He later worked for an engineering consulting firm and eventually started his first entrepreneurial venture, Creamer & Noble engineering consulting firm.

"At the ripe old age of 25 and with a net worth of $2,000, and a 1964 Chevy pickup, I went into business," he says with a wry smile.

His company, which grew to 100 employees, was instrumental in improving the sewer and water systems in southern Utah in addition to various road and airport runway projects, he says. "I used to say if you drink water or drive on a road south of Provo, or if you land at an airport anywhere in Utah, we probably worked on it."

Those years helped him develop numerous business relationships and helped him hone his people and deal-making skills. Those skills have helped him in negotiations with everyone from politicians, to corporate executives, to people on the street who inquire about his company, he says.

In 1991, he started the East Carbon Development Corp., which he says owned the largest landfill in America.

The company became the landfill of the Fortune 100, taking in waste from Ford, General Motors and other large corporations, he says. He sold his interest in that venture in 1997 to a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad called USPC Inc.

Creamer and his partners then purchased a company called ISG Resources that managed a fly-ash company. Fly ash is the residual waste produced from coal-fired power plants and is used to make concrete.

Buying Envirocare

The opportunity to purchase Envirocare came up rather unexpectedly, according to Creamer. He was approached by then-owner Khrosrow Semnani while on an airline flight, and he began discussing a possible deal for the waste disposal firm. Creamer says he found the proposal interesting and began investigating the company. In December 2004, he bought the company for an undisclosed sum.

"We bought Envirocare to clean up a legacy," Creamer says. He said he also wanted to change the way people perceived the company and make it more transparent, so that its work wasn't so scary.

The company has gone so far as to set up daily tours of the Grantsville facility for visitors so they can see for themselves what EnergySolutions does.

The Clive facility is licensed to accept only low-level radioactive waste. The repository measures approximately one square mile and is currently at about 50 percent capacity, Creamer says.

EnergySolutions is today the largest recycler of low level radioactive waste in the world, according to Creamer. But he dismisses accusations from some Utah residents who believe the company is working to bring vast quantities of dangerous waste from all over the world.