Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon in 1991.  Since then, I’ve worked in Transportation, Management Consulting, Flat-Rolled Steel, Steel Pipe, and Copper, before stepping out on my own as an independent consultant.  I’ve worked on the mill floor, in strategic planning, supply chain, and purchasing. In Copper, I was responsible for procuring raw materials, which totaled 50,000 tpy of scrap metal.

Q2. How is demand for traceable, high-quality scrap metals evolving in the U.S., and what role do standards like ASTM and digital tracking play in pricing and quality assurance? 

In Copper and Carbon Steel, traceability is very limited.  Inspection, testing, and analytical chemistry take precedence.  Practices may vary for other industries and metals.  

ASTM standards come into play for laboratory testing of sampled scrap metal.  There is an ASTM guideline, but no standard for using handheld XRFs for Copper and Copper alloy scrap.  

There is also an ASTM guideline, but not a standard, for sampling granular copper wire scrap.

Some high-quality copper wire granulators have an in-house lab and provide certified chemistries for a premium price.  This level of quality assurance may become more common or more necessary as the population of source wire becomes polluted with Fire Refined material.

Q3. Which segments of the long and flat steel product supply chain are showing capacity constraints?

Tin Mill products, now that US-Posco and Weirton have disappeared.

Q4. How are steel and copper mills balancing cost pressures with decarbonization targets, especially around Scope 3 emissions tracking and scrap reuse strategies?

We never had decarbonization or other ESG targets other than practices that improved profitability anyway.  We always strove to eliminate delays and maximize throughput on our operating equipment.  Operating improvements naturally reduced energy consumption, especially in areas involving furnaces.  

We always reused as much of our home scrap as possible, and we monetized our byproducts whenever there was an improvement over landfill expenses.  We would have done this regardless of whether we had ESG targets.  But our conventional activities were not of interest to our customers who sent us Green questionnaires.

Q5. How are mid-sized mills and service centers adapting to rising demand? Can you give some examples?

I can’t speak to service centers, but the Brass Mill and Copper industries are either consolidating (Wieland, Prysmian), adding equipment (Wieland again, Revere, Ames, SDI, Encore), or onshoring (Tecnofil, Hailiang).

Q6. What are the biggest cost drivers in meeting Scope 3 targets?

Motivation to reduce emissions is driven by the desire to lower the energy cost per unit produced. That would be the costs of electricity and natural gas (and probably also labor), as well as the costs wasted due to production delays and suboptimal run rates.

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

• Why is the company for sale?
• What should we do to make the company more valuable than your asking price?
• What constraints and challenges do you have?
• What are your strategic niches, and how much of your business fits inside and outside of those niches?
• Are you paying your suppliers within terms?  If not, why not?
• What are your long-term contracts with suppliers?
• What are your energy costs and why?