April 2013
| Business World Magazine | 279
ing to greener shades of greatness while also
allowing haulers throughout America to
have greater work opportunities. Simply put,
the Universal solution is not only good for
the environment, but also the economy.
FROM IDEA TO INNOVATION
Universal emerged from a chance meeting
between the company founders Thomas
Papa and Lisa Giaquinto some 25 years ago.
At that time, Papa had already logged liter-
ally thousands of miles as a hauler then sales-
man for a garbage removal service catering to
businesses throughout New York City. One
afternoon, he noted that a new supermarket
was opening and he approached the manage-
ment in an effort to secure the account. He
was directed to the office of Lisa Giaquinto
who was responsible for coordinating the
store’s service. Papa went through his sales
pitch and even though the two had a pleas-
ant exchange, he didn’t earn the contract.
He actually earned something greater, Gia-
quinto’s trust and respect. She proceeded to
share an idea about creating a company that
could serve as a broker for waste removal ser-
vices to national chains. Discussion of that
idea prompted several follow-up meetings.
The two continued working their regular
jobs, but they also began assembling a team
of people and ultimately created a workspace
in a mutual friend’s apartment. It was 1991,
and they had a phone, desktop computer, fax
machine and a lot of determination. They
eventually secured a first client in the form
of New York’s Waldbaums Supermarkets.
Others would follow, but long story short,
today, Universal brokers the waste collec-
tion services for more than 25,000 locations
throughout North America, Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands.
