springs, Missouri. Others were in Tucson, Arizona (four), and Las Vegas, Nevada. App also owned and operated Corporate Pension Funding, Inc. a licensed California Mortgage Brokerage firm. This business operated during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and funded many mortgages with millions of dollars in private pension money.
Recently App was International Marketing Manager for a computer Compact Disk (CD) Duplicating Tower manufacturing firm based in Rome, Italy. App has a sales and management background both in business and the military, where he was an officer and Marine Aviator for the U.S. Marine Corps and served as helicopter pilot and maintenance test pilot in Vietnam. He was extensively trained in maintenance procedures and is an asset to GER with his extensive engineering and marketing experience. He was educated at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
App will operate the sales and marketing team for GER as well as perform management duties as administrative principal.
G. Calvin Rathbone serves as Corporate Counsel and is a member of the California State Bar. He has specialized in civil litigation, including commercial, products liability, toxic litigation, and environmental issues. Rathbone served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Marine Aviator and Marine Air Group Operations officer in the Republic of Vietnam. Prior to entering law, he was a professional airline pilot with a major airline and manager of sales and marketing for a manufacturer of severe service control valves for use in the exploration and production of oil and gas. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and Western State University College of Law. Rathbone will assist in the New York City marketing effort where he has numerous business and personal contacts.
Curtis E. Smith will be one of the landfill supervisors and has 23 years experience in all aspects of landfill operations. He worked for Resource Recycling 1984-1985 and assisted his father, Don Smith, constructing the facility, installing equipment, and starting the recycling center in Wellston, Missouri. He managed the second shift during that period. He is a certified Harris Press baler operator (the compactor/baler GER intends to install at each location). Between 1989 and 1994, he was supervisor of operations at D&D Disposal, Chicago, IL where he managed 45 laborers performing recycling and waste baling.<CURRENTLY,&NBSP;SMITH a for FONT Missouri.
6.3 Management Team Gaps
One of the first positions filled will be for a qualified bookkeeper and financial manager for in-house fiscal and payroll management. This individual will continually advise the principals of accounts payable and receivable, as well as payroll matters. GER will seek out competent management as the operation becomes more mature to allow the principals the opportunity to seek out and develop new sites for expansion. GER intends to employ permanent sales personnel to maintain contact with major cities’ waste commissions.
6.4 Personnel Plan
The following table summarizes GER’s personnel expenditures for the first three years at Barton Landfill. There are also truckers and the employees at Martin Creek constructing that property.
Personnel Plan | |||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Office Clerks (2) @$76.00/Day | $47,424 | $49,972 | $52,470 |
Operators (6) @ $100/day | $187,200 | $196,560 | $206,388 |
Laborers (1) @ $80/day | $24,960 | $26,208 | $27,518 |
Maintenance Mechanic (1) @ $100/day | $31,200 | $32,670 | $34,398 |
Supervisors (3) @ $140/day | $131,040 | $137,592 | $144,471 |
Managers (2) @ $5000/month | $120,000 | $126,000 | $132,300 |
Total People | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Total Payroll | $541,824 | $569,002 | $597,545 |