Larry Kummer: CARI’s New Leader

The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries is taking steps in a new direction and has a new president to steer its course. Here’s what Larry Kummer has planned for the next two years.

In 1991, the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) will celebrate its 50th anniversary and likely will implement a new name, image, and position within the recycling industry--and to usher in these changes is Larry Kummer, of London Salvage & Trading Company, Ltd., London, Ontario. Kummer was unanimously elected as the new president of CARI at its annual convention this past June. Who is Larry Kummer and how does he plan to deal with this grand opportunity?

Kummer was born and schooled in Hamilton, Ontario, and became interested in the scrap business because of his family background. His father was responsible for handling the haulage for London Salvage, a ferrous and nonferrous scrap processing firm that Kummer and his four brothers purchased in 1976. Today, at 42, Kummer has been the company's general manager since the purchase and has volunteered his time not only to CARI, but also to the North London Kiwanis Club and the Redeemer Lutheran Council Church. He has served as president of all three.

All In the Same Boat

Kummer has big plans for his two-year term as CARI president. At the top of his list is "to change the whole outlook of CARI--to give it a higher profile." CARI has been in existence for 50 years, he points out, "and we don't have the public exposure that we should have," he explains.

To build that exposure, Kummer, CARI Executive Director Stan Parker, and other CARI staff members will spend a great deal of time working to open up lines of communication between the scrap industry and the media and the industry and government.

"We're the voice of the industrial and commercial recycling industry," Kummer declares, adding, "We want to make sure these groups perceive us as the solution, not the problem." Convincing government groups of this, in particular, he says, will require "giving them information about what we do before they make policies. CARI will encourage them to talk to and work with the specialists--CARI members--to determine if government proposals are workable, before they're implemented." Otherwise, he says, "they'll decide ‘This is what should be done,’ when it's just about impossible to do."

In an effort to expedite the often-slow-moving communication process, the association has contracted the services of a Toronto-based public relations firm and soon will hire a full-time staff person to develop and implement public and media relations strategies. Kummer says these forces also will be responsible for developing programs that will encourage members to participate in environmentally focused activities throughout the country. "We want to be seen as the environmentalists of Canada," he says, noting that "We want to work together with the government and interest groups to further environmentally sound recycling activity across Canada."

Kummer also is looking forward to working in concert with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the Bureau International de la Recuperation (BIR) on international matters. "It's important that all three associations have the same voice," he says, especially with the institution of the Basel Convention, which has the potential to halt the flow of some types of scrap materials over international borders.

Building Membership Blocks

In addition to building the CARI image through increased contact with the public, government, and media, Kummer notes that the association is working on a new name and logo. But, he says, CARI is looking forward to sprucing up quite a bit more about the association, with an increase in membership numbers and types a priority.

CARI's membership currently is made up of more than 200 companies, most of which are involved in the processing of scrap metal. According to Kummer, the association has a goal to increase that number by 50 percent. To fill those slots, he says, the association will be targeting a number of groups. There's room for membership growth among Canadian scrap metal firms that are not now members, he believes, as well as among scrap paper processors. "We've always had paper members, but their numbers have gone by the wayside a bit because the metals industry' became predominant," he explains. "We're going to try to rekindle that relationship."

He says CARI also will aim its membership recruitment efforts at recyclers of other nonmetallics, municipalities, and local environmental groups. Combining the public and private recycling sectors in a trade association may seem like an implausible or even impossible task, but Kummer seems to have every intention of seeing this plan blossom into fruition. "Anything is possible if you work at it," he says. And he adds, working at it is worth it, since increased membership not only provides more funds for the association to turn into member services, but, by targeting new types of members, also helps with the association's other priority: increasing its profile.

What will the association offer these groups to entice them into joining? "Their needs are going to be different," Kummer admits, "so we're going to try to tailor specific programs for each different type of member." The not-yet-hired new CARI staff member who'll be responsible for media and public relations also will take charge of developing these specific programs, he explains.

Kummer believes member services also can be improved through a plan to make the CARI newsletter more informative and through the establishment of four regional chapters: a Western/Midwestern Chapter, a British Columbia Chapter, an Ontario Chapter, and a Quebec/Eastern Chapter.

Continuing the Legacy

CARI's new president makes the point that although these plans to create a new CARI are important, it is equally essential to carry through with the goals of his predecessor, Albert Adelstein, of Sam Adelstein & Co. Ltd. St. Catharines, Ontario. "We're going to work toward continuity, because we may not be able to accomplish everything we want to in the next two years," Kummer explains. "I find that a lot of associations lose track of ongoing projects when a new president comes in," he says. "The new president goes off on his merry little route and does what he wants to do, and meanwhile, everything that was done previously may not be followed. But the president I'm following has the same concepts as I do, and it just so happened that it all came together this year. Now it's just a matter of implementing."

