BIR Report

BIR Lines up Programming for San Francisco Event

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) is coming to America for its 2000 Spring Convention, holding its largest annual meeting at the San Francisco Marriott May 28-31.In addition to sessions on the most commonly traded recyclable commodities and the exhibit hall, this year’s event will also allow members to tour the Schnitzer Steel Industries facility across the bay in Oakland.The Schnitzer Oakland yard has been receiving scrap metals from all over Northern California for more than 30 years. The facility, with about 70 employees, is equipped with a 7,000-hp auto shredder, a 1,100-hp nonferrous shredder, a large hydraulic Harris 1335 shear (1,300-tons capacity with a 5-feet opening), and a newly installed Harris baler. Schnitzer Steel exports heavy melt grades and shred to its international customers from a deep water port through its high-speed vessel loading facility with a capacity of 275 to 900 tons per hour, and also ships to domestic customers by truck and rail. Acting General Manager Marc Madden will host the tour, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 30. Participation is limited and tickets will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Registration forms will be sent to those delegates of the BIR Ferrous and Nonferrous divisions who are already registered for the San Francisco Convention. Among the speakers will be Sam W. Hummelstein, chairperson of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Hummelstein is president of Hummelstein Iron & Metal Inc, Jonesboro, Ark., a family-owned business that he joined in 1970. He is a member of the fourth generation in the firm. He has served as an officer of ISRI in several capacities at the regional and national level, and is a founding board member of the Arkansas Recycling Association. He is active in community affairs, particularly in the arts, industrial development and medical spheres, and among state appointments is a member of the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.The current BIR president, Barry Hunter of Keywell LLC, Elizabeth, N.J., says, “I am very pleased that Sam has accepted my invitation to address our General Assembly on May 30. Sam’s participation continues to reflect the mutual co-operation of our two trade associations in furthering the globalization of our industry for the well-being of our members.”Members of the BIR’s Nonferrous Division will also have the opportunity to hear remarks from Stephen Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for U.S. Zinc, a subsidiary of IMCO Recycling Inc., Irving, Texas. U.S. Zinc consumes about 100,000 metric tons of zinc each year.