For immediate release –April 2008
Written and published by Mike Gibson and Ron Sturgeon, autosalvageconsultant.com, email to mikeg@autosalvageconsultant.com. To register for future free issues, visit http://www.autosalvageconsultant.com. Don’t forget to watch for our management articles monthly in Recyclers Power Source Magazine, or posted at our web site.
This Month’s News
Why was man trapped in salvage yard overnight? By Patrick Center, WAYLAND, Mich. (WOODTV.COM) – A 56-year-old diabetic was trapped in a salvage yard overnight, but what really happened? And why didn’t he leave before closing time? Mike Folk was trapped at LKQ Salvage Yard in Wayland after they closed Monday night. “I just kept hollering, ‘Get me out of here.’ That’s all I said. I kept saying it.” The sun set, the temperatures dipped into the 20s, his sugar levels plummeted, and suffering from congestive heart failure, Folk said, “I was getting worried because I was shaking so bad.” Folk went to the salvage yard around 4:30 p.m. Monday looking for a 1995 Chevy Cavalier side view mirror. But he said he didn’t hear the closing announcement at 6 p.m.
LKQ faxed 24 Hour News 8 a statement explaining how closing time announcements begin over the loudspeaker at 5:10 p.m., followed by a manager walking the grounds. Folk said, “They would have saw me if they walked around, because I was in the Cavalier part.” He was locked in, and couldn’t get out. But LKQ wants to know why he was on their property, why he failed to hear the loudspeaker, and why, at 3 a.m., their alarm system was tripped, with Folk discovered inside. The company said they never got Folk’s name, and he admits he took off after he was discovered. He dashed to his car, he said, to get his insulin and to get warm. LKQ is taking the matter seriously and will continue to investigate. But Folk said, “They gave me the mirror, which I thought was kind of nice of them because I was mad.”
Major Averages Lose Early Gains As Oil Hits High, Apr. 10, 2008 (Investor’s Business Daily delivered by Newstex) LKQ Corp. (LKQX) fell 0.76 to 20.03, piercing its 50-day moving average. Shares have slid since a bearish reversal on March 24, and are now 13% below a 23.12 buy point 18om a cup-with-handle pattern.
Junk is worth a fortune, Parts dealer hitches his wagon to scrap sales, By RICK MINTER, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 5, 2008 The high price of scrap steel has many small- and medium-size auto salvage yards scrambling for cars and having to compete with entrepreneurs who haul old cars straight to the scrap metal dealer, where they’re paid close to a dime a pound for whole cars. Even the larger dealers are finding themselves paying more for wrecked cars because of their scrap value. Oliver Gentry capitalized on the high price of scrap metal, setting up a set of scales at his used auto and truck parts business in Newnan. Oliver and Beth Gentry, who own Gentry’s Used Auto and Truck Parts in Newnan, have decided that if they can’t beat the scrap folks they’ll join them. The Gentrys have installed scales and a car crusher on their yard and now buy and sell scrap metal in addition to car parts. On a recent weekday, a steady stream of trucks lined up at the scales, unloading old cars, trucks and various metal objects. Some the Gentrys will crush and sell to be recycled into new steel; others they’ll set aside and strip the usable parts from before crushing the rest. “It looks like we got into this at the right time,” Oliver Gentry said as he surveyed the line of trucks waiting to unload. His parts business is strong too. Like many modern salvage yards, his inventory records are on a computer, and he can tell customers immediately if he has the parts they need. Gentry, like many other salvage yard owners, finds that in tough economic times, the used parts business remains strong. “There are a lot of people out there still driving ’80s and ’90s model cars,” he said. Mike Bell, owner of M&A Auto Parts in Fayetteville and vice president of the Georgia Automotive Recyclers Association, agrees that the used auto parts business weathers a sluggish economy better than most. “More people, with the state the economy is in, are going to fix their car as opposed to buying a new one,” he said. “In that aspect, it helps the business as long as you have a good reputation and stand behind your products. “But we’re losing money in other ways.” Bell said one noticeable difference is that restorers aren’t buying as many parts to build hot rods. And, with the large number of cars being crushed, the supply of original parts for older cars is forever shrinking. The Gentrys, like many smaller yards, try to serve the old-car enthusiast. Although most of his cars are ’80s models or newer, the hill behind their main building is lined with ’50s and ’60s era vehicles. Although many of them would bring good money for steel, he’s reluctant to crush them. Instead he waits as long as possible, hoping some restorer will be able to use the parts. “It bothers me to see some of the stuff I see coming in as scrap,” he said. “Sometimes it seems like I set more aside than I sell.” But at some point, reality usually sets in and he calls for the crusher. “I hate to do it, but at some point you have to look at them for what they’re worth,” he said. Gentry, known to many in the metro area for his winning ways as a driver on the local dirt tracks, seems to have finally realized his true professional calling. “Ever since I was 11 years old I’ve wanted to be in the auto parts business,” he said. At that time his father, Sonny Gentry, had a Dodge dealership in Newnan. Thinking ahead, he bought the 20-acre site where his son’s salvage yard now sits. Later, father and son were in the tire business. But on Jan. 1, 2001, they closed the tire store and went into the parts business. “We started out with 30 cars that we bought near Bowdon,” Gentry said. With the help of his wife, father and father-in-law, he hauled in the cars one by one, lined them up and hung out his shingle. “Business has been good since the day we opened,” he said. “And I know I’ve still got a lot to learn.” Now there are between 750 and 1,100 cars on the lot at any one time, and there’s the thriving scrap enterprise too. Beth Gentry, who once operated a travel agency, now works alongside her husband in the salvage business and seems as pleased as can be about the way things have worked out. “Never in a million years would we have dreamed it would grow this fast,” she said. “We both come from family businesses that treated people like we want to be treated, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
Electric fence detains firefighters by RoNeisha Mullen, The Flint Journal, Tuesday April 01, 2008 Fire crews were called to Auto Salvage Auction, 5000 N. State Road, about 10:20 p.m. Monday on a report that five cars were on fire. Firefighters had to wait until the owner of the facility showed up to unlock an electrical fence surrounding the property. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains unknown, said Officer Melissa Galloway.
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AutoSalvageconsultant.com was formed in 2001 to help recyclers improve their businesses. With over 50 years of experience in 3 staff members, the group is THE definitive source for recyclers’ management and training needs. Mike Gibson and Tammy Sturgeon joined the team in 2003, and bring a wealth of experience to the team, plus more resources, as there have been more requests for help than Ron could meet. The founder, Ron Sturgeon is past owner of AAA Small Car World. In 1999, he sold his six Texas locations, with 140 employees, to Greenleaf. In 2001, he founded North Texas Insurance Auction, which he sold to Copart in 2002. In 2002, his book “Salvaging Millions” was published to help small business owners achieve significant success, and was recently reprinted and published in Chinese. In June 2003, he joined the new ownership and management team of GreenLeaf. He also manages his real estate holdings and investments. You can learn more about how to help your business at www.autosalvageconsultant.com. Mike can be reached at 628 SW Rand Drive, Burleson, TX 76028, (preferably) mikeg@autosalvageconsultant.com, or 817-925-8430.
