The Scrap Show: Chris Greenfield of The Federal Metal Co.

Stories abound of those in the scrap recycling industry who grew up around it, taking over family-owned companies that have passed down through generations. Chris Greenfield’s career path, however, is not linear.

Greenfield began his career in commercial real estate and remained close friends with Peter Nagusky, president and CEO of The Federal Metal Co., Cleveland, after the pair met in college.

“As they were looking out into the future, Peter and his father, David [Nagusky], wanted to bring somebody onto the team they thought had the integrity and the thirst to learn quickly the business and the temperament to succeed,” Greenfield says. “It’s a unique job, especially when you’re a consumer like Federal Metal is. To navigate the commercial waters of the of the scrap markets was something I frankly didn’t know anything about when I joined the company.”

The Naguskys convinced Greenfield to join the business in 2007 and, at age 38 and established in his real estate career, he was apprehensive but trusted his friend enough to make such a major life change.

“I joined Federal Metal on a leap of faith because [Peter] insisted it would be a lot of fun and be a great challenge,” Greenfield says. “He exposed me to a world of things I certainly didn’t know anything about [and it] turned out to be a massive leap of faith for my family and I but it was the best decision I ever made.

“The only regret I have is that I didn’t do it sooner because it really has been a really fun run.”

Greenfield has now been with Federal Metal for 17 years and currently is commercial vice president. In the following interview, he discusses his unconventional journey into scrap recycling and what skills are required to succeed in a relationship-focused business.

Q: Did any of your previous work experience in commercial real estate translate to the scrap business?

A: When you work in economic development and you work for CEOs of large companies and they’re your bosses, you have to get very, very comfortable being on the spot about being accountable [and] being able to stand up for yourself. It’s a pretty competitive environment and folks like that don’t have an off switch. The scrap business does not have an off switch; it really just keeps on going and you have to be responsive and feisty enough to survive. … But, if you’re confident and you really do believe in your own sort of goodwill and what you’re doing is right, you’re behaving in an ethical manner and with integrity, that really carries over. You couldn’t succeed in either business without that. ... The other thing about the scrap business is it has all kinds of people. It has gigantic companies ... but on the other side of it, you’re dealing with small, single-location, family-owned businesses run by people who have their name on their shirt, who are working in the yard right along with everybody else. The ability to be in both places at the same time is really, really important.

Q: What surprised you when you made the move into scrap recycling?

A: To put a deal together in real estate requires thousands of emails, lots and lots and lots of back-and-forth and discussions, and I had no frame of reference for how fast scrap worked. I had no frame of reference for how to deal with the changing markets for copper, in particular, since that’s the most important metal we refine and melt and alloy. So, dealing with that, quickly making big decisions with massive financial consequences very quickly, [was] something I definitely was not prepared for. ... You’re making these decisions so quickly and people are selling you things so quickly and you’re just doing these deals all day long. That was a remarkable thing to be a part of.

Q: Do you find those outside the business don’t realize how high-stakes scrap recycling can be?

A: Folks just don’t understand that aren’t in our industry, they don’t understand how large these companies are. They see [a] scrapyard … but they don’t understand the scale of these operations and the role and the importance of this industry—the important role this industry plays in our overall economy. It’s a critical in gigantic thing to wrap your head around, and, keep in mind, I’m looking at this purely from the perspective of somebody that works in nonferrous, specifically in copper, as opposed to the ferrous world or the stainless welder. We’re a small part of it, is my point, and I still am awed at the scale and scope of it all.