Orwigsburg, PA – For thousands of residents in northern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, February 1st marked the end of an era. For more than 30 years, loyal customers relied on the weekly trash services provided by Wolfgang Hauling, headquartered near the town of Ashland. The company has long been a fixture in the landscape of the Ashland, Fountain Springs, Lavelle and Mowry areas in the northwest corner of the county.

Kreitzer Sanitation of Orwigsburg is pleased to announce that they are now providing trash services to area homeowners, the result of a transition that has left both parties feeling quite positive.

“Our acquisition of Wolfgang Hauling could not have been a smoother one,” according to Kreitzer Sanitation’s President & CEO, Jonas Kreitzer. “Although sometimes rivals, but always respectful, Emerson Wolfgang (Wolfgang Hauling founder) and my father (Kreitzer Sanitation founder Richard Kreitzer, Sr.) have been serving adjacent communities since the late 1970s.”

Emerson Wolfgang, with his signature ‘John Wayne’ presence and strong demeanor, is full of personality as he freely delivers the many stories of his trade, some too fantastic to be anything but true! Employed for several years in his twenties by the former Alcoa Aluminum in Cressona, PA, Wolfgang has always had a passion for things discarded by others. His dabbling in the scrap business blazed the trail that led to his long term success in residential waste management as well as his fifteen years in the septic business and his fervor for collecting all things vintage auto.

In 1978, Emerson Wolfgang, along with his wife, Helen, bought the 300 residence garbage route from John Pennypacker and, within a year, had doubled the number of customers they served. The route grew rapidly until attaining more than 1,200 plus loyal households.

The transition is clearly a positive but an emotional one for the Wolfgangs. “I always look to Helen for the confirming nod in making a business decision.” says Wolfgang, as he smiles and exchanges a glance with his wife of 41 years. Helen Wolfgang has always been hands-on with the company administration. She is also a mother, a grandmother and a successful Realtor with Centre Street Real Estate in Ashland.

The Kreitzer Sanitation acquisition comes at a good time for Wolfgang who says he will miss the business but will remain far from retired. After catching up on long deserved R&R, and perhaps after finally taking a second vacation after some thirty plus years of being in business, Wolfgang will continue as a consultant. “I look forward to my continued relationship with Emerson,” notes Kreitzer.

The Wolfgang acquisition adds more than 1,200 residential customers to Kreitzer Sanitation’s rapidly growing territory, positioning Kreitzer Sanitation as the largest independent residential trash service in the county.

Kreitzer Sanitation has also recently acquired Shuman Disposal and has begun providing customers in the Ringtown Valley with residential trash and recycling services. “We have experienced substantial organic growth so far in 2010,” explains Kreitzer, “having added more than 7,000 residential and municipal customers this year so far and we are planning for continued expansion.”

 Jonas Kreitzer named Business Man of the Year by Schuylkill Chamber

Schuylkill County, PA “Schuylkill News” – July 2009     Live life with a purpose. That’s ths philosophy of Jonas Kretizer, the General Manager of Kreitzer Sanitation, who was recently named “Business Man of the Year” by the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce.  

According to a statement in the June 2009 issue of the Chamber’s Communication publication as to why Jonas was selected for this title, “Jonas has taken an existing family business and grown it ten-fold.”

The Chamber actually has a whole list of criteria that it uses as a guide to make the selection, says Executive Director Robert Carl, Jr., It is a very involved selection committee process, he adds.

Jonas says he is humbled by the recognition and he attributes his success to a supportive wife and family and a strong faith in God.

“The parable of the talents (in the Book of Matthew Chapter 25) is a rallying cry for us,” says Kreitzer, with regard to the way he conducts his business. “I believe that each day we’re entrusted with the time and resources and we need to make the most of those opportunities.”

Jonas’ father, Richard B. Kreitzer, actually started the company in 1972 in the Kreitzer hometown of Frackville. It  ran as a 1-2 truck operation for 34 years, says Jonas. But in 2006, Jonas decided to cash in his 401K and leave the safety and security of a corporate job at Nestle in Allentown, in order to grow the existing business.

“Everyone thought I was nuts at the time,” recalls Jonas, adding that he saw “a real potential to grow the family business” and his faith is what ultimately guided him to take the risk, he says.

And now,  just three years later, the customer base of Kreitzer Sanitation has grown substantially, as it now takes twelve trucks (and counting) to operate its waste removal and recycling service, with  revenue of ten times what it used to be. Jonas also has three brothers, Rich, Josh and Jesse, who also work in various capacities within the company. His father, Richard, is now semi-retired, but also helps out when needed.

“Our success has been a team effort involving our route manager, Mike McDonald, and all of our employees,” says Jonas. “We have also have Donna Marceau of Strategic Design Associates managing our web and marketing programs.”

Kreitzer Sanitation currently has contracts with thirteen municipalities, including Schuylkill Haven, Cressona, Frackville, Minersville, and Orwigsburg. They also serve over 22,000 individual homes throughout the countries of Schuylkill, Carbon and Berks.

“We’re hoping to press on and continue to grow in this market as we provide quality service to our customers and a responsible approach to waste removal, ” says Jonas Kreitzer, who looks forward to serving businesses, municipalities and families alike, for many years to come.