ARTICLE
Allshred Services is celebrating 25 years in business. Over the last 25 years Allshred Services has grown to become one of the largest independent shredding companies in the country and is proud to operate from one of the most secure document destruction facilities in the United States. “‘Security and Service’ has always been our top priority. We’ve grown to who we are today because our clients know their material is in the most trusted hands possible,” states Willie Geiser, Allshred Services Owner, President and CEO. Allshred Services was founded in 1989 by Michael Lucht, the owner of Progressive Sweeping, as a secondary business to his main business of sweeping roads and parking lots. Willie Geiser founded Recycling Services, Inc. in 1992 as a service provider of office paper and polystyrene (Styrofoam) recycling programs. The company’s first day of business was Jan. 3, 1993. The office paper recycling programs were marketed to businesses seeking to reduce their trash disposal expenses by recycling more of their office paper, while polystyrene recycling was geared towards businesses, primarily school systems and appliance stores, trying to reduce their trash disposal costs by recycling their food trays and appliance packaging. The food tray recycling was extremely messy and smelly due to the food residue left on the trays. The company’s first building was a 10,000 square foot warehouse located at 715 Spencer St., in Toledo. The company had one truck and Geiser was the only employee. Two additional employees followed later that year. The economics of polystyrene recycling were poor because there was no value to the recycled product, and the material handling costs were astronomical due to the lightweight yet bulky items. Therefore, service fees needed to be passed along to the businesses for the service. The effort to recycle polystyrene was eventually discontinued due to the lack of businesses willing to pay for the service. In late 1993, due to a request from a large hospital customer, Recycling Services expanded into document destruction. In 1994, as Progressive Sweeping continued to grow, Lucht found it increasingly difficult to spend time growing Allshred. Because of Geiser’s reputation as an ethical businessman and Recycling Services’ reputation as a customer service-oriented company, Lucht sought out Geiser in November of 1994 about selling Allshred to him. The deal was finalized three months later. An additional 5,000 square feet of space was rented to make room for the Allshred acquisition, which brought an additional truck, two more employees and two shredders. In 1996-1997, as the secure shredding industry started showing more and more potential, Geiser decided to phase out of the recycling field and focus solely on secure document destruction, which it has done ever since. The name Recycling Services, Inc., while still the corporate entity was dropped and Allshred Services was used as the operating name. In 1995, a group of 12 shredding companies, trying to provide some organization to a disparate industry, founded the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). Allshred Services joined the following year. In 1997, believing in the goals of the new organization, and desiring to help, Geiser ran for the board of directors and was elected. He was ultimately elected as the Vice President in 2000, and elected as the President in 2002. During Geiser’s tenure on the NAID BOD, the NAID certification program was implemented in early 2000. It was a crucial step for the secure shredding industry because, prior to that, there were no quality control standards or criteria that determined what constituted a legitimate shredding company. Literally, anybody could do it anyway they wanted to. The NAID certification program committee spent two years developing the criteria and standards that they determined best secured the customers material. Allshred first earned the prestigious NAID Certification in June 2002 and has obtained NAID certification every year since. After Geiser left the NAID board in 2004, he served on various committees, including Government Relations, as well as the Certification Rules & Standards committee, which he chaired from 2004-2008. Geiser always dreamed of building his own secure shredding plant. He wanted it to be the most secure and efficient, and the nicest, shredding plant in the world. In Feb. 2005, those dreams were realized when Allshred Services moved into its new 46,000 square foot building located in Maumee, OH. It has been described as the “Fort Knox of the shredding industry.” Also in 2005, Willie received the Central Great Lakes Region Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2005 from Ernst & Young, and the NAID President’s Award. In 2006, Geiser was named the NAID Member of the Year. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 Allshred was named one of the top 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States by Inc. 5000. In August 2008, Allshred Services expanded its operations by opening a facility in Akron, OH. This facility was opened as a result of Allshred’s growing business in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. In November 2011, Allshred Services acquired Mid Ohio Shredding, based in Westerville, Ohio, which had been in business for seven years. This acquisition further increased their market share in the Columbus area. In March of this year, Allshred made another acquisition, that being Hoosier Shred based in Indianapolis, Indiana. NAID Certified, they had been in business for seven years and gives Allshred coverage for the entire state of Indiana. Out of the over 2,000 shredding companies in the country, Allshred has grown into one of the most respected, and one of the largest privately owned shredding companies in the U.S. Where the majority of the companies in the industry cover a radius of 60-90 miles, Allshred covers a radius of about 300 miles, servicing the entire states of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. It can do so because of its highly efficient logistical planning. Allshred provides its services to over 2,500 clients with its fleet of 23 trucks. While Allshred performs both plant-based and mobile shredding, about 98% of the shredding it does is at its plant in Maumee, OH. Allshred uses the latest in security technology to safeguard its customer’s documents. Allshred provides locked containers to its customers to collect their documents. Their fleet of trucks utilizes the latest in GPS technology to track customer material at all times. The trucks also have self locking systems that are built into the back doors, eliminating the need to use padlocks and ensuring that the doors are always locked. Door guard technology alerts the driver if the rear door is not closed. All four Allshred facilities feature the latest in digital CCTV systems and are alarmed and monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with access to various parts of the building controlled via a card-swipe system. Allshred also runs extensive background and credit checks on all prospective employees and maintains a monthly random drug testing program. Geiser remarked, “Over the last 25 years Allshred has achieved numerous accomplishments of which we are very proud. However, our greatest successes are the lasting relationships we have built with our customers, our employees and our community. We understand that it is these relationships that have made us successful and for that we are thankful and humbled.”
