Ken Grumski, vice president of federal services at Waste Control Specialists, on Wednesday announced he is leaving the company to take an executive position with SECUR LLC.
In an email to dozens of industry and government officials, Grumski said Friday will be his last day at the Dallas-based company that operates a complex near Andrews, Texas, for storage of radioactive wastes from government and commercial clients. The company is in the midst of changing hands from Valhi to EnergySolutions, a deal the U.S. Justice Department has sued to stop.
“I remain grateful for the opportunity to work with everyone at WCS. It has been a pleasure working with you and the WCS team over the last seven years. One of the highlights of my career was being involved in opening the Federal Waste Facility and developing a strong customer base and solving the waste problems of the DOE Complex,” Grumski wrote.
Grumski had been with Waste Control Specialists since late 2009, in a 23-year career that included stints at NuVision Engineering and MHF Logistical Solutions. He will now be senior vice president at Pittsburgh-based SECUR, which provides logistical, packaging, technical, and other services for the environmental remediation, waste management, and hazardous materials industries.
“SECUR offered me an equity partnership I couldn’t pass up,” Grumski told RadWaste Monitor by email. “[T]he acquisition mode WCS is in was wearing on me – this was a great offer and ‘secures’ a better future for me and my family both financially and professionally.”
Grumski lauded his soon-to-be former employer, but acknowledged the uncertainty created by its current ownership situation: Valhi, a holding company, “doesn’t want to own it, makes a tough place to work and predict your future. I have always been an entrepreneur type person, the SECUR opportunity fills that desire.”
In a press release, SECUR President John Evanko said, “Ken is a recognized expert in waste management, environmental packaging and logistical strategy, and his extensive leadership skills, keen strategic mind and vision for our industry will be a huge asset to SECUR.”
Matt LaBarge is assuming the position of vice president of federal services for Waste Control Specialists, Grumski said in his announcement email. LaBarge is currently the company’s technical services project manager, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Grumski’s exit follows the departure of Scott Kirk, Waste Control Specialists’ vice president of licensing and regulatory affairs, last summer. Kirk took a similar position with major Energy Department contractor BWX Technologies.
While he could not discuss specific personnel changes at the company, WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said Thursday that employment has remained steady at roughly 200 workers during the sale process. “There’s not anything unusual in terms of the number of people leaving us or coming on board,” he said by telephone.
Along with its current radioactive waste storage operations, which includes a batch of nuclear waste that originated at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, Waste Control Specialists in April 2016 applied for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate a facility for storage of spent fuel from U.S. nuclear reactors. The facility would provide consolidated, interim storage of spent fuel until a permanent disposal site is selected and built, which could take decades.
The NRC license application was filed about five months after the November 2015 announcement of the planned $367 million buyout of Waste Control Specialists by EnergySolutions parent company Rockwell Holdco. While the companies said the deal would expand the services available to WCS customers, the Justice Department in its November civil antitrust lawsuit countered that reduced competition would harm customers.
The acquisition agreement was extended to July 31 of this year after the DOJ lawsuit was filed, McDonald said. The companies do not believe they will need another extension, and remain committed to fighting for the sale, he added. “We’re confident that we’ll win out. It’s just going to take some time.”
