The people behind the process are important to PAM‘s Auto success.
As the auto recycling industry continues to change, companies are recognizing the need to embrace diversi- fication practices within their business model. Michael Meyer, co-owner of PAM’s Auto in St. Cloud, MN has spent significant effort in developing options over recent years. While Meyer’s main business is still OEM recycled parts, the company has grown several other product cat- egory options.
“The key is training our team to understand all part categories—used, new, aftermarket, remanufactured, surplus—as well as our customer expectation of each part category based on customer type, such as retail, whole- sale, new dealer, used dealer, body shop, mechanical shop, etc.,” Meyer says. “The selling strategy can be very dif- ferent based on part category versus customer type.” Meyer and Pat Huesers founded PAM's Auto 28 years ago and operate on 35 acres of a 90-acre parcel with 60 employees. The company’s main building is 100,000
PAM’s Auto
square feet and houses the business’ sales, inventory, dis- mantling, and warehouse activities for the approximately 1,500 cars processed each year. In addition, the company has two warehouses totaling 15,000 square feet of cold storage. Along with the company website and online storefront, PAM's Auto has been a seller on eBay since 1999.
Elgin Super Auto Parts 34 // March-April 2019
Purchasing Procedures When it comes to salvage purchases, Hoffman per- forms most of them himself. “I sell my cores locally to a handful of buyers and will compare core prices to those out of state big core buyers,” Hoffman says. “I will also sell in bulk to overseas buyers from time to time.” Elgin’s warehouses the engine and transmission of recy- cled automobiles as well as smaller, fast moving items, while leaving the other sellable parts on the vehicle fully inventoried. “We will then remove the items as they sell and re-check those items before they are removed,” Hoffman says. Shroyer’s Auto Parts doesn’t have the warehouse space to keep every item on the shelf. Therefore, vehicles and many of their parts are inspected and inventoried at the point of check-in. As Shroyer explains, as orders come through, the inventory managers and dismantlers deter- mine whether a single item should be removed or if the vehicle should be completely dismantled. “It’s a hybrid system where vehicles get more fully dis- mantled during seasons when the on-demand orders are slower,” Shroyer says. Indeed, PAM's Auto is also a full-dismantle operation, with each vehicle having an average of 45 parts removed and warehoused in a warehouse or an outside racking station. “We are in Minnesota, and this allows for quick access anytime of year, which is especially important in winter months,” Meyer says. “We also can grade the part
Automotive Recycling
BEST PRACTICES
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