Reshaping the way business looks

at the metal recycling industry

By Bernie KruchaK

Developing a culture of honesty and fairness in a new company is one thing, trying to accomplish it in an industry often noted for unprincipled busi-

ness practices is quite another. For Mark Chisick, president of Winnipeg-based Urbanmine Inc., the quest to establish a successful metal recycling business based on the values of integrity, reliability and profitability is also an effort to breathe fresh air into what has traditionally been called the scrap business.

“If you ask most people who do business with metal recyclers to describe scrap operations, they’d invariably say they’re dirty, polluted, disorganized and the people who work

in them can be dishonest, rough and use foul language,” Chisick states.

“The overall image of the industry in Canada is poor, but with Urbanmine we’ve taken a big step in differentiat-ing ourselves from most of the other businesses involved in metal recycling. What we’ve done is set up a company that prides itself on integrity, respect and fairness, not to mention cleanliness and politeness.” No arrogance, No attitude, No aggravation.

Following graduation from university, Chisick spent years working in the family scrap business in Winnipeg (his father Max had established a scrap metal company in Winnipeg’s

Metal Makeoverrecasting the image of the metal recycling industry

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North End in the early 1950s). In 2007, Chisick set out to create a different kind of scrap metal and electronic waste recy-cling firm, one that focuses on raising the level of trust and dependability while breaking the stereotype of the commercial junkyard.

“Our vision right from the beginning was to build a modern and sophisticated recycling facility,” Chisick says. “It’s always been our aim to deliver an incomparable experience for our cus-tomers that sets the benchmark for companies in our industry.”

Working out of a clean, organized office building – a modern contradiction to the traditional junkyard’s office space – Chisick is reshaping the way business looks at the metal

recycling industry. Helping him is his son Adam, a graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business, who handles marketing relations for Urbanmine; Alex Goodman, vice president, sales and purchasing; Haderra Chisick, chief financial officer; Ron Lussier, general manager; Robin Strong, office administrator; Bobby Barrameda, warehouse coordina-tor and Darryl Jordain, steel yard coordinator.

“We’re all working together to overcome the clichéd image of a scrapyard – chaos, clutter, mountains of junk that contam-inate environments, cover up, deception and disappointment,” Chisick explains. “What we’re trying to do is create a metal recycling business that revolves around integrity.”

Three generations of Chisick men: Mark, Adam and Max.

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A crane unloads scrap metal at Urbanmine.

The modern offices of Urbanmine.

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Urban miningTo that end, the Chisicks declared their company an ‘urban mine’. They began referring to their customers as ‘urban miners’ and set up their facility in an industrial zone in south-west Winnipeg that is essentially surrounded by one of the city’s more upscale neighbourhoods. This may contradict the conventional placement of scrapyards in urban environments, but Adam Chisick says it’s proof that a metal recycling facility can blend in and contribute to the neighbouring community.

“Since we opened in 2007, we’ve had zero complaints from our neighbours – commercial or residential – so that tells me we’re doing things right,” he remarks. “In fact, many of the res-idents who live around us are happy that we’re here because it gives them a convenient place to drop off pieces of scrap metal or electronic waste that they’ve found after cleaning out their garages.”

The concept of urban mining might be a new way of pre-senting an industry that’s been in existence for hundreds of years, but the Chisicks are convinced their customer base appreciates not only the difference in marketing but also the way that Urbanmine conducts business.

“We’re upfront with our customers,” explains Mark Chisick. “We’ve installed electronic readouts of their weights so they can see exactly how much their load weighs. We encourage them to watch us unload their material and we provide them with a clear breakdown of the goods received and prices paid. But above all, Urbanmine offers premium pricing based on our expansive network of refineries, smelters and metal brokers.”

As a metal recycler, Urbanmine purchases virtually every type of ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal, including steel,

Torch cutters prepare scrap steel.

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copper, brass, aluminum, radiators, auto rims, stainless steel, high temperature alloy, catalytic converters, lead and zinc. Urbanmine is amongst the largest recyclers of Lead/acid auto-motive batteries in Western Canada

For accounts that supply Urbanmine with a steady stream of recycled metal, the firm offers a container pickup service. Adam Chisick says the container system provides both practi-cal and financial value to customers.

“By storing scrap outdoors in our Urbanmine containers, our customers are able to free up floor space in their own facilities. Above all, they’re receiving a fair price for their byproducts.”

