Shredding operations in full swing at Ben Weitsman’s New Castle facility

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): The shredding operations at Ben Weitsman of New Castle which had opened its doors on May 7, 2016, are reportedly in full swing. The company had earlier stated that the facility will turn to full capacity within 60 days from the date of opening.

Earlier in August 2014, CEO Adam Weitsman had stated his intention of opening a second shredder facility apart from the one at the company’s flagship location in Owego, New York. He had stated that the new facility would pose serious challenges to existing scrap metal yards in the region.

The opening of the facility caused severe implications, with all major scrap yards in the region being impacted. It led to idling of operations at the Icahn Enterprises’ Beaver Hills, Pennsylvania plant. Also, Cranford, New Jersey-based Metalico was forced to sell its Neville Island plant to a Chinese investor. In fact, Weitsman had submitted a written proposal to Metalico stating his willingness to acquire the outstanding shares of the company at a huge premium to market price, but the offer was rejected by Metalico. Weitsman had earlier acquired 12% stake in the company.

Upstate Shredding-Weitsman Recycling had paid $2.2 million to purchase the former Ferrotech site at 526 S. Jefferson St. in a bankruptcy auction in December 2012. It undertook heavy demolition to take down the huge buildings that had occupied the site.

The construction works at the facility faced unexpected delay on account of bad winter weather conditions during that year. Interestingly, the company discovered piles of iron underground while digging the foundation. The recovered iron totaled nearly 6,000 tons, which were sold for cash. As per estimates, Weitsman Recycling nearly covered the cost of land purchase through sale of these iron.

Weitsman invested another $22 million in refurbishment activities including installation of new state-of-the-art scrap processing equipment on the site. The entire yard was fully paved and landscaped. The facility currently owns a 3,000 hp Wendt shredder machine capable of grinding junk cars, appliances and other objects. The yard’s customers include Nucor-the largest US-based steel maker and a whole lot of scrap wholesalers and steel mills. The New Castle facility has already secured nearly 30 jobs. The number of jobs is expected to rise further to 45 as the facility becomes fully operational.

Despite the fact that global scrap metal industry had been going through a period of tough times, Upstate Shredding has managed to report a period of aggressive growth and expansion during 2015 and early 2016. The company was recently selected as the ‘Scrap Company of the Year’ by American Metal Market (AMM) for the second consecutive year. It was also named the winner of the ‘Industry Leadership Award in the Scrap & Recycling’ by the business information company Platts as part of its Global Metals Awards program.

About Upstate Shredding-Weitsman Recycling

Upstate Shredding-Weitsman Recycling is the largest privately held scrap metal processor on the East Coast, operating 18 locations throughout New York and Pennsylvania. The company has a number of locations in northeastern United States, including two facilities in both Owego and Ithaca, as well as locations in Binghamton, Brant, Jamestown, Hornell, Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown, Albany and Allegany, New York; and Scranton and New Castle, Pennsylvania. It is one of the top recycling companies of the world. The company aims to process more than 1 million tons of ferrous and 300 million pounds of nonferrous metal in 2016.