The term “serial entrepreneur” is often tossed around lightly, but Entrepreneurs’ Organization South Florida (EO SOFLO) member and 4G Recycling President Zack Kirstein truly lives up to the label.
Labels, in fact, are among his newest endeavors. Kirstein is a key investor in Husky Labels, which in its first full year of operation has earned approximately $3 million in revenue. Husky uses the latest high-tech printing and design technology to deliver custom labels for a wide variety of products and industries.
Kirstein’s first and family entrepreneurial experience has been with 4G Recycling. As President, he has helped lead the business (founded by his great grandfather in New York City in 1910) to become one of the top 10 largest privately held recyclers in USA. With clients in most of the 50 states and internationally, the company recycles 750,000 tons of material annually to benefit the environment and generate approximately $150M in revenue each year.
As CEO of Ocean Recovery Group, he leads the largest ocean-bound plastic recycler in the western hemisphere. The company’s operations have captured more than 1 billion bottles and other plastics that otherwise would be endangering marine life and harming the ocean and fragile coastal environments.
Kirstein also is a founding partner at New Era Recycling, a 30,000 square-foot facility in Miami-Dade County with state-of-the-art recycling technology and which handles tens of thousands of tons of materials each year. This brand is helping them expand on the Inc. Magazine article that listed them as the fastest growing recycler in Florida in 2020 and to open more recycling processing facilities.
And he’s in the early stages of launching a national freight brokerage company. Tov Transportation Group is so new, the corporation hasn’t finalized a logo, marketing materials/efforts or a live website. However, it already has earned $150,000.00 in revenue based on relationships and expertise that Kirstein’s team has developed through 4G and other ventures.
A core element to all of these businesses is a dedication to “environmental initiatives and community engagement driving positive change across the recycling industry and beyond,” says Kirstein, who also is an active supporter and leader in many charity and civic organizations. He serves as a Board Trustee and is Assistant of Treasury at Boca Raton Museum of Art, as well as leadership roles with numerous other not-for-profit initiatives.
The organization that helps motivate Kirstein and successfully manage so many complex efforts is EO SOFLO. EO SOFLO is one of the world’s largest EO chapters, and works to foster entrepreneurship and overall economic growth in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. More than 300 EO SOFLO member companies account for more than $3 billion in yearly revenues and 11,000 jobs in the tri-county area.
“EO has been a huge catalyst to my success, and the relationships continue to help me refine and grow personally and professionally,” says Kirstein who has been an EO member for more than 10 years.
“Zack exudes a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial energy and enthusiasm, and it becomes contagious,” said Joey Princz, founder of Wrecking Ball global digital consultancy, Kirstein’s EO Forum partner and who teamed up with 4G Recycling to develop the company’s www.RecyclingCRM.com
“Innovation, collaboration and support core to the success of our chapter and individual member companies,” said Leonard Golberg, EO SOFLO president and founder of Gold Aviation Services. “These elements are invaluable when building a successful business, or many, like Zack.”
For more information, visit www.4Grecycling.com and www.eosoflo.com.
