Born Scrappy

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode I chat to Jessica Alexanderson, known to many in the industry as “Scuba Jess”. Jess started out in shipping with Evergreen, where she was responsible for helping scrappies ship their recycled metal around the world. In her free time, Jess cleans up the ocean on her diving expeditions. Jess has always been passionate about the environment and when the opportu...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode I chat to Tyler Adams, COO of SA Recycling. Tyler was born scrappy and has emerged into one of the most forward-thinking leaders in our industry today. He started boots on the ground, degree in hand, and was given permission to fail. The way he thinks about leadership, culture, finance, and operations is steeped in intergenerational wisdom, deep personal exp...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode, I chatted to Brian Shine (CEO at Manitoba Corporation), Sam Desai (VP at RM Metals) and international trade attorney Camelia Mazard (Partner at Doyle, Barlow & Mazard). This episode was recorded at the recent ReMA Joint New Jersey, Mid-Atlantic, & New York Chapter Atlantic City Meeting. It was my first time attending their chapter event, and it defi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Atilla Widnell, Founder & Managing Director of Navigate Commodities. Navigate Commodities monitors commodity supply chains in real time through the use of satellites. They monitor production at steel mills and analyse metal flow in specific regions. We discuss the latest developments in the steel industry, particularly focusing on China's recent...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Dr. Salam Sharif, the Chairman of Sharif Metals Group, one of the largest scrap metal exporters in the Middle East. Dr. Sharif is the former Chairman of BIR, the Founding President of the BIR, and the Director of Advocacy for the Dubai Recycling Business Group at the Dubai Chambers. He's a civil and metallurgical engineer, with an executive MBA and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Brian Shine, CEO of Manitoba Corporation, Chairman of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) and a former Chairman of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA). With all the turbulence around tariffs, this is a point in time conversation where we explore how the latest US and retaliatory tariffs are impacting metal recyclers and consumer...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Andy Cohen, Vice President of Raw Material Purchasing and Sales at Metal Conversions. More importantly for this episode, Andy is Event Chair for REMA's The Show 2025 taking place this May in San Diego. Andy has been in the scrap metal industry for nearly two decades and has attended countless ReMA events and held various different roles as part of R...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Amy Hinton, North American Scrap Editor for Fastmarkets. She has her finger on the pulse when it comes to price reporting and has become a familiar face in the industry. Amy has a background in both financial services and journalism, and holds a Masters degree from University of Bath. In today's episode, we talk about: 👉 The impact of new tariffs...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I chat to Zohra Shroff, Director of Operations at Sealink International. Zohra has been in the freight game for 20 years and let's just say she knows a thing or two! In today's episode, we talk about: 👉  Strategies to reduce shipping costs   👉 Freight forwarders vs going direct  👉 Common shipping mistakes 👉 Freight outlook for 2025 👉 And much more! L...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Jonathan Ross, Vice President at John Ross & Sons, a large metal recycler in Eastern Canada. The company has 14 yards, including a large auto shredding operation, and a very impressive cable granulation plant.  Jonathan is a fourth generation metal recycler, and by the sounds of it, there'll be a lot more generations running this company in the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Adam Schaffer, AVP of International Trade and Global Affairs at the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA). He has over 15 years of experience in trade policy, government relations, and international affairs, with a focus on the metal and recycling industries, including as Director of Trade and Economic Policy at the American Iron and Steel Institute. He...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat to Kristen Hildreth, AVP of Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships at ReMA. Drawing on her extensive policy expertise from the National Conference of State Legislatures, Kristen provides a front-row perspective on the expected impact of the newly elected Trump administration on the metal recycling industry.  This is a two-part series, with the focu...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I chat with Dave Klein, Senior Vice President of Nonferrous Marketing and Trading at Alter Trading, one of the largest privately owned metal recyclers in the US with over 75 locations across the country. He has spent the better part of three decades in the metal recycling industry, and has years of hard-won wisdom from his experience. In today's episo...

