Erharts Take Over ACES High Waste & Recycling in Steamboat

“While many service companies are being purchased by large, out-of-town operators, we are proud to keep this longstanding business locally owned and operated here in Steamboat.”

Brian Erhart didn’t just say it. He meant it. The Hayden couple took the reins at ACES High Waste & Recycling on May 1. They bought the roll-off dumpster and portable sanitation side of the business. They kept it local.

That is the headline. The rest is context.

The previous owners, Mark and Autum Sloop, sold. They didn’t sell the whole thing. In 2019, Waste Management of Colorado bought the residential trash pickup arm. They left the heavy lifting behind. The Sloops bought the rest in November 2020. They added it to their portfolio, which already included Rocky Mountain Repair and Rocky Mountain Towing and Delivery.

Now the Erharts have it.

Brian and Hannah Erhart worked closely with the Sloops. They call it a seamless transition. Customers get the same team. They receive the same service. They maintain the same relationships. Brian says that preservation of local ownership is an important story for the community.

It’s a good story. Until it isn’t.

Brian Erhart has been involved in a few acquisitions. He knows how these things go. He knows that "local" is a status, not a permanent state. Big operators are always watching. They see a profitable niche in Steamboat Springs. They see a market that needs dumpsters and porta-potties. The Erharts are betting that being local is enough to keep them competitive.

The business is solid. ACES High handles the Farmers Market. It handles the Steamboat Springs Free Concerts Series. It handles the upcoming Steamboat Marathon. For the marathon alone, the company provides 145 portable toilets. Fifteen are ADA compliant. Twenty-five hand wash stations. Fifty-five trash carts. Thirty-five recycle carts.

That is a lot of plastic and steel moving around a valley floor.

It’s not just big events. The Erharts are taking the small jobs too. Weddings. One or two units. Or a trailer unit with heating and air conditioning. Construction sites. Renovation sites. Commercial customers who need roll-off dumpsters delivered and picked up.

Hannah Erhart is a Steamboat native. Her parents, David and Patty Mihaich, owned Custom Color Auto Collision for decades. They sold it in 2020. Brian grew up in Northern Michigan. He moved to Steamboat Springs in 2013 to attend Colorado Mountain College. He studied business. He’s been in the community for years. They live in Hayden. They are raising three children there.

This isn’t a venture capitalist from Denver looking for an exit strategy in five years. This is a family that plans to stay.

The short version: Waste Management took the residential trash. The Sloops took the rest. The Erharts took the rest from the Sloops. The business remains local. The service remains local. The accountability remains local.

Brian Erhart says customers can expect the same team. He says they are investing in future growth. That implies expansion. It implies more trucks. More dumpsters. More toilets. It implies a larger footprint in the Steamboat market.

The question is whether that growth stays local. Or whether the Erharts eventually sell to the very out-of-town operators they are currently resisting.

Brian has done acquisitions before. He knows the playbook. He knows that local ownership is often a temporary phase in the lifecycle of a successful small business. The Erharts are betting on themselves. They are betting on the community. They are betting that being from here matters.

For now, the dumpsters are here. The toilets are here. The owners are here.

That’s what matters to neighbors who need a roll-off for a kitchen remodel. Or a porta-potty for a wedding in August. It’s what matters to the marathon runners who need a place to wash their hands.

The transition is done. The Erharts are in charge. They plan to keep operations local.

We’ll see how long that lasts.