March/April 1991
ISRI’s third annual convention will bring into focus the dramatic changes unfolding in the scrap recycling industry.
The scrap recycling industry is facing a period of revolutionary change. Major issues that could change the established industry overnight arise suddenly and regularly: Recyclers face growing scrutiny and regulation from all levels of government, new laws threaten whole segments of the industry, and public-sector initiatives shape and disrupt markets for recyclables.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’s (ISRI) annual convention, March 20-23 at the Mirage in Las Vegas, will give recyclers the information they need to stay on top of industry issues in the 1990s. The convention program covers pertinent environmental and other legislative issues, business opportunities, commodities, and markets.
For the first time, ISRI’s convention will allot time (Thursday and Friday afternoon, March 21 and 22) for recyclers to meet informally to trade. Registered ReMA members will receive a group of stickers representing various commodities to place on their convention badges so that traders can identify others interested in the same materials.
For the second time, ISRI’s annual convention will feature outdoor as well as indoor exhibits by equipment and service companies. Plan to check out the latest in industry aids, including large material handling machinery, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
ISRI will hold its division, committee, and board of directors meetings preceding the convention on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 20-21. Several special events are planned, including presentations by industry experts at the ad hoc tire/rubber, ad hoc glass cullet, and wire choppers committees meetings.
Eyeing Problems and Opportunities
A program on “usables” Thursday morning, March 21, is the first of a series of workshops designed to help processors maximize profits and avoid potential problems. The usables session, sponsored by the nonferrous committee, features several speakers, including Gerald M. Cohen, president of Atlantic Stainless Co. Inc. (North Attleboro, Mass.), and William M. Kipnis, president of the surplus aluminum division of Mandel Metals Inc. (Franklin Park, Ill.). The experts will cover identification and marketing of usables received at scrap plants to help processors get the most out of materials worth more than their weight in metal.
“European Scrap Markets: Will They Be Lost?” is a Friday morning panel presentation by international trade experts, who will examine current scrap trade problems, with a focus on Europe. Michael C.E. Lion, chairman of Philipp and Lion Ltd. (London) and environmental committee chairman and nonferrous division president of the Bureau International de la Recuperation (Brussels, Belgium), and other speakers will examine and field questions concerning the Basel Convention and its possible limits on worldwide scrap trade, U.S. legislative efforts to limit “waste” experts, and attempts by some interest groups to completely ban U.S. scrap exports. This session is sponsored by the foreign trade committee.
What do small material recovery facilities (MRFs) have to offer scrap processors? Find out at Friday afternoon’s “The Case for the Mini-MRF,” a discussion of “what’s in it for you” in setting up a mini-MRF. Speakers are Thomas W. Higgins, manager of Hefty Recycling, Mobil Chemical Co. (Macedon, N.Y.), and Thomas Norton, president, Turtle Plastics (Cleveland).
Aluminum scrap contamination problems are the topic of a Saturday morning workshop sponsored by the nonferrous committee. Representatives from the Aluminum Association Inc. (Washington, D.C.) will present the results of the group’s five-year study of the safety problems that aluminum scrap consumers face because of contaminated materials. Speakers include Seymour G. Epstein, technical director for the Aluminum Association; F. Robert Hubbard, plant manager for IMCO Recycling Inc. (Rockwood, Tenn.); and Donald C. Pierce, manager of operations technology for the recycling reclamation division of Reynolds Metals Co. (Richmond, Va.).
Addressing Environmental Concerns
Environmental organizations will present their agendas at a workshop called "The Environmental Community Discusses the Agenda of the 1990s: Decade of Implementation and Innovation." Several national groups, including ISRI, will outline proposals to foster growth in recycling at this Friday afternoon session, sponsored by the environment and legislative committees and subcommittee.
Another program asks, "Can the Scrap Recycling Industry Win in Washington?" This workshop, sponsored by the public relations committee, will cover communication skills that can make the difference between winning or losing tough legislative battles. Panelists at this Saturday afternoon session will include ReMA members, staff, and an experienced Washington lobbyist, who will review--with the help of a nationally known communications expert--agendas for the 1990s prepared by environmental groups. Speakers include: Arnold Gachman, president of Gachman Metals & Recycling Co. (Fort Worth, Texas) and ReMA first vice president; Evelyn L. Haught, ReMA director of public relations; Henry L. Schweich, president of Cerro Copper Products Co. (St. Louis) and vice chairman of the ReMA public relations committee lobbyist Ernest Wittenberg, author of "How to Win in Washington"; and Arnold Zenker, managing director of Arnold Zenker Associates Inc. (Boston).
