I recently attended a research study on reuse and recycling of batteries in electric vehicles on November 7th and 8th at Argonne National Laboratories in Lemont, Illinois. Delanne Bernier and I were there to make a presentation and represent ARA at this event, which was called the “Recell” Conference. This was a well-attended event by … Read more HEV BATTERIES: A Shock to the System
NEW “RECALL CART” SIMILAR TO COREPRO WITHOUT CORES Our Technology Department here at RAS deserves a lot of credit for the success of the Recall Program. Kudos to Dave, Don, Tom, Deb, and Michael for all that they do. You don’t see their faces at the trade shows, but their knowledge and expertise are visible … Read more Maximizing Bounty for Full Service Recyclers
Many industries and associations help students with scholarships, but I am happy to report that the caring folks at URG are not surpassed by other industries. In 2020, URG will be awarding $40,000 dollars’ worth of scholarships. You heard me right! $40,000 in 2020. Other associations that I’ve been a part of will offer much … Read more URG is Awarding $40,000 in Scholarships
We live in a time with access to more inventory, information and options to products than ever before. The Recycled Original Equipment space is no different. The impact has been felt across all areas of our business from the acquisition of inventory to pricing or listing to efficiently fulfilling demand. Because of this phenomenon, many … Read more Becoming Indispensable
What is a successful leader? My definition, which is likely different from those of many others, is one that is well liked by all his stakeholders in his business world and loved by those in his personal world. He or she has proven the ability, maybe even multiple times, to “bring home the bacon”, build … Read more 13 Traits of the Best Successful Leaders
Look at the title of this article. How Money Works will be the title of my talks for 2020. I’m already booked for the upcoming URG training conference in St. Louis at the Arch. For that conference, which is being held at the Hyatt Regency, you should bring your team to experience this premier event … Read more How Money Works
You are Rock Stars. When I write these monthly columns, I know my audience. I realize you are recyclers who mainly sell parts and steel. But in the past 10 years something truly amazing has happened. You have become some of the savviest business people I know. You are not sitting at the parts counter … Read more What do Flash Boys, Wall Street, and Cat Sales have in Common?
The Takata Airbag Recall has presented challenges and opportunities to Auto Recyclers. In the beginning, most Recyclers were not eager to jump in. Anytime you introduce a new concept, it takes time to formulate procedures, educate people, and identify the “Why” of the program. The “Why” is different for everyone. Many Recyclers see the opportunity … Read more VIN Expansion
As life continues to evolve and technology becomes a part of our everyday lives, so too is the Salvage Yard industry changing and evolving. With this change comes great fear of the unknown and the notion that the old ways are better than the new. Gone are the days of traveling across the country to … Read more Out With the Old, in With the New
It’s easy to say, but harder to execute. Twenty years have passed since I wrote my first consulting article, but I see it over and over: folks who are trying to get rich fast. If you are young and are reading this article, you really do have a lot of time, but you need to … Read more Get Rich Slowly: It Doesn’t Happen by Accident
I recently received a book as a Christmas gift from Mike James of James Environmental and eComply. Every year without fail, Mike uses a book at his annual employee retreat. In the past, he used the book, Who Moved My Cheese. Phenomenal book. This year he chose a book by Eric Harvey, Leadership Secrets of … Read more Leadership Skills That Santa Believes In
Holidays are indeed a time of reflection and gratitude. Here at RAS, we are humbled by the efforts of the industry to rally behind #YANKTHATBAG and produce our best results ever! We are all blessed to be part of such a great industry where our competitors are also partners. Relationships stand the test of time, … Read more 2019 Air Bag Recall Wrap-Up
Greetings, friends! As we get ready to start 2020 (yikes!) I wanted to share something I learned in 2019 that might help you in the new year. It wasn’t a big, impactful event, but I think it can teach us all about how we can react in business and in life. I traveled quite a … Read more The Power of Action
I know that a lot of you are going to think that I am crazy when I tell you my top five tips for January 2020. Some of them are so simple, YOU may not believe that other people are not doing these simple steps. On the other hand, I have been to some businesses … Read more Back to The Basics
You will harvest what you sow. The thing about a business, a field or a garden is that to get what you want to grow there you have to do quite a bit of work. At this time of the year you most likely are doing a review of how this year went. You have … Read more What You Plant Now, You Will Harvest Later
Car-Part.com received CIECA’s Company of the Year award during the 2019 Collision Industry Red Carpet Awards held in conjunction with SEMA. This is the second year that we have received this award, and we’re honored to be recognized for our ongoing commitment to the collision repair sector! Click here to read more from Collision Repair Magazine. … Read more Car-Part.com Awarded CIECA Company of the Year 2019
If any of you have ever been to a trade show or conference where I was selling raffle tickets, you are probably tired of me asking you for money! Haha! You may not realize the reason I do that. I sell raffle tickets to raise money for the scholarship foundations and groups that provide scholarships … Read more Scholarships & Your Employees’ Children
