A US guy in China working for a EU scrap yard!

Hello all and good to find the forum!

I am US citizen who is the general manager at a EU scrap yard here in China. It looks like most of the posters here are US based and that's great because I am interested to know a bit more about US scrap. We work primarily with EU scrap (copper, aluminum, and a variety of other mixed metals) and I know US specs on motors, copper content, and import / export restrictions to China can be much different than the EU.

Hoping to meet some good folk and have some interesting conversations about the industry. If anyone else is in Asia or interested in the market here, please drop me a private message and I would love to be in touch.

Take care,

USGUYINCN

Cool man :) What part of US? What part of China? Welcome to SMF! Does China buy lots of its scrap from EU?

Welcome and we do have quite a few scrappers from across the pond, and a few from China.

Welcome to the forum. How busy is the scrapping scene in china?

welcome. you might be able to shed some light to us also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bear

Cool man :) What part of US? What part of China? Welcome to SMF! Does China buy lots of its scrap from EU?

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yeah what part of the US ? and of course welcome to the show!!

china buys scrap from US also.

He must have already got censored , might even be on death row by now :( maybe next time he'll be more careful about using "copper" and "export" in the same sentence, specially when texting from China ; ) Seems they're keeping all they can grab of it over "yonder" (not sure what they could possibly be planning to use it all for though, and maybe they're afraid of germany finding out about it too)

Hi all. Sorry for the late reply, but life is pretty hectic here.

To answer everyones questions / comments:

1) Originally from the mid-west, but I have been living here in China or Asia for a very long time so I think I call this place home now.
2) Yes, China buys a good deal of scrap from abroad. Both the EU and US of A. Also Japan tends to be a pretty decent supplier.
3) @Bear - Haha... It can be bad here, but not that bad! Lots of good theories why China is looking at foreign scrap, but all in all, it's a business just like in the States.

I am not a very experienced poster or anything so forgive me if I put things in the wrong categories.

@mechanic688 -> If you know any of the EU or Chinese scrappers on here and want to pass them my info, feel free.

Alright... back to the yard!

Welcome to the forum. We're glad to have you. When you get the chance tell us more about yourself. It's not everyday we come across an American in Asia, working in our industry. What brought you there? What keeps you there? Do you have the same work experience working in the u.s? How do I become an international scrapper?

@scrapcrazy

Thanks for the interest, but story is not so interesting. No previous scrap experience in the US, that's why I am curious about the quality / differences of US and EU scrap (particularly in motors). I came to Asia many many years ago looking for a change and it is... a change! I stay here because of my lovely wife (Chinese) and son who was born here. I also speak fairly fluent Mandarin Chinese so it helps a lot in communicating with guys in the yard, managers, etc.

How do you become an international scrapper? Haha... offer good quality material, consistant volumes, and cheap prices and you will find that people from all over the world will want to buy ;-)

Just a question for the people on the forum. Are most members small / part-time scrappers or do you work in, operate, or own a yard? I'm curious about the type of volumes that people are working with here. We work with anywhere from 75-150 containers (1650 - 3300 tons) a month, but are working on getting our efficiency up so we can handle more.

Thanks in advance and feel free to ask anything about China scrap or just about living and working here.

"Are most members small / part-time scrappers or do you work in, operate, or own a yard? I'm curious about the type of volumes that people are working with here"

Hi USG :) I believe you'll find most every size and type here. Me, I'm just a small timer, started cleaning up around the on farm and then picked up a few side jobs. There's others who have their own yards/businesses etc., and some who just pass through

Hello, We even have one guy here (Pistone) that has a burning crew and probably cuts up as much scrap as you bring in a month. Got a few big yards and some small yards and full timers and quite a few part-timers. Some like me kind of specialize in escrap because of not having a truck yet.

Hey USGUY! Like bear said, you'll find all the players here on this forum from the everyday aluminum can collector, full and part time scrappers, precious metal buyers, to owners of scrap yards and recycling companies. It's a great mix. Definitely an excellent source of information. Personally I specialize in Electronic waste specifically on computer and server components. I do this part time, during the day I work in the Environmental industry. I stay pretty busy with the scrapping because fortunately it has been well worth my effort. The key to my success I believe is having a constant supply of scrap and an inexpensive means to transport my material to my buyer who treats me fairly. I have a load delivering to my buyer in two days which consists of 8 cubic yard boxes and a few 55 gallon drums. Total weight 4900 lbs. May not sound like a lot to a guy like you running a huge yard but for a guy working out of his garage and a storage unit it's rather lucrative for 3 months of part time work considering the 4900 pounds is all broken down computer parts.
I hope to hear many stories of your life and business in Asia. I guessed a woman had something to do with your choice to live there for a good while. Woman have that power. Good luck to you and your family!

Welcome from York Region Canada

Hi USGUY!

Thanks for sharing your insights. I'm planning to buy scrap metal in U.S./Canada and ship it to Southeast Asia. I was wondering if you can share shipping rates (even ballpark figures) for containers being shipped from Europe to China?