Teaming up for success

When Joseph Cinelli Sr. began a scrap metal business back in 1950, he never anticipated that it would be a business that his sons Glen and Gary would continue to run and grow more than 63 years later. However, in 1990, Glen and Gary began running the day-to-day operations of the business and remain involved with the company today.

Glen, who serves as president of Cinelli Scrap Metal, Jersey City, N.J., credits the company’s long-term success to several factors: location, dedication and good business decisions.
 

Location

Cinelli Scrap Metal processes a variety of metals and completes everything from weighing to sorting to wire stripping at its scrap yard in Jersey City.

“We chose to purchase a location just outside of New York City,” Cinelli says. “This strategic decision allows us to capitalize on the scrap metal that materializes as a result of large-scale construction and demolition projects in New York as well as those taking place in the suburbs of New Jersey. We can quickly and easily get into and out of the city to service our customers without the high expense of having a city-based location.

“Whether we truck the metal away from a site or the customer trucks the metal to us, our facility is convenient,” he continues. “And, with today’s high cost of fuel and trucking, that makes a big difference to our customers.”

Through its location in Jersey City, Cinelli Scrap Metal is ideally positioned to capitalize on the high volume of work completed in the surrounding areas. The company’s remote location on Broadway is neatly tucked away in an industrial area, giving Cinelli Scrap Metal the ability to operate without worrying about noise or other disturbances to nearby residences.

“Today, many scrap businesses struggle to find a balance between profitable operations and appeasing local residents. We really don’t have those issues due to location,” Cinelli says.
 

Dedication

Joseph Cinelli’s dedication to the family business as well as the dedication of his sons Glenn and Gary has fueled the company’s growth, even during challenging economic times.

“Over the course of the past few years, when construction nationwide has declined, we’ve continued to grow,” says Cinelli. “We are always looking at ways to more efficiently process the metal brought to our yard. Our focus on continual improvement and innovative methods has paid off.”

Dedication for Cinelli comes not just from focusing on the company’s suppliers and consumers but also on those who have helped the family business succeed. Two such companies are Harter Equipment, Millstone Township, N.J., and Kobelco Construction Machinery USA, Houston.

Kobelco excavators have long been a part of Cinelli Scrap Metal’s success. According to Cinelli, the first excavator purchased by the company was a Kobelco, and it has never looked back.

“We’ve bought many excavators over the years, and they’ve all been Kobelco. I strongly believe in the philosophy of why change a good thing? Kobelco excavators have been extremely reliable workhorses. We work all our machines six days a week, 12 hours a day. Outside of planned maintenance, we’ve had no challenges with our Kobelco fleet. This reliability allows us to continually process metal, driving revenue.”

Today, Cinelli Scrap Metal owns five Kobelco excavators—a 250, a 270, a 290, a 330 and a 295, each equipped with either a grapple, shear, magnet or bucket—all purchased through Harter Equipment.

“Versatility is key based upon the type of metal we are moving,” Cinelli says. “Kobelco excavators accept nearly any attachment quickly and easily, allowing us to maximize processing on a daily basis.”

He continues, “Harter has always provided us with many equipment options when it comes to Kobeclo, be it rental or purchase.

“Over the years we’ve purchased about a dozen Kobelco excavators, and they’ve never let us down,” Cinelli continues. “Outside of general maintenance, which we handle on our own, we haven’t had any issues to speak of.”

Cinelli adds, “The relationship with Harter is as seamless as the equipment we have purchased from them.”
 

Good decisions

While Cinelli Scrap Metal has always been located in Jersey City, the company initially rented a yard for its metal sorting and processing operations. However, the company’s management team made a critical decision in the late 1990s to purchase Cinelli Scrap Metal’s current building and lot on Broadway in Jersey City, a move that allowed the company to control its overhead and invest in the facility where it would be operating from for many years to come.

“There came a time when our growth was outpacing the size of our work area,” Cinelli says. “At that point we decided ownership was the more advantageous route to go.

“That single decision positioned us well and continues to give us a competitive advantage over other scrap metal yards in the area,” he adds.

Harter Equipment has been a business partner that Cinelli Scrap Metal has relied on for many years. The equipment dealer’s Territory Manager Dick Clark frequently stops by the scrap company’s facility to see how the Kobelco excavators Harter has sold Cinelli are functioning. While at the yard, Clark also helps Cinelli Scrap Metal plan for its future equipment needs.

“Glen usually has a strong idea of what he wants,” Clark says. “It’s always a Kobelco excavator; it’s the size class and how it will be used that varies, whether or not it’s a low-hour used unit or a new machine is also part of the decision-making process,” he says.

Clark continues, “We listen carefully, then make recommendations based on what we have in stock or can provide that will best meet the company’s needs.”

He adds that the dealership knows that Cinelli Scrap Metal works its equipment hard and that it also tends to operate equipment for a long time. “This makes Kobelco an excellent choice due to their heavy-duty construction and long-term reliability,” Clark says.

Cinelli Scrap Metal continues along its growth path today. Having started with just a few employees, the scrap recycling company now has a staff of nearly 20 people and operates one-dozen trucks throughout the New York and New Jersey areas.

This article was submitted on behalf of Houston-based Kobelco Construction Machinery USA, www.kobelco-usa.com.