Every day Lucas Kendall drove by a site in Valley Park, Mo., he thought to himself that it would be a good spot to open a scrapyard. The location already had a paved parking lot and a building that could be utilized.

“There wasn’t anything in the area, so I was able to lease the property fairly inexpensively, and I thought if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work,” recalled Kendall, who is the founder, part owner and president of Scrap Mart Metals Recycling LLC. “We started doing business as a peddler yard and trading office. Six or seven months in, it was growing so fast that we had to buy the building next door and put in a scale.”

Kendall also hired additional staff, including Chris Kehr — a childhood friend who eventually became part owner of Scrap Mart and currently serves as its operations manager and vice president. Business has continued to climb for Scrap Mart, which now has three locations in the St. Louis area: Valley Park, Pevely and Jonesburg. It has also added roll-off services and has gone from a handful of employees in its earliest days to more than 40 now.

“We have continued to grow and look for opportunities,” said Kehr. “Valley Park now handles more than 200 customers a day, and we are seeing large volumes of customers and materials at our other sites as well. Valley Park and Pevely are feeder yards that have about 80% of the volume brought in by individual peddlers and the other 20% are industrial customers.”

No experience, no problem

Neither Kendall nor Kehr had experience in scrap before they started in the industry. Kendall was selling real estate when a headhunter contacted him about a job for a recycling company.

“I had never even heard of the scrap business, and I told her that if she thought I was going to be a garbage man, she was sadly mistaken,” Kendall recalled. “She laughed and told me to just go have the interview. I did, got hired as a sales rep, and here we are some 20 years later. I learned everything I know about the trading side of the business, which was helpful when I went out on my own in 2009. I was told when I started that it gets in your blood, and I didn’t believe them, but they’re right. I enjoy it every day.”

When Kendall established Scrap Mart in 2011, he reached out to Kehr, who was a high school band teacher at the time.

“We’ve known each other since we were 15, so when I started Scrap Mart, I asked him if he wanted to do something different,” said Kendall. “He said yes, so I hired him. Chris is more on the operations side, and I’m still trading scrap every day.”

Increased production with Spaleck

Scrap Mart’s feeder yards supply its shredder facility in Jonesburg that was established a few years ago and processes about 10,000 tons of ferrous and non-ferrous metals monthly. Processed metals are shipped out via rail car and truck to steel mills.

“We shred autos, light tin — whatever is acceptable to go through the shredder,” explained Kendall. “There was a significant amount of shredder feed coming from Valley Park that we felt comfortable putting the shredder in. We searched a lot for a good location that was somewhat mid-Missouri that we believed would be beneficial for scrap dealers by cutting down their drive to the shredding facilities in St. Louis and Kansas City or the few others around the state. The Jonesburg location is right off I-70, so easy in and out, and it’s close to several steel mills that we supply, so geographically it’s a great location.”

Scrap Mart uses a variety of equipment it has purchased or rented from Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc. (KSM) with the assistance of Territory Manager Larry Kohler and Material Handling Specialist Ralph Faulkner. Recent additions include a Spaleck 165T Trackmobile 3D Combi Screener used to screen fines and sort metals. Scrap Mart processes two sizes: 1 inch and down or fines, and 1 inch to 3 inches, which goes across an eddy current to sort the metals out as well as oversized materials.

“We had a big pile of fluff to screen that we figured would take about eight months to process, and the Spaleck ate through it in about three,” stated Kendall. “It ran throughout two shifts a day without any issues. You just turn it on, start feeding it, and it works quickly and efficiently. The screener has increased our production. It’s a mobile piece of equipment, which works very well for us, because we can easily move it and clean underneath it.”

Atlas material handlers improve efficiency

About the same time Scrap Mart added the Spaleck screener, it purchased two Atlas material handlers. Operators at the Jonesburg location use an Atlas 400 MH with 57 feet of reach to unload trucks, sort materials, and feed the screener. It’s equipped to run a grapple and a magnet. At the Valley Park facility, an Atlas 270 MH with 46 feet of reach is utilized to sort and load.

“The more efficient the equipment, the better the operations are, and the Atlas material handlers have definitely been game-changers,” said Kendall. “When you talk about price versus the competition and return on investment, Atlas is very cost-effective. Larry and Ralph helped us ensure proper sizing for the locations. Valley Park sits on a much smaller footprint with a lot of overhead power lines around it, so the longer reach would actually be a disadvantage. At Jonesburg, we needed the longer reach and some added versatility because the machine gets moved around quite a bit. In both instances, the elevating cabs are a great advantage because the operators get a great view down into a truck or the shredder. It allows them to do their jobs much more efficiently and safely.”

KSM provides parts and service on Scrap Mart’s Spaleck and Atlas equipment, as well as its used Komatsu wheel loader and Link-Belt excavator.

“Support is a big factor in our equipment decisions, and Kirby-Smith has always been quick to respond to any need,” said Kehr. “They do routine maintenance, and they recently put a new engine in the wheel loader. We rely on their expertise, and they have always delivered.”

Keep the momentum

Now that Scrap Mart has its own shredder, Kendall and Kehr are adamant that it stays busy.

“The name of the game is putting tons in front of the shredder,” stated Kendall. “We’re always looking for ways to grow, and that may mean additional feeder yards.”

Kehr added, “I would say that location in Valley Park helped us get established, but hard-working employees have helped us build a solid list of repeat customers and three thriving operations. We want to keep that momentum going.”

*The opinions expressed here are from the end user as quoted. The results described herein are those of these end users under certain conditions. Individual results may vary.