Step Out of Your Comfort Zone At nearly 60 years old, Russell Baird has spent more

than half a century in the auto recycling business. As other recyclers we have featured have stated, Baird agrees that the only constant in the industry these days is change “The business just keeps on evolving, and that means you have to change to stay ahead,” he says. Some changes in the industry develop gradually,

like the transition from buying inventory at live auc- tions to buying through a combination of online and live auctions and finally widespread acceptance of purchasing inventory exclusively online. By now, most recyclers, including those who have been in the busi- ness for a lifetime, have realized that online auctions are more effective for finding specific vehicles and more efficient than live auctions. A not-so gradual shift and a test of Baird’s Auto Parts’ ability to change with the times has been the recent shift in its inventory mix. For many decades, the yard focused exclusively on late model foreign and domestic vehicles. Now, as a default buyer at a

November-December 2015 | Automotive Recycling 65