Life ehs

Warneke

Matt Warneke is a scientist at heart. After completing coursework in both physical sciences and social sciences at Beloit College along with an internship at University of Illinois Rockford College of Medicine and senior thesis on the impacts of Bradykinins on pain, he earned his B.S. degree from the liberal arts institution in 1989. Shortly thereafter he ventured to St. John U.S. Virgin Islands to complete a School for Field Studies course in marine biology studying the territoriality of damsel fish and the human impacts of boat anchor scarring of sea turtle grass. By the end of 1989, he landed his first job in the science field at Abbott Laboratories in Waukegan, IL in their Rare Reagents Division as a microbiology technician for the manufacture of diagnostic test kits for HIV and hepatitis viruses.

He redirected his personal interests to the environmental field in late 1990 when he began working at an environmental testing lab in Chicago and Rockford, Gabriel Laboratories. It was there he completed a 40-hour OSHA Hazwoper (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) training class and began his interest in environmental sampling and testing of soil, water, air and wastes. The lab analysis services were conducted within a industrial wastewater treatment plant for their internal compliance requirements. He gained experience in the field by completing Phase I ESA and Phase II Investigation services as well as UST removal & LUST remediation consulting and EPA closures.

In 1991 he utilized his life skills and redirected his career as the 2nd hire to an organic environmental start-up firm, Environmental Contractors of Illinois (ECI), a division of Rockford Blacktop Construction Co. He played a significant role in growing and expanding the business from a one-dimensional contracting firm into a full-service company offering a wide range of EHS as well as emergency response (ER) and hazardous materials (Hazmat) services. As ECI expanded quickly, Mr. Warneke utilized his marketing and sales talents to expand ECI's customer base and developed EHS plans and conducted employee training.

In 1999, he and a business partner formed their own business Trans Environmental, Ltd. with the focus on providing full-service EHS and ER-Hazmat services to companies in the transportation industry. The firm slowly acquired equipment and resources so that they could provide cradle to grave services in-house, with minimal reliance on subcontractors. In 2006, they formed another business Trans Industrial Cleaning Services, LLC (TICS) and acquired additional equipment and continued to expand services to key customers in the petroleum, chemical, manufacturing, energy, commercial real estate, and government sectors.

In 2018, both Trans Environmental and TICS were acquired by the private equity firm Gryphon Investors while representing Hepaco LLC as they expanded their operations to the west toward the Mississippi River. In 2023, Mr. Warneke decided to start a new venture with Life EHS LLC, to continue delivering consulting and training services for specialized EHS projects to clients. His individual achievements across the five distinct companies include the successful completion of over 5,000 projects, with more than 2,000 remediated and closed with a strong focus on risk management and safety. This was achieved through the development and implementation of over 750 site-specific Health and Safety Plans (HASPs).

The foundational principles of Life EHS LLC's business model are built upon integrity, collaboration, and Mr. Warneke's  extensive 34 years of experience in the field.

Life EHS: Practical Solutions to Environmental Health & Safety Problems...

Common Sense EHS