Key to success is knowing what to focus on, according to Jeff Thompson, vice president of production for Wood Recycle and Compost Center, Wichita, Kan., who notes he concentrates on people and equipment. Despite the maturing processing market, Land Recovery Inc., Seattle, continues to plan for growth. The company started with a landfill in 1977 and its composting operation started in 1988, says Jeff Gage, director of recycling services. E-business logged on in the scrap industry with a flurry last week, as four new sites for commodity trading debuted at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries convention. Two of the scrap industry s biggest players, Metal Management Inc. and Phillip Services Corp., announced an agreement in principle with MetalSite to form Scrap-Site.
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Transactions can be negotiated or done through an auction. Doing business online reduces costs by cutting steps, said Patrick B. Stewart, president and CEO of MetalSite. ScrapSite will charge sellers a transaction fee of .25 percent to 2 percent, depending on the nature of the deal. Inc. s approach is to emphasize vertical integration. We believe the success of an e-commerce site is being involved with as many levels of the supply chain as possible, said Allen Kestenbaum, president and CEO of the New York based firm.