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A U T H O R S Kirstin Linnenkoper, Martijn Reintjes
Iker Negrete Neila (Spain)
Neila is a proud scrap trader at Metales
Unzueta, one of the biggest non-ferrous
recyclers in northern Spain and a good example of
a recycling company that anticipated China’s
import restrictions at an early stage. While exports
to China fell by 50%, Metales Unzueta invested
heavily in new equipment to improve sorting and
boost scrap quality. Brass scrap is a major focus
and the company handles more than 2 000 tonnes
of shell casings per year, sourced from hunters in
Spain and abroad or used in military exercises in
South America and the Middle East.
Marcos Fonseca (Brazil)
The second Brazilian in the Top 100,
Fonseca is commercial director at RFR
Recycling in Sao Paulo, one of the biggest metal
recyclers in Brazil, handling some 600 000 tonnes
of ferrous scrap per year. Fonseca used to export a
lot of scrap but now, with higher prices and strong
demand from local steel mills, most materials stay
in the country. Fonseca is constantly looking for
new business opportunities and is eager to learn
about tools and solutions for improving operations
at RFR’s yards.
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Doug Kramer (USA)
As with so many recyclers, the owner of
Los Angeles based Kramer Metals and
Spectrum Alloys has seen the impact of Covid
close up. ‘The world has shut down,’ the former
ISRI chair lamented to Recycling International at
the time but he has remained optimistic about the
future and Kramer Metals has proved to be resil-
ient. ‘Although the uncertainty of how long this will
take hurts, I believe we will be OK and our business
will survive this crisis.’ The company, as with the
entire scrap recycling industry across the US and
worldwide, was considered part of an essential sec-
tor.
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