TRADER
65recyclinginternational.com | March/April | 2023
‘Worst hotel experience?
Bucharest’
Recycling International regularly spotlights individual scrap traders from all around the globe. Here
we give the floor to Mikhail Chergeshtov.
THE COMPANY
‘Alucon is a non-ferrous trading company with its head
office in Limassol, Cyprus. Our office consists of a team
of seven people. Additionally, we have a network of rep-
resentatives in South Africa, China and Japan.
Alucon’s suppliers of secondary aluminium alloys are in
Italy, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, India, UAE
as well as Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Our buyers
are mainly companies in Japan, China, Indonesia and
Thailand.
Aluminium is the core trading product of our business.
We also trade copper, and in the past couple of years
we’ve developed a growing division in e-scrap. Currently
2 000 tonnes per year, mainly sourced from Europe but
also the Gulf region. Their huge population and emerg-
ing electronic consumer base make them a promising
e-scrap supplying market. Even though it’s a small mar-
ket, we’re also active locally in Cyprus by participating in
various tenders for scrap electronic telecom equipment
such as modems and routers.’
THE MARKET
‘There is uncertainty caused by Covid-19 issue, the war,
and the lack of crucial parts like semi-conductor and
chips. Eventually this all causes huge confusion among
both suppliers and buyers. Generally, there is less
demand. Buyers and smelters in Japan are waiting until
they see a clearer picture.’
FREQUENT FLYER
‘Business trips are normally once or twice a month.
Armenia, Georgia, Dubai and France are among the fre-
quent destinations. My next trips are to Cameroon,
Nigeria and Dubai. I’m also planning trips to Beijing,
Shanghai and Ningbo to visit aluminium and copper end
users.’
FAVOURITE HOTEL – AND WORST
‘On vacation in Oman my girlfriend and I stayed at The
Chedi Muscat. Such an idyllic place. Stylish luxury, very
calm, no stress, fantastic food and, above all, their ser-
vice goes way beyond what they should do.
As for business trips, being a relative newcomer in the
metals trade I’m still exploring. Obviously, when travel-
ling for work, what you need is a safe and clean place to
stay and a good bed to sleep. My worst experience was
in Bucharest. A wonderful city where I spent one night in
a very shabby hotel. Noisy and dirty. An old bed, used
towels and, when I woke up the next morning, the floor
of my room was flooded with water. I found out that I
was one of very few guests – no surprise. To summarise: a
nightmare rather than a good night’s sleep.’
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MY JOB
‘After my masters study at Moscow State University, I
had several commercial positions: at an e-commerce
business and media agency and I also ran my own busi-
ness in restaurant outsourcing. In 2019 I got involved in
the metals trade which I really love. I have the opportuni-
ty to gain experience from very professional colleagues
who have been in the industry for many years. I can also
travel and meet people and cultures from all over the
world. At the same time travelling these days for me can
get complicated because of visa issues.’
64-65_trader.indd 65 15-03-2023 11:48
