Electronics Recycling

Eric Goldsmith has completed the purchase of the assets of the Goldsmith Group Inc. (GGI), Indianapolis, from his father, Phillip Goldsmith. The third-generation owner has also announced the adoption of a new name for the company: eScrap Inc.

"We are very excited about this transition and the potential growth of the company," says Eric. "There is growing concern, locally and around the world, about what to do with exploding numbers of unwanted or obsolete electronics. We provide alternatives for companies and individuals who find themselves with equipment they no longer want or need."

Eric says the name eScrap Inc. "better represents the work of the firm." The business has three areas of focus:

"With some strategic investments we plan to improve efficiencies and hire more employees to handle the growing demand for our services," Eric says of eScrap.

The Goldsmith Group was originally founded by brothers Max and Abe Goldsmith in 1912 as a scrap metal dealership. The company also has operated under the names of Goldsmith Steel Products and Goldsmith Pipe and Playground. In the 1970s, the Goldsmith Group evolved to an electronics recycling company.

Electronics life cycle management provider Intechra, Jackson, Miss., has announced the launch of a national logistics network and two acquisitions. The company did not disclose the terms of the deals.

The company has acquired Lifecycle Partners, with operations in New Hampshire and North Carolina, and BCS Logistics, a transportation company based in Dallas. These are Intechra’s fifth and sixth acquisitions, respectively, since November of 2006.

"The addition of Lifecycle will strengthen our Northeast operations and provide a key facility in the Southeast," Intechra CEO Chip Slack says.

According to Slack, the acquisition of Lifecycle Partners also allows Intechra to process high-end storage equipment. "This acquisition is another step in our plan to create an electronic lifecycle management company with the scope and scale to meet the needs of any client," he says.

The acquisition of BCS will enable Intechra to better address nationwide logistics, serving as the foundation for the company’s logistics network.

Slack says, "IT assets pose a unique challenge because they are both high value and high risk for corporations. Intechra’s in-house management of logistics will bring peace of mind that clients cannot find with third-party shippers and will provide an audit trail for compliance with data security and environmental laws."

According to Intechra, its logistics network will offer its clients "a single, secure chain of custody for their IT assets." Intechra will have full-time logistics security specialists trained to handle IT assets and help clients manage packing, scheduling and shipping.

The specialists will operate Intechra vehicles out of 19 logistics centers nationwide. The company’s logistics fleet will initially include more than 25 vehicles, ranging from box trucks to tractor trailers.

Client assets will be in Intechra’s possession throughout the transportation process until they arrive at an Intechra facility.

The logistics network will be operational nationally by the end of third quarter, according to a press release from Intechra.

The newly acquired BCS will serve as the backbone of Intechra’s logistics operation. "BCS brings the leadership, systems and credibility to execute our IT logistics strategy," Slack says. The company also has experience in target industries for Intechra, including the security requirements of healthcare and financial services clients.

Brad Davis, BCS CEO, says, "Our logistics expertise combined with Intechra’s scale will provide a complete transportation solution for clients’ assets."

With the acquisitions, Intechra says it now has plants that can remanufacture and remarket more than 350,000 retired IT assets per month, including computers, monitors, laptops, routers and servers. According to Intechra, its recycling centers can recycle 8 million pounds of electronics per month, and its in-house logistics centers will provide competitive secure transportation of assets for clients throughout the country.

Intechra will implement processes at its newly acquired facilities to achieve ISO certification as well as stringent security so that clients are assured of consistent services, regardless of geography. The company also has a zero-landfill policy.

Redemtech, a Columbus, Ohio-based provider of technology change management services, has announced the acquisition of PC Asset Recovery Inc., a Round Rock, Texas-based IT asset recovery and computer recycling company targeting the mid-market.

According to Redemtech, the acquisition provides it with a solution tailored to small to mid-sized businesses, an area the company has targeted for growth.

"As the number of computers used by businesses continues to grow, organizations of all sizes face technology management issues that once only large enterprises had to address," Bob Houghton, president of Redemtech, says. "PC Asset Recovery has established a niche in the small- and mid-sized markets and complements Redemtech’s strengths in serving the asset recovery and computer recycling needs of large businesses."

PC Asset Recovery will transition to operating under the Redemtech brand, continuing to help its clients remove surplus technology, remarket salable IT assets and recycle obsolete electronic equipment within U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. The company will now provide its customers with Redemtech’s warranted Datasure Erase-IT service for U.S. Department of Defense-compliant data erasure. Online asset recovery and logistics, lease return management and reporting services also will be expanded using Redemtech’s capabilities.

"While we have built a successful business model during the past three years, this acquisition ensures that we have the resources and technology to continue to grow and efficiently serve our customers," Butch Watson, founder of PC Asset Recovery, says. "Redemtech has consistently established best practices, particularly for e-waste management, and we are excited to be part of that effort and this great organization," he adds.

Watson, who serves as director of corporate sales, has more than 35 years of experience in developing domestic and international programs for manufacturers and service providers in the information technology industry, focusing on hardware sales, returns management and asset recovery programs. He will continue to direct Redemtech’s mid-market initiative out of PC Asset Recovery’s Round Rock, Texas, headquarters.

Several townships in Will County, Ill., have joined together to offer drop-off locations for electronic scrap.

The Will County Land Use Department, which sponsors the program, claims it is the first county in Illinois to offer year-round free collection for all items containing a computer chip to its residents.

The program is starting with drop-off sites in the townships of Channahon, Plainfield, Troy and Washington and in the village of Bolingbrook.

Will County officials say they expects several other townships to join the partnership.

Vintage Tech Recyclers, Plainfield, Ill., will collect the material under a two-year contract with a one-year renewal option. The company received two grants for electronics recycling from the state of Illinois.

Converge, a Peabody, Mass.-based independent distributor of electronic components, technology products and supply chain services, has announced that it helped its large enterprise clients to dispose of more than 35 million pounds of excess, obsolete and retired electronics in 2006.

Approximately 25 million pounds of that material was remarketed globally for reuse, generating residual value for Converge’s customers.

Organizations that worked with Converge and its IT asset disposition services division NextPhase recovered more than $28 million in residual value from their remarketed electronic equipment, according to the company.

Converge is a leading global independent distributor for electronic components, technology products and supply chain services.