In last month’s issue, we discussed how creating content can increase traffic, the psychology of how users interact with your website, and how to grab their attention, leading them to take a specific action. In this issue, we’re going to discuss how you convert this newly acquired traffic into leads and ultimately new revenue for … Read more Converting Your New Website Traffic Into Cash
After 22 months of saying #yankthatbag, we finally have a reason to say, “Don’t Yank These Bags”. Of course, we are referring to Deployed Airbags. Maybe you haven’t heard?? Shortly after we released our YAPP (Yard Airbag App) for removing Takata airbags from vehicles, we pursued the idea of using our YAPP to process Deployed … Read more Don’t Yank These Bags
You sell them out the door for a cash price. You inventory each unit and grade them or send them out for bid using an app. You bring in three companies and have them bid on your lot. You send them to a processor who assays the lot and sells the metal for you. The … Read more Catalytic Converters on Assay: It’s What’s Inside
Yes! It was the best ARA convention ever. You’ve probably heard me say that it was the best before which makes one ask why I’m saying it now. How did they surpass previous years? What really made it better this year? Well, since Jim Counts, Mike James and yours truly were given awards, it was … Read more ARA 2019 Award Winners
What does managing social media in our industry mean? For some companies it can be simply posting pictures of their inventory and then leaving it there for the world to see. Other companies post memes with the hopes of building traffic to their page. But before we go into that we need to understand what … Read more Managing Social Media
LAS VEGAS, NV— At the opening of the 2019 APPEX show, A&A Midwest, a 70-year-old company that supplies cores and new engine parts to the engine and transmission remanufacturing industry, announced we are reorganizing our assets and will be two companies as of December 31, 2019. In the rapidly changing business and automotive environment we … Read more A&A Midwest Rebuilders Suppliers Inc. Announces Corporate Reorganization
THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: SURVEYS, REVIEWS & FEEDBACK In previous articles, we covered Sales Basics, Employees, Inventory, Procedures and Processes. All of these areas revolve around the three Ps, which are People, Process, and Product. We will tie all of this together with the importance of Customer Service and the perceptions that are created for individual … Read more Focus on Fundamentals Part 5
Ever been inside a courtroom while in session? Even though each case is different, there’s commonality. Each case has an assigned a court stenographer. When a court stenographer captures what’s said in the court room, there’s no way he or she can report on the way things were said, because they are only authorized to … Read more My View of ARNE
We have reached a milestone in the recovery of Defective Takata Airbags; The successful recovery and destruction of 500K airbags. We don’t know how many of that amount could have resulted in death or serious injury. More importantly, it recognizes the efforts our industry has put forth to ensure the driving public that Auto Recyclers … Read more Auto Recyclers Save Lives
To many of us, succession planning has a direct application to our family-owned companies. For example, we need to resolve how we address ownership considerations versus management and operating considerations. Situations in which ownership and operations or management responsibilities are vested in the same people can be devastating to a family or closely held corporation … Read more Navigating the Transition — In Family-Owned Business
Of course, we only have a limited amount of time; it’s not something we can get more of, so we better learn to do more with the time we have. In the business world, there are two main reasons to hone the skill of valuing and managing your time: Lower Stress and Better Quality of … Read more The Advantages of Doing More in Less Time
The calendar is clicking off the months and we find that fall is in the air. Fall means a lot of different things to people. From a business standpoint, this is the time of the year that our thought process needs to start looking towards the coming year. October starts the 4th and final quarter … Read more Operating Budgets
Who are you really doing business with? Corruption. Bribery. Fraud. Money laundering. Illegal financing or activities (e.g., funding terrorism). Companies of all sizes and in all industries, including automotive recycling, can benefit from knowing your customer or client and avoid working with untrustworthy or illegal companies. Every article I write is committed to educating you … Read more Know Your Customer (KYC) in Converter Recycling
The Importance of Consistency in your Process In previous articles, we covered sales basics, employees, and inventory. We will now talk about your procedures and processes and how doing these things properly can lead to a quality product and top-notch customer service. First, ask yourself this question: Which people in your company are involved in … Read more Quality is Job One
Most everyone remembers Dave Thomas who was the Founder of Wendy’s. We see his successful fast-food stores everywhere. However, some people do not know the complete story of Dave Thomas. Dave Thomas may have become a wealthy man, but he was born an orphan and was adopted at 6 weeks of age. This gracious man, … Read more How to get an MBA
Throughout Paul’s amazing 29 years in the automotive recycling industry, he has never seen issues concerning labor become as prominent as today. During our travels, we are constantly hearing the same mantra “It’s hard to attract and retain good employees.” This shortage of labor not only affects larger recyclers, but also the Mom & Pop … Read more Boost Airbag Bounty Revenue with External Labor
