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Local environmental contractor declares bankruptcy

October 8, 2010

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Bankruptcy, Contractors, Energy & Environment, Environment, Environmental Contractors

One of the Indianapolis area’s largest environmental contractors has declared bankruptcy.

ESI Environmental Inc., 5232 W. 79th St., filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Oct. 1.

The firm listed assets of $41,466 and liabilities of nearly $35.3 million. The largest secured creditor, Churchill Capital Inc. in Minneapolis, is owed $16.2 million on a temporary bridge loan it provided to ESI.

Founded in 1992, ESI ranked as the area’s second-largest environmental contractor based on revenue, according to the most recent IBJ statistics. It listed revenue of $16 million in 2009, down from $23 million the previous year.

Employee headcount also dropped during the period, from 103 in 2008 to 68 last year.

ESI specialized in the treatment of non-hazardous wastewater, oil recovery and recycling, industrial cleaning, lab packing and environmental demolition.

Phone calls to ESI's office were not answered Friday morning. A message left on the home answering machine ESI President and CEO Tom Gawlik was not returned. The lawyer who filed ESI's bankruptcy papers didn’t return a phone call left Friday morning.

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Great

Environmental contractorsApril 6, 2012 10:06 PM
Environmental remediation in this view is really essential. Environmental contractors too are playing crucial roles to our society.

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Deserved

George PerkinsFebruary 13, 2011 11:29 AM
I worked for ESI, and these folks finally reaped what they sowed. Nothing but under the table dealings and political glad-handing. Employees were instructed to look the other way if something wasn't above board. Good riddance!

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Could of done it yourself for less than $100

JamesOctober 11, 2010 4:28 PM
atlasShrugged, Bee Environmental, like many others, are remediation/removal companies that usually work for buisinesses who can pay big money for the use of their expensive vehicles. You get the same price for this use because that's what they can get for it elseware. ESI Environmental was a place that they would offload/dispose of what you paid to remove. Bee was simply the delivery system of this material. ESI would charge between $0.10 and $0.20 per gallon of waste and could of even provided a container if you had a pickup truck. A $40.00 rotary pump and some hose from the hardware store and you could of disposed of this yourself for less than $100.00. Too bad ESI is out of the game. Bee didn't take your oil to ESI anyway. They were banned for allegedly causing ESI alot of trouble and money in the recent past. Maybe one of ESI's competitors would be so gracious if your neighbor could find someone to, "do it themselves."

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they all charge too much

atlasShruggedOctober 8, 2010 4:32 PM
I don't get it. The other day I decided I would find a company to pump out an old heating oil tank in my basement. In the old days they would do that for free; sometimes even pay you a little for the oil. But those days are long gone. I had trouble finding anyone to do it. And when I did Bee Environmental charged me $450. Highway robbery. They should have removed the old tank from the basement for a fee that size, but no, $450 just to pump out the oil. These environmental, hazardous waste type companies charge an arm and a leg for everything they do. So people avoid them like the plague. I don't know who to blame. I don't. I think the State probably has a finger in all this. They want you to be mold free, lead free and get those oil tanks out. But then they break you with the cost. Go to IDEM's site and they tell you, we don't recommend contractors. Well isn't that convenient. So we don't know where to look and we overpay. Hard to believe one of them is going out of business. The guys I talked to came out on two successive days. Each day driving very expensive looking oil trucks. So I guess that's where my money went. But the old lady that lives next door needs an old tank pumped in her basement. A lot of people do in these hundred year old homes in Irvington. And she can't pay $450. So I think this is an industry in distress. I do. People are being gouged. I feel gouged. And I'm sure no one at IDEM or the state or county health departments could care less. Disengaged. Government is becoming disengaged from the taxpayers.

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Why The Harassment?

EstaOctober 8, 2010 3:23 PM
Harassing people at home passed for journalism these days? Sounds to me like this is another victim of the construction downturn. No need to call the guy at home. Poor fellow probably feels bad enough already.

Last night one of the TV stations had a "reported" knocking on the door of the poor teacher in New Castle that hit those kids. Why? What can you possible expect them to say?

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