Urbanmine’s market stretches from British Columbia to northwestern Ontario and dips south into the northern United States. They serve a wide-ranging customer base that includes foundries, public utilities, manufacturers, auto wreckers and repairers, contractors, farmers, electricians, pipefitters, scrap metal dealers and collectors. Urbanmine works with a net-work of national freight companies, so wherever customers are located, scrap materials can be picked up and economi-cally shipped.

E-waste solutionWith the expansion of computer and wireless technologies, the challenge for recyclers has been to find ways of taking electronic waste (e-waste) out of the waste stream. hazardous materials such as those found in computers, televisions and cell phones cause contamination if placed in a landfill, says adam chisick.

“urbanmine’s e-waste recycling program offers a solution to the dangerous disposal of hazardous materials. For a cost, we’ll accept most commercial and residential e-waste.”

after being classified by item, materials are packaged and shipped to processing facilities around north america. certified remanufacturers will refurbish any components with life in them, but those parts at the end of their lifecycle will be dismantled and recycled responsibly.

circuit boards and wiring from these items are refined for their metal content; glass monitors and plastics are crushed and recycled into raw materials for use in creating new products. computer hard drives are purged of memory or shredded and destroyed.

“e-waste is not a huge profit centre for recyclers and many companies don’t want to cover any expenses incurred,” chisick says.

“at urbanmine, we do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

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Quality serviceUrbanmine operates out of a 35,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility located on a five-acre parcel of land in Winnipeg. Here, a team of employees weighs, unloads, sorts, cuts, segregates and packages materials destined for refineries around the world.

“Quality to us is providing premium products that are sorted, processed and packaged to adhere to internation-ally-recognized specifications,” remarks Mark Chisick. “We use hand-held metal analyzers and an experienced eye to ensure that every customer receives the grade of metal they’ve specified.”

Urbanmine also provides an ingot distribution service, which stores and ships a variety of aluminum, brass and zinc ingots. The firm’s suppliers meet international standards and are all ISO-certified. With ample inventory on-site, Urbanmine can deliver custom orders to suit a wide range of specifications.

With its catalytic converter recycling program, Urbanmine eliminates the need for customers to seek out separate buyers for converters and scrap metal. Catalytic converters hold a high value in the market but their varying grades can create opportunities for dishonest recyclers to take advantage of cus-tomers. Urbanmine pays competitive prices for these products and is experienced in grading them for maximum value.

“There are a number of different grades of catalytic con-verters and many inexperienced buyers won’t pay competitive prices because they’re unsure of the value,” says Adam Chisick. “Because we have people who are knowledgeable catalytic converter graders, we can determine what the right price is for our customers. We will even help our customers learn how to grade the converters themselves.”

While metal recycling is the main driver of Urbanmine’s business, the firm also recycles waste batteries. Batteries

contain hazardous material and have strict shipping regula-tions that can discourage wide-scale recycling, but Urbanmine will buy all lead-acid batteries, which helps to keep the toxic items out of the waste stream.

“We’re a licensed waste battery transfer facility,” explains Mark Chisick. “Our system makes battery recycling easy. We can make shipping arrangements for our customers and ensure that their environmental initiative generates a profit for them.”

Urbanmine ‘attitude’At the heart of Urbanmine’s ongoing success is its 25-member team of employees. Mark Chisick knew from day one that if he were to recast the image of the metal recycling industry, he would have to install a staff that would be antithetical to the junkyard stereotype. For him, any employee hired by his company would have to display and deliver the ‘Urbanmine attitude.’

“Above all, we’re a people-oriented company,” Chisick explains. “We won’t hire just anybody to fill a position. We want our employees to be engaged with our customers and look for people with the right attitude toward customer service.”

Chisick says that part of building a company of choice for customers and suppliers is finding employees who show respect. “We have regular meetings with our staff to talk about customer relations and safety. The bottom line is we’re work-ing hard to earn our customers’ trust but we’re working even harder to keep it.”

Moving into the future, Urbanmine is looking to expand its market reach – partly by internal growth and partly by acqui-sition. Fueling these expansion plans will be the Urbanmine brand. Already, Urbanmine is positively changing the way businesses look at the metal recycling industry.

An employee packages aluminum rims.

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metal processorsrecycling with integrity

• aluminum • lead• brass • stainless steel• catalytic converters • steel• copper • waste batteries• electronic waste • zinc (computers, monitors, TVs, electronic equipment)

distributing:• aluminum • bronze • zinc ingot

Phone: 204-774-0192

Toll-free: 866-820-2786

72 Rothwell Road

Winnipeg, MB R3P 2H7

www.urbanmine.ca

We work hard to gain your trust. We work harder to keep it.