Allshred Services is celebrating 25 years in business. Over the last 25 years Allshred Services has grown to become one of the largest independent shredding companies in the country and is proud to operate from one of the most secure document destruction facilities in the United States. “‘Security and Service’ has always been our top priority. We’ve grown to who we are today because our clients know their material is in the most trusted hands possible,” states Willie Geiser, Allshred Services Owner, President and CEO.
Allshred Services was founded in 1989 by Michael Lucht, the owner of Progressive Sweeping, as a secondary business to his main business of sweeping roads and parking lots.
Willie Geiser founded Recycling Services, Inc. in 1992 as a service provider of office paper and polystyrene (Styrofoam) recycling programs. The company’s first day of business was Jan. 3, 1993. The office paper recycling programs were marketed to businesses seeking to reduce their trash disposal expenses by recycling more of their office paper, while polystyrene recycling was geared towards businesses, primarily school systems and appliance stores, trying to reduce their trash disposal costs by recycling their food trays and appliance packaging. The food tray recycling was extremely messy and smelly due to the food residue left on the trays.
The company’s first building was a 10,000 square foot warehouse located at 715 Spencer St., in Toledo. The company had one truck and Geiser was the only employee. Two additional employees followed later that year.
The economics of polystyrene recycling were poor because there was no value to the recycled product, and the material handling costs were astronomical due to the lightweight yet bulky items. Therefore, service fees needed to be passed along to the businesses for the service. The effort to recycle polystyrene was eventually discontinued due to the lack of businesses willing to pay for the service.
In late 1993, due to a request from a large hospital customer, Recycling Services expanded into document destruction.
In 1994, as Progressive Sweeping continued to grow, Lucht found it increasingly difficult to spend time growing Allshred. Because of Geiser’s reputation as an ethical businessman and Recycling Services’ reputation as a customer service-oriented company, Lucht sought out Geiser in November of 1994 about selling Allshred to him. The deal was finalized three months later. An additional 5,000 square feet of space was rented to make room for the Allshred acquisition, which brought an additional truck, two more employees and two shredders.
In 1996-1997, as the secure shredding industry started showing more and more potential, Geiser decided to phase out of the recycling field and focus solely on secure document destruction, which it has done ever since. The name Recycling Services, Inc., while still the corporate entity was dropped and Allshred Services was used as the operating name.
In 1995, a group of 12 shredding companies, trying to provide some organization to a disparate industry, founded the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). Allshred Services joined the following year. In 1997, believing in the goals of the new organization, and desiring to help, Geiser ran for the board of directors and was elected. He was ultimately elected as the Vice President in 2000, and elected as the President in 2002.
During Geiser’s tenure on the NAID BOD, the NAID certification program was implemented in early 2000. It was a crucial step for the secure shredding industry because, prior to that, there were no quality control standards or criteria that determined what constituted a legitimate shredding company. Literally, anybody could do it anyway they wanted to. The NAID certification program committee spent two years developing the criteria and standards that they determined best secured the customers material.
Allshred first earned the prestigious NAID Certification in June 2002 and has obtained NAID certification every year since.
After Geiser left the NAID board in 2004, he served on various committees, including Government Relations, as well as the Certification Rules & Standards committee, which he chaired from 2004-2008.
Geiser always dreamed of building his own secure shredding plant. He wanted it to be the most secure and efficient, and the nicest, shredding plant in the world. In Feb. 2005, those dreams were realized when Allshred Services moved into its new 46,000 square foot building located in Maumee, OH. It has been described as the “Fort Knox of the shredding industry.”
Also in 2005, Willie received the Central Great Lakes Region Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2005 from Ernst & Young, and the NAID President’s Award. In 2006, Geiser was named the NAID Member of the Year. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 Allshred was named one of the top 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States by Inc. 5000.
In August 2008, Allshred Services expanded its operations by opening a facility in Akron, OH. This facility was opened as a result of Allshred’s growing business in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
In November 2011, Allshred Services acquired Mid Ohio Shredding, based in Westerville, Ohio, which had been in business for seven years. This acquisition further increased their market share in the Columbus area.
In March of this year, Allshred made another acquisition, that being Hoosier Shred based in Indianapolis, Indiana. NAID Certified, they had been in business for seven years and gives Allshred coverage for the entire state of Indiana.
Out of the over 2,000 shredding companies in the country, Allshred has grown into one of the most respected, and one of the largest privately owned shredding companies in the U.S.
Where the majority of the companies in the industry cover a radius of 60-90 miles, Allshred covers a radius of about 300 miles, servicing the entire states of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. It can do so because of its highly efficient logistical planning.
Allshred provides its services to over 2,500 clients with its fleet of 23 trucks. While Allshred performs both plant-based and mobile shredding, about 98% of the shredding it does is at its plant in Maumee, OH.
Allshred uses the latest in security technology to safeguard its customer’s documents. Allshred provides locked containers to its customers to collect their documents. Their fleet of trucks utilizes the latest in GPS technology to track customer material at all times. The trucks also have self locking systems that are built into the back doors, eliminating the need to use padlocks and ensuring that the doors are always locked. Door guard technology alerts the driver if the rear door is not closed. All four Allshred facilities feature the latest in digital CCTV systems and are alarmed and monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with access to various parts of the building controlled via a card-swipe system. Allshred also runs extensive background and credit checks on all prospective employees and maintains a monthly random drug testing program.
Geiser remarked, “Over the last 25 years Allshred has achieved numerous accomplishments of which we are very proud. However, our greatest successes are the lasting relationships we have built with our customers, our employees and our community. We understand that it is these relationships that have made us successful and for that we are thankful and humbled.”