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Peter is a director of Verifi’iD Limited. Specialist supplier of ID Card and Cashless Payment Systems to the Scrap Metal Recycling Industry. Peter has had a career spanning 20 years in the Electronic Security and Loss Prevention Sector and over the last 9 years built a career in the Recycling Sector. He has been writing for Skip Hire Magazine for over a year. You can contact Peter on 0151 423 5535 or [email protected] The founders of X-Met Metals Ltd began their careers in the recycling industry in 2012. Originally Mark Bardsley and Andrew Houghton worked as plumbers and collected scrap metal as just a hobby. Their approach to the industry naturally came from the perspective of professionals who had previously weighed-in their scrap metal with other Scrap Metal Merchants. This approach brought with it an understanding of the needs of their target customer base and placed them well to serve those needs also. In a nutshell, Andrew and Mark’s unique offering is that they go to their customers instead of their customers coming to them. Their vehicle is equipped with calibrated digital scales which allow them to accurately weigh the metals as they buy them giving their customers the confidence that they are getting the best deal on the day. Back in the days when cash was legal this meant that the whole transaction was completed there and then on the spot. However, shortly after they founded X-Met Metals Ltd, it became apparent that paying in cash for scrap metal was going to be made illegal. Considering all available payment methods, Mark and Andrew clearly understood that whilst paying cash was not an option, paying solely by cheque was not viable either if their new business venture was to grow. The cash problem was as we know further compounded by the need to obtain, store and record ID for every transaction. The recording and storing of ID poses greater challenges when you are mobile as is the case for Andrew and Mark and as such they began to research the options available to them to address these issues. They looked at the offerings of a number of ID system providers comparing each system for ease of use, ability to comply with the legislation, security and cost effectiveness. In the end, the solution they felt suited their needs and the needs of their customers’ best was the solution offered by VerifiiD Limited. Building on the success of their approach to dealing in scrap metal, to meet increasing demand for their services; Andrew and Mark have recently expanded their fleet and now operate two vehicles identically equipped with digital scales and the VerifiiD ID and Pre-Pay system. They state that they find the ability to securely store ID documents in a “cloud environment” and the convenience of the pre-pay card suits theirs and their customer needs perfectly. In this age of identity theft particularly they feel that it is vital that their customers’ ID documents are stored securely and that the VerifiiD system gives them the assurance that this need is fully met at all times. They go on to say that their customers see the pre-pay card as an acceptable alternative to cash and as such this gives them the competitive edge when they are up against other scrap metal collectors who either cannot pay on the spot by legal means or worse still pay by illegal means instead. Andrew and Mark’s stated aim is to continue to grow their customer base moving forward and they feel that the service they offer combined with the flexibility provided by the VerifiiD system means they have the confidence to do so. In conclusion, the challenges faced by X-Met Metals Ltd in remaining competitive and legally compliant are common to the challenges faced by all mobile scrap metal collection businesses. However, what sets them apart from the great many other scrap metal collectors is their commitment to not only providing a convenient and reliable service to their customers, but also the way in which from the outset Andrew and Mark have sought to do this in a fully legally compliant way. X-Met Metals Ltd operate in the Greater Manchester area. Find them at www.xmetmetals.com or on Facebook X-Met Metals Ltd or Twitter xmetmetals. There is an old saying which offers the opinion that “Necessity is the Mother of all ingenuity”. Necessity being the need to do something in order to get where you’re going or achieve whatever objective a given situation dictates essential at that time. The Scrap Metal Recycling Industry of late as we are all aware, has undergone seismic changes necessitating all manner of ingenuity in the way in which the industry serves its’ customers. Not all companies have adapted well to the changes but one which has is the subject of this month’s article, Greater Manchester based X-Met Metals Ltd. Upwardly mobile metal SHM February 2014 Issue 100 10 Register your email for news and updates at www.skiphiremagazine.co.uk SCRAP METAL