Spotlight on Markets
The convention also features an array of commodities spotlights offering insights from industry experts on supply, demand, and prices in specific markets.
For the first time, ReMA is sponsoring a plastic spotlight. At this Saturday morning session, Ken Hannan, business director of resource recovery and conservation for Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.), will describe his company's activity in and commitment to industrial and postconsumer plastic recovery.
The aluminum spotlight, Friday morning, will offer a presentation by Alumax Inc. (Norcross, Ga.) President Paul Drack. The nickel/stainless steel spotlight will include a panel of experts covering the nickel, cobalt, and stainless markets on Friday afternoon. Speakers are Neil Buxton of Shearson Lehman Brothers (London); Rover Mellon, industrial consultant with Mellon Associates (London); and William C. Theide, president of Powmet Inc. (Rockford, Ill.).
Programs spotlighting precious metals and lead/zinc are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Michael Deelo, director of marketing for the Zinc Corp. of America (Monaca, Pa.), will speak on the zinc market. Ferrous and copper spotlights are set for Friday morning and Saturday afternoon, respectively.
Special Events
Representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Mines will speak at a Saturday afternoon session titled "Resources, Recycling, Regulations--A Bureau of Mines Perspective." The chief of the bureau's division of policy analysis, V. Anthony Cammarota Jr., and others will cover a broad range of topics including life-cycle studies and markets for recycled plastics; regulations concerning lead-acid battery recycling, aluminum potliner disposal, and other materials; and trade topics.
Ford Motor Co.'s (Dearborn, Mich.) Q 1 Preferred Quality Supplier award program and its demands on scrap processors will be the topic of a special session sponsored by the education & training committee.
A program sponsored by the young executives committee covering the basics of trading on the futures market is scheduled for Friday afternoon. Representatives of Commodity Exchange Inc. (New York City) will answer questions about hedging and trading.
"Red Flags to Watch for on Your Financial Statements--Using Your CPA in the 1990s" will be presented Thursday in a late morning/early afternoon session by John B. Holdeman, partner, Crowe, Chizek and Co. (Indianapolis). The program will be moderated by Barry Schuchman, president of Kasle Recycling Metallic Resources Corp. (Indianapolis).
A session exclusively for ReMA exhibitors Thursday morning, "Trade Show Success," by Chuck Dymer, Peopleware Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.), will include his standards for success in the booth and essentials for booth personnel. This meeting, sponsored jointly by Scrap Processing and Recycling and the convention committee, will include a continental breakfast.
Entertainment and Spouse Programs
The ReMA convention department has developed a full menu of activities to involve spouses in this year's convention and to give all convention-goers a chance to relax with industry friends.
A "how-to" session on gambling will be available to all convention-goers Wednesday afternoon. This course, taught by professional blackjack player Anthony Curtis, will cover winning strategies for a variety of games as well as etiquette and tipping.
Cosmetologist Jose Eber and his assistants will perform makeovers on volunteers and field questions from the audience at a spouse luncheon Friday.
Several educational spouse events are also on the schedule. Barry Hunter, Samuel G. Keywell Co. (Port Elizabeth, N.J.) and chairman of ReMA's public relations committee, and Evelyn Haught will present a session describing how spouses can set up a company public relations program. A session called "Professional Impact" will teach skills to improve self-confidence and self-esteem. A featured spouse event back by popular demand is "Secrets Every Woman Must Know, But Men Won't Tell Them," which originally appeared at ReMA's 1989 Los Angeles convention.
Other noteworthy spouse sessions include a lesson on making jewelry from scrap, a biographical story of a young Jewish girl who fought back against the Nazis, a presentation titled "Defining Our Own Aging," and a wardrobe advice session by a former assistant to Liberace.
All convention attendees will also have a chance to see one of four performances by illusionists Siegfried & Roy, who perform their lavish show with the help of exotic animals at the Mirage. And be sure to attend the president's breakfast on Thursday and the keynote breakfast on Saturday.
The convention's social finale is "Club ISRI" Saturday night, which will include a buffet dinner, dancing, and entertainment by Chez-zam, all in a spectacular fantasy setting.•
ISRI’s third annual convention will bring into focus the dramatic changes unfolding in the scrap recycling industry.