The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries is taking steps in a new direction and has a new president to steer its course. Here’s what Larry Kummer has planned for the next two years.

In 1991, the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) will celebrate its 50th anniversary and likely will implement a new name, image, and position within the recycling industry--and to usher in these changes is Larry Kummer, of London Salvage & Trading Company, Ltd., London, Ontario. Kummer was unanimously elected as the new president of CARI at its annual convention this past June. Who is Larry Kummer and how does he plan to deal with this grand opportunity?

Kummer was born and schooled in Hamilton, Ontario, and became interested in the scrap business because of his family background. His father was responsible for handling the haulage for London Salvage, a ferrous and nonferrous scrap processing firm that Kummer and his four brothers purchased in 1976. Today, at 42, Kummer has been the company's general manager since the purchase and has volunteered his time not only to CARI, but also to the North London Kiwanis Club and the Redeemer Lutheran Council Church. He has served as president of all three.

All In the Same Boat

Kummer has big plans for his two-year term as CARI president. At the top of his list is "to change the whole outlook of CARI--to give it a higher profile." CARI has been in existence for 50 years, he points out, "and we don't have the public exposure that we should have," he explains.

To build that exposure, Kummer, CARI Executive Director Stan Parker, and other CARI staff members will spend a great deal of time working to open up lines of communication between the scrap industry and the media and the industry and government.

"We're the voice of the industrial and commercial recycling industry," Kummer declares, adding, "We want to make sure these groups perceive us as the solution, not the problem." Convincing government groups of this, in particular, he says, will require "giving them information about what we do before they make policies. CARI will encourage them to talk to and work with the specialists--CARI members--to determine if government proposals are workable, before they're implemented." Otherwise, he says, "they'll decide ‘This is what should be done,’ when it's just about impossible to do."

In an effort to expedite the often-slow-moving communication process, the association has contracted the services of a Toronto-based public relations firm and soon will hire a full-time staff person to develop and implement public and media relations strategies. Kummer says these forces also will be responsible for developing programs that will encourage members to participate in environmentally focused activities throughout the country. "We want to be seen as the environmentalists of Canada," he says, noting that "We want to work together with the government and interest groups to further environmentally sound recycling activity across Canada."

Kummer also is looking forward to working in concert with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the Bureau International de la Recuperation (BIR) on international matters. "It's important that all three associations have the same voice," he says, especially with the institution of the Basel Convention, which has the potential to halt the flow of some types of scrap materials over international borders.

Building Membership Blocks

In addition to building the CARI image through increased contact with the public, government, and media, Kummer notes that the association is working on a new name and logo. But, he says, CARI is looking forward to sprucing up quite a bit more about the association, with an increase in membership numbers and types a priority.

CARI's membership currently is made up of more than 200 companies, most of which are involved in the processing of scrap metal. According to Kummer, the association has a goal to increase that number by 50 percent. To fill those slots, he says, the association will be targeting a number of groups. There's room for membership growth among Canadian scrap metal firms that are not now members, he believes, as well as among scrap paper processors. "We've always had paper members, but their numbers have gone by the wayside a bit because the metals industry' became predominant," he explains. "We're going to try to rekindle that relationship."

He says CARI also will aim its membership recruitment efforts at recyclers of other nonmetallics, municipalities, and local environmental groups. Combining the public and private recycling sectors in a trade association may seem like an implausible or even impossible task, but Kummer seems to have every intention of seeing this plan blossom into fruition. "Anything is possible if you work at it," he says. And he adds, working at it is worth it, since increased membership not only provides more funds for the association to turn into member services, but, by targeting new types of members, also helps with the association's other priority: increasing its profile.

What will the association offer these groups to entice them into joining? "Their needs are going to be different," Kummer admits, "so we're going to try to tailor specific programs for each different type of member." The not-yet-hired new CARI staff member who'll be responsible for media and public relations also will take charge of developing these specific programs, he explains.

Kummer believes member services also can be improved through a plan to make the CARI newsletter more informative and through the establishment of four regional chapters: a Western/Midwestern Chapter, a British Columbia Chapter, an Ontario Chapter, and a Quebec/Eastern Chapter.

Continuing the Legacy

CARI's new president makes the point that although these plans to create a new CARI are important, it is equally essential to carry through with the goals of his predecessor, Albert Adelstein, of Sam Adelstein & Co. Ltd. St. Catharines, Ontario. "We're going to work toward continuity, because we may not be able to accomplish everything we want to in the next two years," Kummer explains. "I find that a lot of associations lose track of ongoing projects when a new president comes in," he says. "The new president goes off on his merry little route and does what he wants to do, and meanwhile, everything that was done previously may not be followed. But the president I'm following has the same concepts as I do, and it just so happened that it all came together this year. Now it's just a matter of implementing."