Hiring new employees can be a daunting task. We know it’s difficult to hire … time consuming and costly. Where do you need to begin? Do you need to hire another salesperson? Or perhaps a dismantler because you are busy buying but you are missing engine and transmission sales because you are bottle necked in … Read more Recruiting & Hiring: Understanding and Supporting Your Hiring Needs
The important thing to remember here is that sales and revenue are a by-product of your inventory and your process. Purchasing When I was new to the business, a wise person told me, “Always remember, you make your money when you buy the car.” He also said, “The parts that come off of these cars … Read more Your Inventory; What You Buy, How Your Show It, and How You Price It
Are You A Survivor? Or Are You Going Out Of Business? Not all businesses whose sales are going down go out of business. But all businesses that go out of business had sales going down. Think about it. Who is most at risk of closing? Yards with annual sales of less than $500,000 are almost … Read more If Your Sales Aren’t Going Up Then They Are Going Down
On May 7th, 2019, stem cells were injected into my right leg. I had been living with severe pain for two to three years and consulted with eleven doctors from various ends of the healthcare market in the last 16 months. To my chagrin, I’ve seen more doctors than some people see in a lifetime. … Read more Live Your Life & Forget Your Age
YMM System based on Year, Make Model — Focus on BMW, Dodge/Chrysler, VW/Audi The RAS Bounty program for defective Takata Airbags is based on VIN verification of vehicles by the Recycler. We provide the tools and software to verify those VIN’s against our recall buyback database. The industry is to be applauded for a significant … Read more Announcement: Non-Bounty NHTSA Alerts
When a recycler does not identify the Hollander Interchange part number for a wheel, often that wheel ends up underpriced. Instead of being sold to a remanufacturer, a specialty wholesaler, or on eBay for $30-50, it’s sold as scrap for a meager $18. The problem is that identifying the Hollander Interchange part number for a … Read more Get A Higher Price For Your Wheels
Converter Processor, Smelter, and Refiner? Does It Matter To Me? Our mantra at United Catalyst Corporation is Getting You the Most from Your Converters with A Process You Can Trust. It is more than a slogan. It is our mission. It is our brand promise. It is what gives our work meaning. Every article I … Read more Continuing Your Education
Is your tenured sales staff continually looking for new sales opportunities? Are they working to grow their book of customers? They need to be! After having spoken with dozens of sales managers and yard owners, an area that frequently gets “back-burnered” by a seasoned sales team is outbound calling. Here are three calls they need … Read more 3 Sales Calls Your Team Should Be Making
The economics of running a scrap yard have been less than ideal with the drops in demand driven by political and nonpolitical issues. What is ideal however, is the value of the licensed land to conduct metal recycling operations. Many of our clients are finding they can make just as much money leasing their properties … Read more Making Money in Your Sleep…With Metals?
Perhaps, after finishing book #40 by my favorite author, I would find it less desirable than the other 39. Not so! I’m still enamored with his writings and must admit that Max Lucado is still my favorite author with #40, Unshakable Hope. Purchased by my daughter, it was presented for Father’s Day. Not only is … Read more My Favorite Author
At 3:30 on Sunday, July 7, I was ready to leave after working all day. At this moment, I saw on my server screen what turned out to be one of my worst nightmares. It said all of my files had been encrypted. After making a few calls, one of them being to the person … Read more Ransomware: Hacked & Jacked
Even as steel continues to dip another 3.4% over the last two weeks or 27% since peaking in late March, scrap catalytic converter values continue to rise with the strength of the Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). Palladium itself up over $200 since last month rising for a fifth straight week as of the writing of … Read more Steel May Be Depressed
A&A Midwest is celebrating our 70th anniversary throughout 2019. Started by Aaron and Alex Stolberg in 1949 from very humble beginnings. Today A&A is the industry leader in Engine and Transmission core supply as well as OEM type replacement parts and automotive recycling. A&A started out with a narrow focus of selling engines to engine … Read more Celebrating 70 Years!
Nothing is more valuable that a good employee. They show up on time, they do what is expected of them, and they solve more problems than they create. Good employees are eager to improve and are willing to make the effort to learn. They are respected and trusted not only by their employer, but also … Read more The Good Employee
Everyone thinks I never forget or miss anything. Boy, do I have them fooled. I have a terrible memory. In the earlier days, I propped it up with a pocket notepad. Today, it’s my iPhone. I send myself an email every time I think of something that needs a look, an action, or a follow … Read more My Memory Trick
In the 1960’s song “Summertime Blues”, a son laments about all the things he wants to do over the Summer like going on a date, taking out the family car for a Sunday ride, or taking a fun vacation. Each time he is chastised for either not working hard enough, being too young to vote, … Read more Ain’t no Cure for the Summertime Blues
While this will show up on any Balance Sheet or Financial Statement as an expense, your company’s most valuable asset is your people. They represent your company and project an image of who you are and what you do. This image and perception can be either positive or negative. The employees in your company make … Read more Employees — A Company’s Best Asset