January/February 2004
Morley Denbo is one of scrap’s living legends, renowned for his business smarts, association service, storytelling skills, and—above all—his integrity.
By Si Wakesberg
Morley Denbo has been described as a big man—and that he is. Not only is he an imposing physical presence, but he is also a big man in the history of the scrap industry, a Southern kid who became one of the best-known and most-respected executives in the business.
His story began in Pulaski, Tenn., on May 15, 1927. Growing up in Pulaski—home of the Ku Klux Klan—was no picnic for a Jewish boy like Denbo, but he was tough and resilient, traits that would serve him well throughout his life.
In his youth, Denbo worked part-time in his family’s scrap business, which was named simply Isaac Denbo after his father. His tasks included picking nonferrous metals from the ferrous and, during World War II scrap drives, knocking glass inserts out of zinc jar caps to recover the metal.
In 1943, at age 16, Denbo headed off to Bowling Green Business University in Kentucky. His college career was short-lived, however, because he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17. The year was 1945, and World War II was still going on. Denbo was assigned to the commissioning crew of the U.S.S. Oregon City, a heavy battle cruiser that carried an admiral onboard but that didn’t see any combat action before the war ended.
After his 17-month military service, Denbo resumed his college education, this time at the University of Alabama on the G.I. Bill. During this time, he became engaged to Barbara Palkes, daughter of Morris Palkes, a partner in a scrap company in Bristol, Tenn. When Morris fell seriously ill, the 20-year-old Denbo left college again—never to return—and began to run the scrap operation for Palkes.
After three-and-a-half successful years there, Denbo decided he wanted to operate his own scrap business. He ended up buying his uncle Benjamin Denbo’s company in Decatur, Ala., a 3-1/2-acre ferrous and nonferrous processing operation. He renamed the firm Denbo Iron & Metal Co. Inc. and, in 1951, officially began leading his own scrap entity. He was 24.
Good Fortune and ‘Lucky’ Breaks
Denbo owes much of his success, he insists, to two “lucky” transactions early in his company’s existence.
The first occurred in Tullahoma, Tenn., where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked 42 scrap dealers to submit bids on 2 million pounds of insulated copper wire that had been burned in a fire. This auction took place during the Korean War, a period when the Office of Price Stabilization (OPS) set maximum prices for scrap. Not surprisingly, the 38 dealers who submitted bids all offered the same maximum OPS price. To select a winning bidder, there had to be a lottery, with the names of all bidders put into a hat.
“They happened to find a hat that was available—my father’s hat,” recalls Denbo. “They asked Noah Liff, the respected head of Steiner-Liff Iron & Metal Co. in Nashville, to make the pick. And guess what? He picked my name.”
Thus, Denbo received the truckloads of burnt copper wire. He also asked if he could have the copper-rich ashes. The Corps of Engineers agreed, making the deal even sweeter for Denbo. “There was more value in the ashes than in the copper,” he says, adding with a smile, “I made a pile of money.”
Denbo’s second big break came at another Corps of Engineers auction of 10 floating gas tanks in Huntsville, Ala. The Sepulpa Tank Co. of Oklahoma approached him, offering to pay him a good price if he would buy the tanks and cut them up for it. So Denbo bid on the material—and won. He then set about his processing task. As he explains, “No. 1 heavy melting steel at that time was around $55 a ton. We cut down the material and sold it, as I remember, for 8 cents a pound. You figure that one out!”
Aside from these fortunate breaks, Denbo Iron & Metal succeeded thanks to Morley’s acumen and dedication. “I used to work day and night,” he states—and the results showed. In 1957, for instance, Denbo moved the company to a 40-acre tract equipped with 3,300 feet of rail siding and conveniently located on major roadways.
Over the years, the firm expanded its scrap processing operations into Sheffield, Ala. It established an aluminum brokerage firm named Alabama Aluminum Alloys Inc., also in Shef-field. It founded Denbo Enterprises L.L.C., an equipment leasing and land management company. Plus, there was Denbo Metal Recovery L.L.C. (Pulaski, Tenn.), an eddy-current nonferrous recovery operation formed by Morley’s son, Joel, and two other relatives.
From its start in 1951, Denbo Iron & Metal grew to where it’s “today the largest scrap processor in the state of Alabama,” Denbo notes proudly. Along the way, the company has gleaned its share (and more) of positive media attention, both in and out of the communities in which it operates.
In 1997, for instance, Smithsonian published a story titled “Mining the Scrap Heap for Treasure,” which focused much of its attention on Denbo Iron & Metal. The article described the firm’s history and its vast operations, including how it uses the latest equipment, how it handles and processes its scrap material, and how it ships its products to consumers. The article included photos of Morley and Joel as well as Denbo’s Decatur facility. Being featured in such a prestigious magazine gave the company—as well as the scrap industry in general—international exposure.
Beating the Consolidation Craze
At the time the Smithsonian article appeared, the scrap industry was entering a period of major consolidation. Large publicly traded companies began acquiring other scrap firms at a frantic pace, sometimes paying exorbitant sums for the assets. This “feeding frenzy” presented potential opportunities—as well as concerns—to privately held entities like Denbo Iron & Metal.
“We were asked to sell,” Morley says, “and we were very close to going through with it.” In the end, though, the Denbos and their relatives in the scrap industry decided in 2000 to join together, merging their various operations in Alabama and Tennessee into a unified group under the name Tennessee Valley Recycling L.L.C.
Today, Morley, Joel, and four other relatives head a series of companies that make up Tennessee Valley Recycling, with Morley and brother-in-law Ted Lipman serving as cochairmen of the company.
While this consolidation was a significant change for the Denbo family, it was only one of many major changes Morley has seen in his 56 years in the scrap business.
