Global Empire

Many people who are exposed to the scrap industry at an early age say they are unable to resist the siren song that calls them back to the yard years later, and Gilbert is no exception.

For three generations, Gilbert’s family owned and operated Gilbert Iron & Steel in Beaver Falls, Pa. Working beside his grandfather and father as a teenager, Gilbert got his initial introduction to the metals recycling industry and the values that form the foundation of Global Recycling and its affiliated companies. "I grew up in this industry alongside my grandfather," Gilbert says. "He taught me to accept a man’s handshake as his word."

Unfortunately, Gilbert would not have an opportunity to run the family business, as a declining U.S. steel industry forced Gilbert Iron & Steel out of business in the 1970s. After attending college and working in a number of other industries, Gilbert could no longer ignore the lure of the scrap industry. He worked for several brokers and recycling facilities throughout the Northeast, where he gained experience in the fledgling market that involved buying and processing export-grade copper-bearing electric motor scrap, or elmo, its Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) specification.

In the mid-1990s, Gilbert opened Gilbert Metal Trading, a brokerage operation specializing elmo. Seeking a more hands-on experience, he formed Global Recycling Inc. in 1998, adding processing and reloading to his export activities.

"I am blessed and lucky I get to do a job I love," Gilbert says. "I always felt like scrap recycling was in my veins. It was always the thing I wanted to do most."

Today, Global Recycling operates an anchor facility in Charlotte and a satellite operation in Little Rock, Ark., in which it partners with the Sol Alman Co. The companies began this partnership in 2001 following Gilbert’s buyout of his former partner in Global Recycling.

Gilbert describes the Sol Alman property as "a fantastic industrial and peddler scrap yard" owned by Larry and Charles Alman. He says the company’s Little Rock location as well as its honest, professional approach appealed to him.

"They provide great service for us," Gilbert says of Sol Alman. "We purchase the material and we share rental on a loader. They load the material for us, and then we pay them a loading fee."

Global Recycling shipped nearly 6,500 metric tons of scrap per month to Asian ports in 2007, Gilbert says. The company is on track to ship an average of 7,500 metric tons per month this year. "The material is not processed, although Global does sort out free iron, dirt, nonmetallics and nonconforming materials to ensure quality that meets or exceeds all customs regulations and consumer expectations," he says.

Gilbert gives a great deal of credit to his team for steadily increasing the company’s volume of business. "Christine Winder has played a pivotal role in developing efficient and accurate document procedures, allowing us to provide excellent customer service to our international customers," he says. "Rick Gilbert has guided us through a variety of legal and regulatory hurdles, and Scott Greenberg has done a terrific job leading our purchasing team."

To strengthen Global’s purchasing team, Gilbert recently brought on nonferrous scrap industry veteran Steve Nedelman as an account executive. Nedelman spent more than 24 years at Steiner-Liff Iron & Metal/PSC Metals, where he served in several positions, including vice president of nonferrous. Jim Hurlburt rounds out the purchasing team. Before joining Global Recycling, Hurlburt spent seven years with Colonial Metals specializing in brass and bronze scrap.

In addition to Global Recycling, Gilbert has expanded his business operations to include Global Recycling Transportation LLC, Gilbert Iron & Steel and Gilbert Industrial Alloys, his newest venture.

Gilbert launched Global Recycling Transportation with five new Volvo tractors and aluminum dump trailers and a drayage truck in 2005 in response to decreased availability of transportation equipment following Hurricane Katrina. Today, the company, which Mark Cox manages, operates three drayage vehicles, 27 tractors and 25 dump trailers, providing bulk material transport and container drayage services for Global Recycling and its vendors.

"We are very happy overall with how that division works," Gilbert says of Global Recycling Transportation. "With the transportation company, it’s not about how much profit we make; it’s about having the ability to control our inventory on the inbound for the export company."

Global Recycling handles from 50 to 100 dump truck loads per week at its Charlotte operation, Gilbert says. "The fact that we own the trucks ourselves really gives us a leg up."

Gilbert has continued to add affiliated businesses. Within the last 30 months,

The newest addition to Gilbert’s business empire is Gilbert Industrial Alloys, which he began in 2008. Gilbert Industrial Alloys focuses on procuring specialty grades of stainless steel and other alloys for the stainless steel industry.

Gilbert attributes the growth of Global Recycling and its affiliate companies to a number of enduring values.

"Global Recycling’s main strengths are its integrity, strict quality control and strong, long-term relationships with both suppliers and consumers," Gilbert says. "Two key practices that reflect these values and set our company apart are that we are always buying material, regardless of market conditions, and that we honor all purchase order contracts. This long-term approach to business and business relationships is what makes suppliers and consumers trust us."

Gilbert adds, "Despite all of the technological innovation, globalization and industry consolidation that is going on, our business is and always will be built on personal relationships."

Scott Greenberg, Global Recycling’s vice president of purchasing and sales, joined the company 10 years ago from Franklin Smelting and Refining Corp., Philadelphia. "As the company has grown over the last 10 years, Steve has always stressed to me to provide the most competitive price possible in the marketplace while not sacrificing service," Greenberg says. "Our goal is volume, and working closely with our suppliers, we achieve our goal by utilizing the 50 years of combined relationships Steve and I bring to the table." He adds, "That is why the majority of our business is repeat business from long-term customers."

The personal relationships Gilbert formed early in his career also help Global make the most of export opportunities.

Gilbert says his early introduction some 15 years ago to the Chinese market offers advantages to Global Recycling. "We’ve been ahead of the curve because we have experienced a lot of the different pitfalls over time," Gilbert says. "I’ve actually been to China more than 35 times. It did take time, but when I finally partnered up with the right people, it really did pay off big," he says.

Gilbert observes a difference in the way the Chinese do business compared to their American counterparts. "Many times Americans think business is a telephone call and it’s done. China is different than that," he continues. "They want to know you, know about you and feel that you have their best interest at heart along with yours."

Global Recycling is looking at ways to maximize its current relationships in the Chinese market, including a possible expansion involving one of its Chinese partners that would establish a few facilities to receive additional ferrous grades. "We are only in the infancy stages," Gilbert says of the project. However, he adds that within the next 36 months, the company is hoping to partner in five transloading operations in the country.

Global is also eyeing growth opportunities within the United States. "We are in the beginning stages of a three-part plan," he says, which includes evaluating possible locations. "North America is a big place. There is plenty of opportunity to set up a small to medium-sized yard and to do what it takes to be successful."

The author is managing editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at dtoto@gie.net.