With COVID being the predominant factor in all our lives over the past two years, and the uncertainty of whether it will come to an end anytime soon, Mike Swift, owner of Swift’s Trails End Auto Recycling, in Iowa, US, tells Auto Recycling World why it is more important than ever to get in touch with our fellow auto recyclers to share ideas to help keep business going strong.
2021 has come to an end. Do we have another year of the unknown ahead of us? Covid is a virus that rides a roller coaster, and with each variant, it seems like maybe, just maybe, we as a world might get this thing under control. It is not going away anytime soon, but it looks like we will be able to head this virus off at the pass.
At last year’s ARA convention, it was great to see auto recyclers face to face in Dallas, see old faces and meet new people that want to get a leg up on this great industry. ARA networking is the best. There is nothing like being with your own people that live what you live every day; it is an industry where ideas are told by others to be taken and used. A lot of us recyclers around the world have different information or tricks of the trade that they love to share and share we do.
Obviously, during the pandemic, it has been pretty challenging to meet up with other auto recyclers in-person to share these ideas, so we did the next best thing and worked out a way to do this online. We arranged a Thursday night call where recyclers could talk to other recyclers about what they do, whether it be good, bad or otherwise.
This Thursday night call still continues even with the few auto recyclers on it. We need more information and more participation. The group is called the Recyclers Helping Recyclers Roundtable Group. It is moderated by Anthony Wahl of Wahl to Wahl Auto Parts in Cooperstown, New York. And over the last two years, Anthony has done a great job leading this call.
The call is at 6-8 pm Eastern, and after these two hours end, we can continue to talk about any other issues we might have, such as employees – how to keep them, and how to pay them etc., how to inventory, buying processes, electric vehicles, cores, and all of the hot topics of the day. I look at it as networking with Zoom – it is like sitting at the bar at the ARA convention and just talking shop. By doing this, we can once again help each other in any way that we can.
We have a mix of auto recyclers from around the country on the call. We started off every Thursday at the peak of the pandemic, then we went to every other Thursday, and now Anthony is thinking one Thursday every month. It’s a great way to meet recyclers – from those who have been around for 42 years (like me) to recyclers that have just begun their quest in this industry.
Please get signed up for the call. It is a great way to spend a Thursday evening – listening, learning and talking about what we do better than anyone in the world – We Are Auto Recyclers!
Contact Mike Swift on 515 208 8805 or email him at mike@trailsendauto.com or call Anthony Wahl on 607-643-3074 or email anthony.wtwap@gmail.com