Perhaps the biggest change, he notes, has been the industrialization of the South. When Denbo entered the business, the Southern industrial base and, hence, its scrap scene were small and rural.
Then “the industrial revolution started taking place in our region,” he says. “The South has been internationalized. Today, there are automotive manufacturers, steel processors, even steel mills in the South. Also, the sources of scrap have changed, and more scrap is available in the South.”
As with other scrap operators, Southern recyclers have had to adjust to the ever-changing government rules in the areas of environment, safety, and—most recently—transportation, Denbo notes.
Specifically, the new federal cargo-securement rules place new burdens on scrap shippers to make sure no pieces of scrap can fall onto the highway during transport. As a result, scrap recyclers must buy new equipment or retrofit existing equipment to meet the new rules. This could mean “huge investments not only in the South but nationwide,” Denbo says.
In the future, Denbo sees “an increased demand for scrap and even a possible shortfall of supply due to an overall downsizing of the U.S. manufacturing industry.” In particular, he believes that as the automotive industry recovers, the demand for scrap will grow proportionately. As for price, Denbo says “there’s always fluidity in price, which finds its proper level based on supply and demand.”
Telling Stories
Over his career, Morley Denbo has achieved celebrity as a teller of stories and anecdotes that have been widely repeated, but never with the same infectious Southern accent.
Once, he recounts, Denbo Iron & Metal purchased some sealed and supposedly empty missile containers from a U.S. arsenal. “When we opened them,” Morley says, “we found they contained nose cones and electronic brains, all of which was worth millions of dollars. We called the arsenal, which suddenly became very anxious to get the stuff back.” Ever the strong negotiator, Denbo insisted “not only on getting the money we paid, but also to be paid for all the expenses involved in the transaction—in cash since we had paid for the material in cash. Well, they paid us—with hundred dollar bills.” Adding to the flavor of the story, he notes, “the media had got wind of this, and there were lots of cameras to photograph the occasion.”
Another memorable tale goes like this: An automotive manufacturer called Denbo one day, explaining that he had 25 brand-new sports cars that had been exposed to flooding and had retained water in their floorboards. He asked if Denbo Iron & Metal could shred them for him to prevent them from being sold and posing liability concerns for the automaker. After the batteries had been removed, the scrap company proceeded with shredding the new vehicles. “What a scene that was,” Morley says. “It brought the whole yard to a standstill. Our workmen were weeping real tears as they scrapped those beautiful new sports cars.”
Denbo could tell scores of other stories, of course, but he also likes to talk about his family, giving great credit to his wife, Ann Shirley Denbo, whom he married in 1985 after his first wife, Barbara, died. In addition, Denbo can’t resist talking about his three children—two daughters and one son—as well as his five grandchildren who range in age from 17 to 29. One daughter, Leslie Perlman, lives in San Ramon, Calif., while his other daughter, Melissa Davis, lives in Nashville, Tenn. Son Joel lives in Decatur and supervises the company’s operations while also serving as chair-elect of ISRI. Morley notes proudly that he will be in the front row at ISRI’s annual convention in Las Vegas in April to cheer Joel on when he becomes ISRI’s national chair.
Obviously, even at 76, Morley Denbo doesn’t believe in slowing down. He remains active in Tennessee Valley Recycling, serving as the principal financial officer who represents the company to banks. Though he admits that he doesn’t work “nine or 10 hours a day,” he is always thinking about the business, he says, and others frequently come to him for guidance and advice.
Looking back on his success in the scrap business, Denbo is quick to give credit to others, especially his firm’s work force. “My employees helped make me what I am today,” he says. “I was devoted to them, I think I treated them fairly, and as a result I still have with me several who have been with the company over 50 years.”
He also says he owes a great debt to three influential figures in his life—his father Isaac, who taught him the real values in life; his father-in-law Morris Palkes, who taught him a good deal of the scrap business; and his uncle Benjamin Denbo, who sold him the business “on credit,” as it were.
Equally important, Denbo mentions a number of industry mentors to whom he is eternally grateful, including Richard and David Reynolds, Sam Abbott, Basil Horsefield, and William Stark, all of Reynolds Metals Co.; Jerry Solomon, then with U.S. Reduction Co.; and Harry Marley of Marley’s Division of Abe Cooper-Syracuse Inc. “These men helped me when I was starting out and trying to find my way in this business,” Denbo recalls. “I’ll never forget them.”
He also has only positive things to say about the scrap industry’s trade associations, including the Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel (ISIS), the National Association of Recycling Industries (NARI), and ISRI. Denbo Iron & Metal became an ISIS member in its first year—1951—and it has remained a supportive member of ISIS, NARI, and ReMA ever since. In his association service, Denbo rose through the ranks of ISIS’s Southeastern Chapter to serve as president in 1970-1972. He also worked on many association committees, including serving as chairman of the bylaws committee, chairman of the history and archives committee, and as a member of the merger committee (on the ISIS side) when ISIS and NARI combined to form ISRI. Overall, he states, “I gained more than I ever gave to those organizations.”
Aside from his association involvement, Denbo has established himself as a prominent citizen of Decatur, where he is a director of a bank as well as a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Elks, Kiwanis, American Legion, and
Fraternal Order of Eagles.
All along, his recipe for success in one’s personal, professional, and family life has been based on integrity. “You must have the bank’s confidence,” he explains. “You have to have a top-flight accountant, and you have to conduct yourself in a way that will be honest and ethical.” That helps explain why, when asked if he has a personal philosophy, Morley replies simply: “Live honorably, and the world will respect you.”
Si Wakesberg is New York bureau chief for Scrap.•
Morley Denbo is one of scrap’s living legends, renowned for his business smarts, association service, storytelling skills, and—above all—his integrity.