BROWNSDALE — Triple J Disposal Inc., which covers 7,000 customers across Mower County, sold to Waste Management, a national company based in Houston, Texas, Dec. 1 because the former owner plans to move closer to his two daughters.

The name Triple J was named after former owner Jason Hoerter and his two daughters Jasmine, 14, and Julia, 11. Hoerter made the sale so he can move closer to his daughters in Lakeville because he wants to be closer to them as they play sports.

“If my kids would have been down here I wouldn’t have really had any reason to sell,” he said. “We had our best year ever this year moneywise.”

Waste Management is currently mailing letters to the new customers acquired as part of the sale. The rates for service are not expected to change in the near future, Waste Management spokeswoman Julie Ketchum said.

“We expect this to be a seamless transition for them,” Ketchum said.

Ketchum described the sale as a tuck in acquisition because the business will complement Waste Management’s existing business.

Waste Management purchased the nine trucks, and Waste Management hired Triple J’s four drivers. Substitute drivers had to be used for a few days because Waste Management is strict on training and safety, Hoerter said.

Three employees lost their jobs in the sale.

The Triple J building at 202 Railway St. SW Brownsdale will not remain open as part of Waste Management. The Brownsdale building will go up for auction through Moline Auction & Realty Co. Jan. 16.

The Austin building on 12th Street N.E. is also for sale.

“We look forward to new business in the area and providing quality service to our new customers,” Ketchum said.

Because of the high cost of starting up such a business, Hoerter said he had to take out a lot of loans to fund the business. That is another reason Hoerter said he wasn’t able to sell the business locally.

“Unless you’ve got deep pockets, there’s no way. That’s why there’s nobody local who could have bought it,” Hoerter said.

Hoerter and his fiance, Melissa, are planning to move to the Farmington to be closer to his daughters, who live in Lakeville. Hoerter could take a job with Waste Management, and he also plans to be a part-time fishing guide with a boat he recently bought.

Hoerter had hired two managers to run the business so he could spend more time at a townhouse in Lakeville near his daughter. Both managers quit Triple J to pursue other ventures.