Send us Fan Mail In today's maintenance masterclass, I chat with Justin Trentadue. Justin is Vice President of Operations at Coastal Waste and Recycling in Florida, but more related to this special episode, he's also the founder of Uptime PM, an innovative tech solution for vehicle and plant maintenance management. Justin is a problem solver and is currently solving a problem he has expe...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I chat with Abhijay Goenka. He is the Vice President of Steelbro International, the Co-Chair of ReMA's Young Executives Council and is on the Young Traders Committee at the BIR. Abhijay has an MBA from Wharton and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting from NYU Stern. He is the perfect example of the very impressive next generation com...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I chat with Andy Golding. He is the friendliest face at every conference you'll attend, and he also knows a thing or two about metal recycling! He was the VP of Sales and Marketing at Kripke Enterprises for 16 years, and is now their Chief Strategy Officer. He's also the incoming chairman of ReMA. In today's episode, we talk about: 👉  What...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I chat with Marc Schupan, the CEO of Schupan & Sons. The business was started in 1968 and it has remained a family business all this time and now employs over 600  people. Marc has spent 50 years in the metal recycling industry and has been recognised in the industry and beyond for his extraordinary achievements. He was shortlisted as a national fi...

Send us Fan Mail Born Scrappy x Mike’s Mic. Live from Scrap Expo 2024. With special guest Seth Alter. In this special episode, which was recorded live at Scrap Expo, we bring you the first ever collaboration between Born Scrappy and Mike's Mic. Michael Goldstein and I got to talk about all things metal recycling. We also had the pleasure of being joined on the stage for some of the show by ou...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I'm joined by Nidhi Turakhia. Nidhi is the CEO and Partner at Allied Alloys and the Vice President at Titan Metals Corporation. She has an MBA, a double bachelor's degree in Economics and Spanish, a real estate certificate,  and a yoga teaching certificate. There's not much Nidhi can't do!   In today's episode, we talk about: 👉  W...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I'm joined by Joel Fogel, Executive Vice President at Cohen Recycling. Cohen has been around for more than 100 years and is a fourth generation metal recycling business. Although Joel wasn't there from when it started in 1924, he's been there for almost a third of its time and was definitely born scrappy! In today's episode, we talk abo...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I’m joined by Sandy Brooks. Sandy is Vice President of Finance at SA Recycling, the largest privately owned metal recycler in the US. Sandy has been an integral part of SA's growth, from 17 to over 140 recycling facilities. Sandy started her career at Ernst Young, was CFO of four companies, had her own accounting and tax practice, and wrote a tax guid...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I’m joined by Cliff Nance. Owner and CEO of Tungco Inc. Companies. Not only is Tungco Inc a global leader in the tungsten recycling industry. They have a world-class culture and are customer-obsessed. It's no secret that Cliff likes to work hard and play hard. He even has his own gastropub, The Crowded House 🍻 And he plays the guitar and drums too! I...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I’m joined by Beatriz Landa. As the VP of Metal Procurement and Recycling for Novelis North America, she holds one of the most influential roles in recycled aluminium. Not only is she a big player in our industry, she also has an MBA and played professional soccer. She's an all round overachiever! In today’s episode we talk about: 👉 Planned growth &a...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I’m joined by David Dodds. David is the owner operator and CEO at Sackers. Sackers is a UK based metal recycler operating a shredder as well as a copper granulation plant. He was born scrappy and has decades of experience under his belt. In today’s episode we talk about: 👉 Making money on the buy 👉 Avoiding the blame game 👉 When pricing matters 👉 Model...

Send us Fan Mail Hi! I'm Stu Kagan, welcome to Born Scrappy. My goal is to spark more industry collaboration through sharing the experiences and learnings of industry greats through my podcast. So if you are a scrap metal exporter and you're ready to up your game by standing on the shoulders of giants - this one's for you! SEASON 2 | EPISODE 19 FEATURING GUEST ALDO JORDAN In today&a...