Much to Learn

Recyclers, demolition contractors and industry suppliers who gathered in Baltimore for the 2010 C&D Recycling

Forum spent parts of three days exchanging information about their evolving industry.

The Sheraton Inner Harbor Baltimore served as the setting for a gathering of nearly 200 industry participants, several of whom indicated they were grateful for the opportunity to convene in the fall to learn firsthand about changes and new opportunities within the industry.

Attendee Patti Hamilton, vice president and director of business development at Southern Waste Systems and Sun Recycling, Lantana, Fla., observed, “It is very diverse. The speakers have been very knowledgeable. It’s been very, very interesting and really valuable.”

Jason Haus of Dem-Con Cos., Shakopee, Minn., who was a presenter, remarked during the forum, “Really what the goal of these shows is is to learn a little bit, bounce ideas off of other people and go home with some new fresh thoughts, and I think people are getting that here.”
 

A FULL CIRCLE
“We believe in recycling and actively promote to our members to expand their C&D recycling activities,” Mike Taylor, executive director of the National Demolition Association (NDA), told attendees at a session titled “The Demolition Impact.” Taylor offered a history of the association, including its increased attention to environmental stewardship.

Taylor noted that the NDA’s board of directors has identified environmental stewardship as a key issue in its strategic planning process and also noted that recycling was nothing new for NDA members.

Contractors have always sought to salvage or recycle materials with value and now do so more than ever. “Some of the opportunities out there for us involve maximizing the recycling of materials—we make money at it,” Taylor stated.

Second-generation demolition contractor S. Barbee Cox III of S.B. Cox Inc., Richmond, Va., informed attendees that his family company started out as “basically a deconstruction and salvage company” that sought reusable materials from about-to-be-demolished structures.

The company has subsequently grown to include roll-off hauling services, full-service demolition, ready-mix concrete production, a landfill and, as of 2008, a mixed C&D sorting and recycling facility. That facility has provided a competitive edge to S.B. Cox Inc. as it vies for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) demolition, renovation and construction business.

Cox also told attendees, “I tell employees all the time that we’re recycling the most valuable asset we have: We recycle land.”

Shakopee, Minn.-based Dem-Con operates a mixed C&D facility in the Twin Cities area. “It’s a necessity now for contractors to get jobs; if you don’t recycle, you don’t get the work,” said the company’s Jason Haus.

Haus provided an overview of Dem-Con’s operations and offered advice to attendees who might have been considering setting up their own plant. “Know your goals for end products and end markets first,” he said. “We can separate stuff all day long; but, without a market to sell to, we’re not setting up a viable business.”

Haus urged attendees to learn aspects of the market that may be unique to their own operating region and to “travel, talk and ask questions” as they research.

Demolition contractors can take many steps to increase the value of the metals that are recovered from a demolition site.
 

A SAFE MENTALITY
Mark Oldham, an executive consultant with Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., said it was best not to imply that all risk was bad.

In his presentation to attendees of the C&D Recycling Forum, Oldham commented, “To say safety is good and risk is bad doesn’t always sit well with entrepreneurs. What I say is: There is good risk and there is bad risk.”

A lack of attention to safety was a bad risk, said Oldham, because the direct and indirect costs of even a minor accident cut deeply into a company’s profitability.

Oldham said medical and indemnity costs were direct results of accidents while indirect costs included overtime pay, employee turnover, project delays and harm to a company’s reputation.

Profit margins also dictated that accidents be taken seriously, Oldham said. For instance, an insurance industry estimate has shown that an accident that carried just $1,450 in medical costs would require a contractor to generate $280,000 in additional revenue to make up for that expenditure on its bottom line.

Nathan Brainard of the Insurance Office of America, Longwood, Fla., recommended that company owners offer incentives for safe behavior rather than punish offenders when a safety violation occurred. “If you offer incentives, it boosts morale, and employees are less likely to cut corners; they take ownership and pride in what they’re doing.”

Brainard also touted the benefits of “return-to-work” programs for injured employees, even if they could only take on partial schedules or lighter-duty work. “It gives them a comfort level that the company actually cares, and it can be a way to offer additional training to an employee,” he said.

Valerie Cantrell of Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill., offered an overview of safety training and information available at the safety.cat.com website.

Specific safe operating information and videos on Cat machines can be found on the site.

The Recycling Today Media Group, publishers of Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine and organizers of the C&D Recycling Forum, will soon be announcing the date and location of the 2011 event. More information will be available at http://Forum.CDRecycler.com.

To watch a video report, which includes interviews with attendees, visit www.cdrecycler.com/2010-CandD-Recycling-Forum-wrapup-video.aspx.