Solant,
I'll relate one guys experience....not mine, but I know quite a bit about it....
He started with buying copper and other non ferrous. No serious money behind him. Had a pickup and a trailer. Went to customers and bought their non ferrous. Provided regular service, picking up in outlying towns. Away from home a week at a time. Didn't spend a dime more than he had to on frills. Pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Bought a chunk of bare land well outside of a big city, built a steel building, about 60 x 100, mostly to protect his copper from theft.
Worked HARD on getting the best places to sell his material. Got overseas contacts. Got contacts with foundries. Also got to lead foundries, when they were still in North America. (for batteries) Stuffed his containers with a bobcat.
Worked HARD on service. Picked up regularly from industrial customers. Made sure he talked to everyone, and always networking to chase more potentials. He was pretty good that way and could easily talk to anyone at anytime.
Notice that I haven't mentioned equipment. He didn't need much with the building...a small forklift and some metal bins. A scale for bins. He initially started with a scale he packed on his pickup. I think he got a bit of a yard scale a one point...not a very big one, though.
The first "big" expense was a 500 ton baler. It was about 15 years into his buz. That made it 'way easy to get containers loaded to the max. weight. And a little easier to handle stuff in the yard.
He then branched into ferrous. That is where the bigger expenses come in, because you need a yard machine to handle the material. But you can get an attachment for an excavator to do the job. He bought a used stationary ferrous baler that allowed the light steel to be put into a form that could be trucked. It also demanded a full length (80') truck scale. And lugger trucks to pick up from clients.
Heavier ferrous was sheared up (excavator with a shear attachment) and moved elsewhere to load onto railcars. (Thats the one mistake he made in his early years--didn't buy land with a rail siding. But he wasn't thinking ferrous at the time.) Railcars are funny--it is hard to get to load limit with scrap that isn't cut up pretty fine. I think that's were shredding comes into its own...you can load a railcar to within an ounce of load limit.
He also stuffs shipping containers with ferrous with a container loader...a machine that takes the material from the top side, so it is easy to load with a machine, and once its built in scale shows it has the maximum container weight, it pushes the whole mess into the container. Makes it quick to load a container, but it can be done with a bobcat and a grapple.
So what I'm trying to tell you is that YOU COULD consider working into the business by starting small. Just like many of the successful ones on this forum have done. Build yourself up by sweat equity and networking and providing clients a stellar service.
As you gain clients and volume, your internal processing needs will become obvious to you. Don't jump into the capital equipment without a need for it. You can always handle volume with extra bodies until it is crystal clear that you need that gazillion dollar machine. Then maybe just lease a machine until it is further clear that the machine is paying for itself. Then buy it. Don't commit until you are sure that next step you are taking is a solid one and won't be onto thin ice!!
You need to keep an eye out for environmental concerns, too. For example, your political jurisdiction may dictate things about runoff water. Don't fool yourself--there are all sorts of bad materials that you will accidentally release. You need to catch that stuff and not just trample it into the mud under your machines wheels. But thats where starting small will help you. Keep your stuff under roof if you can. Not to be something to run away screaming from. Just be aware of what is required and meet that requirement.
And use these SMF contacts you have to the fullest! We have guys here who know where to sell, how to buy, how to approach clients, how to sell overseas, you name it. Some might be not so willing to part with their hard won learning, but I think most are pretty approachable. I'm sure some would be willing to meet you face to face over dinner and answer questions. Your first quest is knowledge. SMF is it.
Hope these comments help!! Good luck and keep us posted on your learnings!! As they say, it didn't happen if there ain't photos!
Jon.
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