Surplus equipment is re-usable:
- By other manufacturers who prefer to purchase used equipment
- As parts in the repair of other equipment
- By “makers” in making other products
- As scrap when the equipment is not useable or in demand
If a manufacturer or fabricator no longer can use a piece of equipment and sells it to HGR Industrial Surplus to get capital to reinvest into another piece of equipment or into a product line upgrade, nothing goes to waste and everyone benefits. How?
- The seller earns more for the equipment or surplus than he or she would earn by throwing it out or scrapping it.
- HGR often can resell the equipment to a manufacturer who needs it.
- That manufacturer can save money by purchasing used equipment.
- If the equipment cannot be resold, HGR transports that equipment to our facility, breaks it down and renders it to a scrapyard.
- The scrapyard further strips the equipment then sells it to mills or recyclers.
- They use the recycled material to make new materials.
- Those materials are sold to manufacturers that make new products or equipment.
- The recycled metal is put back into service when a customer buys that new capital equipment.
- The surplus stays out of landfills.
We talked to one large scrapyard that deals only with corporate contracts: Cleveland Wire and Metal Recycling, LLC, owned by Michael Grinshpun, president. With a background in electrical and mechanical engineering and after working for another scrapyard, he opened his doors and has done business with HGR since 1995. He found HGR, first as a customer, when he was looking for the equipment to build a machine that separates copper wire from its insulation, then, in 2003, he began buying our scrap equipment that did not sell. He now hauls any unsold items, as needed, from our facility.
Business was great for a long time, but Grinshpun says the industry hit bottom in 2015 due to the economy. He says that many smelting companies have gone out of business due to low demand, and companies that used to buy from him now are buying overseas more inexpensively due to war-torn countries, desperate for money, that are giving away finished products for the same price for which scrap is selling in the U.S. Scrappers are hoping in 2016 that scrap availability in these countries has been exhausted. Then, buyers will come back to domestic suppliers, and the industry will experience an upswing.
Although steel is commanding the lowest price, other metals also are low. Precious metals, such as gold, platinum and silver, currently are commanding the highest price then come copper and nickel alloys. For February, forecasters are predicting a flat market, which he considers good since prices will not change dramatically. When asked about a solution to this problem, he shares his opinion that some countries impose an embargo on selling scrap overseas. They use everything domestically and don’t rely on other economies, thereby keeping the money in the country which helps to improve that country’s economy. “Everyone in the country gets a piece of the pie,” he states.
Grinshpun gives four reasons as to why manufacturers should sell industrial surplus to a reseller, such as HGR:
- To get additional capital
- To free production space and add capacity
- To contribute to a healthy economy by keeping skilled workers employed
- To be environmentally responsible
For more information on an industrial scrap contract, Michael Grinshpun can be reached at 216-429-2442 or [email protected].