Franchise management company Heron Capital Corp. has bought the U.S. operations of Proshred Security International Inc., a mobile document shredding service based in Toronto.
Financial terms of the deal announced Thursday were not revealed.
Proshred entered the U.S. in 2002 after growing into the largest service of its kind in Canada. Heron said it plans to expand the company's U.S. operations to more than 60 markets from eight locations over the next few years, while also launching an international operation.
``Shredding is a growth industry driven recently by changes in privacy legislation, and Proshred has both the track record and the sophisticated logistics systems to become a major player in the U.S.,'' said John Prittie, president of Heron Capital.
``The major competitors are either corporately owned or moving in that direction, and the fact that Proshred operates under a franchising model with local owner-operators is a strong differentiator that guarantees the key ingredient for success: exceptional customer service.''
Ron Campbell, president of Proshred Security, said the transaction will help U.S. franchisers of the company, which destroys documents through mobile shredding trucks.
``The structure and process that they will introduce through Heron Capital will significantly benefit our existing U.S. franchisees as well as all new operators they bring on board.''
The acquisition completes Campbell's divestiture of Proshred Security to pursue other business interests. Earlier, the Toronto businessman sold Proshred's 350-city Canadian operations to Iron Mountain Inc., a records management company.
Heron Capital is a division of The Heron Group, a Toronto home builder that has recently entered the Florida development market.
