Sustainability – The New Mother of Innovation

Welcome to 2012!

Writers commonly suffer from a condition which is often referred to as “writer’s block”. According to Wikipedia, this is a condition in which the author loses the ability to produce new work.

We find the same type of thing is often in play in business. A great number of companies can tend to get ‘blocked’ by continuing to employ many of the same formulas which have allowed them to prosper in the past. At their peril, they often fail to take into account that conditions around them are always in a constant state of change.

Recycling…Not the Oldest Profession, But Certainly Right Up There.

Recycling has been around for a quite a while. We know this because archeologists have discovered that in periods when resources were scarce they find less waste at archeological sites. In fact, researchers suggest that recycling may date back as far as 400 BC. They also suggest that the Romans were active in recycling. Plato is often cited as a strong advocate.

At some time in the last two thousand years, the clever local inhabitants of Venosa in Italy started recycling the marble from their demolished ancient monuments and using it for paving stones.

Many Kinds of Recycling

Space – The Final Frontier For Scrap Metal Recycling

Not content with all of the environmental concerns we have on earth, we are now required to also focus our attention on all that scrap metal that is floating above us in outer space. Lately we have seen an increasing number of articles in the news alerting us to things falling from the sky and trying to predict precisely where and when they will land and what damage they might do.

We have been throwing stuff up into the atmosphere since 1950. Despite the vastness of space, the accumulation of spent rocket stages, broken satellites and other flotsam and jetsam tends to concentrate in a relatively small section, called Low Earth Orbits, located about 35,400 kilometers above the Earth.

Metal Theft –The Epidemic Grows

Our friend and associate Jim Murray of Onwords & Upwords, who has been working with us for a number of years helping us manage our communications, passed on an Associated Press Article this week  concerning a bronze sculpture which had been stolen from the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa and destroyed for its scrap value. This was not the first such incident and unfortunately, it likely won’t be the last.

Johannesburg gallery where bronze sculpture was stolen and harvested for scrap.

The Symbology of Metals – Where Art & Business Meet

Metals have had a long history of symbolic relationships. Most notably, the attachment of symbols to metals can be traced to the ancient science of alchemy. Among other things, alchemists were interested in turning base metals into gold and silver. Along the way, they created some very intriguing elemental alchemy symbolic codes. An engaging modern day interpretation was designed by the artist Murray Robertson and can be found at:

www.metalprices.com/introduction/symbols_large_with_artists_comments.htm

From his Glasgow Print Studio, Robertson has more recently been involved in the visualization of many aspects of scientific study.

A few of the many beautiful metal visualizations created by Murray Robertson

The Fine Art of Zigging When The World Is Zagging.

What is it about October that seems to bring out the worst in the financial landscape?

The volatility in the markets has continued in force this week. At the time we are writing this blog, the  price of metals has taken a significant beating, including copper which has fallen about 25% over the last three weeks alone. Additionally, the Canadian dollar has been driven down about 10% against the U.S. currency since its peak in July and the Toronto Stock Exchange, with its heavy exposure to commodities, has dropped about 20% as the “bears” have come roaring back. Forecasters around the globe are busy re-forecasting economic growth and other important indicators.

Back On The Blogging Track

Expansion Complete

As you may or may not have noticed, we have taken a brief blogging hiatus over the summer months as our attention was turned towards getting our new location in Oakville up and running. It is now fully operational and we are extremely pleased with the reception we have received from the public, the trades and industry in the community and surrounding municipalities.

As part of this process we also created a new home page for our web site which features, among other things, a price chart that will provide visitors with up to date rates on some of the more popular metals we purchase.
Click here to check it out.

We’re Proud To Be Adding Oakville To Our Community Based Business Model.

We’re very pleased to announce that we will be opening a new location in Oakville, Ontario later this month. This is an exciting project for us, as it will make it more convenient for all our Oakville based customers (individuals,  trades and industry) and, more importantly, it will strengthen our efforts to become a truly community-based service company.

Oakville is the ideal Canadian city, with a wonderful mix of old and new, a fabulous waterfront and a strong industrial and business base.

Oakville Is One Of Canada’s Most Desirable Cities.

In Scrap Metal Recycling, Looks Can Be Deceiving.

It May Look LIke A Duck and Quack LIke A Duck. But Is It Really A Duck?

There is an old maxim that says one should not judge a book by its cover. This has meaning in the scrap metal recycling industry as well. The outward appearance of metal can often fool you into thinking it is something that it is not. Here are some examples and some tips and tricks.

Take a close look at the picture below.

Copper or steel with a copper coating. Hard to tell, isn't it.

Scrap Metal Recycling. As Growing Industries Go, It’s Not Too Shabby.

Following the release of new data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) reported last month that the scrap recycling industry is a healthy one.

In the U.S. the industry grew 40 % between 2009 and 2010 adding about 10,000 jobs to an industry that now employs about 113,000 people. Revenues from 130 million metric tons of scrap metal, plastic, glass, textiles, rubber and electronics were more than $77 billion U.S as the industry provided raw material for consumers in the United States and more than 155 countries around the world. It contributed nearly $30 billion U.S. in export sales alone.