Page 43 from: March 2008

Recycling International • March 2008 43

C O M P A N Y P R O F I L E

For more information:
AMG Resources Corp.

Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA

Phone: +1 412-777-7300
Fax: +1 412-331-0972

E-mail:
[email protected]

www.amgresources.com

they going to import slabs and can they be competi-
tive? If they do bring in slabs, where will our scrap
be consumed? We know it’s going to be in China and
Turkey, but where else will it go and how will we
get our scrap to those locations if the dynamics of
the steel business change?’

He adds: ‘I’m amazed that the current climate in
the scrap industry has existed for as long as it has,
and I don’t understand it to a degree. The ride was
good, but I’m not overly optimistic and we don’t plan
on an optimistic basis. I think we’re in for a correc-
tion. What is happening now that hasn’t happened
before is the violent swings in the market.
Percentage-wise they may be similar to the past,
but we work on dollar margins, not percentage mar-
gins. When you have these US$ 50 to US$ 70
swings, they far outpace your profit in those swings,
so you have to be careful. It’s a very intense busi-
ness to manage right now, very intense.’

He also believes that ‘more and more, the scrap
industry is changing from a US business to an
international business’. And he acknowledges:
‘Export is a growing part and will be a growing part
of our business.’

Tremendous people

Looking at AMG’s growth and success, Mr
Goldstein credits his people. ‘We have tremendous
people,’ he states. ‘They are self-motivated, we give
them a lot of discretion and they operate their own
business segments. There is a lot of back and forth
with our people. We have what I call “spheres of
authority overlap” so they co-ordinate with each
other. I’m a cheerleader. I don’t manage the com-
pany on a day-to-day basis. I have extraordinary
people who run the business.’

He sees ‘getting good people’ as a major challenge
for the scrap industry. ‘Since we don’t have many
young people coming in looking for positions, we’re
training people now, something we’ve never done
before,’ he explains. ‘Before we hire anyone, we ask
them to spend some time in one of our scrap yards. I
always say “unless you like working with this mate-
rial in this operation with this dirt and equipment
and these people and actually enjoy it and go to
sleep at night and can’t wait to come back the next
day and are looking forward to it, don’t get involved
in our business because you won’t do well”.’

Mr Goldstein has another business philosophy.
‘We look at the performance of the whole company,
not the individual segments in terms of how our
people do. Why? Because we are one ship. If the
ship floats and does well, we’re all going to do well.
If the ship is not doing well, there are no lifeboats,
and don’t tell me about your division. That’s not the
way it goes. The whole company bottom line has to
do well. This approach works – it emphasises that
we are one organisation.’

Asked about the next generation of leadership for
AMG, Mr Goldstein says: ‘My son Eric is in the
business, but I consider AMG a private business,
not a family business. There is a difference as our
senior people also have interests in the company. I
enjoy what I’m doing and we have a good group of
people who are younger than me who will take over.
Who will they be? I don’t know but I have no con-
cern about that. I can’t begin to tell you how blessed
I am with the quality of our people.’

He concludes: ‘We are a people business.
Equipment can be replaced, but good people are
hard to find. Our people are our balance sheet and
they are doing a magnificent job.’

Tinplate waiting to be detinned at AMG’s
Llanelli, Wales plant.

Detinned bundles are loaded into railcars at AMG’s
Baltimore facility for shipment to the end consumer.

Used cans are stored at AMG’s Llanelli plant in Wales
after being shredded.

Aluminium processed at AMG’s Llanelli plant in Wales
is loaded for shipment to the end consumer.

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