What initially started as a high school summer job for brothers Tevin, Thomas, Trevor and Trenton Smith has since evolved into a full-scale junk removal operation, with commercial and residential clients across southern Wisconsin.
Officially launched in 2019, Milwaukee-based Smith Brothers Junk Removal handles everything from old furniture and mattresses to office equipment and commercial freezers. The company’s recent expansion into demolition has allowed its seven-person crew to haul away and dispose of larger items, including a church organ and a 5,000-pound bank safe as well as in-home hot tubs, outdoor playsets and construction materials.
“We’re living in a world of excess with new and bright and shiny things but getting those things, on the other hand, you’re going to need somewhere, somehow to get rid of those old and dusty and unused things – that’s where we come in,” said Tevin Smith, chief executive officer.
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- Not all removed junk goes to the landfill. Smith Brothers donates lightly used items like clothes, blankets and board games to area churches, shelters and nonprofits.
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- Ezekiel Banks fits an old armchair through the basement door on the way out to the truck.
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- Smith Brothers CEO Tevin Smith (right) was on site to oversee the project.
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- Banks and Roberts worked together to haul heavy items, like this wooden headboard, up the basement stairs.
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- Antonio Roberts lifts bags of trash onto the truck bed.
