RECYCLER ROUNDUP

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It’s Scrap at PARC: HYBRID

Pacific Auto Recycling Center is a start-up hybrid scrap and auto recycler doing it their way, and creating a business model to watch for success in metals recycling.

By Caryn Smith

shipments overseas. PARC processes end-of-life trucks and cars for parts resale, as well as appliances, cans and other metals, and even e-waste.

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In operation since November 2016, the planning for the facility, located in Lancaster, California, took about two years. The company saw the value of membership in the Automotive Recyclers Association and have been members since opening. “Originally designed as an auto salvage and recycled parts business, once I came on board, we quickly realized that a lot of the process of auto recycling has to do with the recycling of scrap metal,” says Keith Churchill, Vice President, Mar- keting, Public Relations and Business Development. “I had six years of experience working with scrap met- al facilities, and brought that to table. The main thing we did first to boost revenue was install a shredder for ferrous metals.”

With that expertise, the business direction evolved to a hybrid concept, consisting of a full-service and self-service auto recycling operation, with thriving re-

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cycled parts sales and eBay presence, and a salvage metal division that is a California-certified redemp- tion center for beverage containers and e-waste; ac- cepting TV’s, computers, cell phones, and other elec- tronics, as well as appliance recycling, can recycling, and more.

While California has its regulatory challenges, in the metal recycling world, the state is a huge contrib- utor to the scrap metal industry. The Rocky Moun- tains separate the east and west coast scrap markets, says Churchill. In the east, most scrap goes to Turkey, the current number one buyer of U.S. scrap in the world. The 2nd buying market is Taiwan, which the California scrap metal feeds. “California is pretty much the entire west coast of the U.S. It alone is a big market for scrap metal, which the founders felt was a great place to do business.”

January-February 2019 • AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING MODEL

carefully thought out idea that became a reality, Pacific Auto Recycling Center’s (PARC) founders set out to launch a cutting-edge auto recycling facility, yet ended up with a progressive hybrid salvage yard that works to process end-of-life metal all the way to container