Korean Conglomerate Invests In ERI

Korean Conglomerate Invests In ERI

December 14th, 2009

Electronic scrap recycling company reaches wide-ranging agreement with LS-Nikko.

C.M. Koo, Chairman of LS-Nikko (left) and John S. Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International.

Seoul, South Korea-based LS-Nikko, one of the world's largest copper smelting firms, has become a minority investor in Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), a Fresno, Calif.- based recycler of electronic scrap with locations in several states.

LS-Nikko has invested in ERI to tap into it as an "urban mining" resource for precious metals, according to an ERI news release. In turn, ERI can look at LS-Nikko and its facilities as a reliable home for the considerable volume of secondary commodities that come from its electronic scrap recycling facilities. ERI says it processes some 140 million pounds of obsolete electronics each year.

"We are so honored and humbled to be partnering with one of the world's top brands and business families in LS-Nikko," says John S. Shegerian, ERI's chairman and CEO. "That this legendary organization, combining great industry minds from Korea and Japan, has chosen to place significant focus on urban mining for copper and other precious metals for smelting speaks volumes about this exciting new trend in our industry."

Adds Shegerian, "It has been a humbling and great experience. It's like learning that Warren Buffet wants to invest in your company."

The ERI CEO sees several benefits from the agreement. "Our partnership makes sense for the environment and offers tremendous opportunities for commodity recovery, as electronic scrap is the fastest growing [scrap] stream in the world today," says Shegerian.

"Now we're able to avail ourselves of the second largest copper smelter in the world," he continues. "This totally substantiates our claim of the last couple of years that we are not just electronics recyclers, but we're the new urban miners. This is the greatest form of substantiation," remarks Shegerian.

"Proper waste management is not just a business option any more, but one of the compulsory requirements of mankind," says Dr. S.W. Kang, president and CEO of LS-Nikko. "Everyone should try to reduce waste, and all waste should be managed safely and with the right environmental processes in place. With this in mind, I think we have to consider the recycling business as a public utility rather than a commercial profit center. We're so pleased to find the right recycling partner in the U.S.A."

LS-Nikko Copper produces and supplies metals used by the world's electric and electronics industries.

"We look forward to working closely with LS-Nikko as we open more electronic scrap shredding facilities in the U.S., as well as other parts of the world," adds Shegerian.

ERI presently houses what it calls the world's largest obsolete electronics shredder at its Fresno facility.

According to Shegerian, the LS-Nikko investment will allow ERI to expand its electronics shredding capacity as may be necessary, as well as to invest in recovery and sorting technology to optimize the value of secondary commodities that can be harvested from the electronic scrap stream.

Electronic Recyclers International Receives "Recycler of the Year" Award at International Electronics Recycling Conference & Expo

Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the nation's leading recycler of electronic waste, received the prestigious "Electronic Recycler of the Year" award last week at this year's International Electronics Recycling Conference & Expo.

ERI's commitment to sustainable business and globally responsible recycling of electronics was applauded by the 700 industry professionals from nearly 20 nations in attendance.

"We look to ERI as an example of what the best people and technology can get done in the world of electronic recycling," said Ismail Oyekan, Program Director of the International Electronics Recycling Expo. "Electronic waste from surplus and end of life assets represent the fastest growing waste streams globally. Our event is designed to bring together leading experts in an ideal platform to learn new market trends and exchange best practice ideas. ERI is the genuine leader in the field and its involvement proving us with speakers at our event has dramatically helped to educate our core audience of electronics recyclers from North and South America, Europe and other parts of the globe."

"It's truly a humbling honor to be recognized as the leader in our industry," said John S. Shegerian, ERI's Chairman and CEO. "That we received the recognition at this terrific, forward thinking event, the International Electronics Recycling Conference & Expo, makes it even more special because we know those monitoring our industry the closest are the ones who have decided to single us out. We congratulate the organizers of this event for bringing together the planet's top electronic recyclers for an exchange of ideas. At ERI, we work every day to make sure we are setting an example of sustainability and environmental responsibility that we hope all electronic recyclers follow. This kind of recognition helps inspire our entire team to continue with that cause."

US Commerce Association

Electronic Recyclers Receives 2009 Best of Fresno Award

U.S. Commerce Association's Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 -- Electronic Recyclers has been selected for the 2009 Best of Fresno Award in the Electronic Parts & Equipment category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

BusinessWire

ERI's Massachusetts Facility Receives ISO Certification for Environmental Practices and Quality Management

Electronic Recyclers, Inc. (ERI), the nation's leading recycler of electronic waste, announced today that it has received an official letter of registration and certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), confirming that ERI had successfully completed its ISO Certification Audit last month at its Gardner, Massachusetts location and that the company's East Coast hub is now officially an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Registered facility.

The International Organization for Standardization sets global standards for business, government and society. The ISO 14001 certification addresses environmental management. Receiving approval in this area indicates that ERI has successfully met or exceeded international standards in the areas of minimizing harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and has achieved evidence of continual improvement of its environmental performance.

The ISO 9001 certification addresses quality management and certifies that ERI has fulfilled global standards for customers quality requirements, as well as regulatory requirements.

"It is an honor and great importance to us at ERI that we be recognized as an ISO certified organization," said John S. Shegerian, ERI's Chairman and CEO. "We are a green organization to the core and have consistently strived since we started ERI to find new ways to reduce our emissions while providing the best possible service to our customers ‐‐ so being ISO certified in these two most important categories is particularly meaningful to us. It is also proof and assurance to our customers that we operate our facility in an environmentally sustainable manner. We will exhibit our letter of Certification at our Massachusetts facility with great pride."

treehugger.com

Battleground Earth Sneak Peek: Electronic Recyclers International

E-Waste is a Growing Problem
It's not that often that you can see a TV show that includes the recycling of electronics in the plot, but Battleground Earth (Thursdays at 8pm Eastern on TLC) isn't just any regular ol' show. In episode #9, Tommy Lee and Ludacris will tackle an e-waste problem in Downtown LA with the help of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the largest e-waste recycler in the US with over 170 million pound per year (we wrote about them a couple of years ago).

Recycling Computers & Electronics
Mountains of discarded computers and portable electronics are being thrown out every month, and most of them contain dangerous chemicals, and even if they didn't, it's such a waste to landfill all those materials that could still be useful. That's why it's very important to learn how to pick green(er) electronics when you buy, and to recycle them at the end of their useful lives.

To find out more about Electronic Recyclers International and electronics recycling, tune in to Battleground Earth.

America's Business

Mike Hambrick from America's Business interviews John Shegerian

Listen to the interview below:

Sacramento Bee

Save Mart Stores Promote Environmental Safety, Host E-waste Recycling Events on May 17 and 18

May 15, 2008

Save Mart Stores in Los Banos, Riverbank, Selma, Delano, Atwater, and Manteca Partner With ERI to Provide Local Drop-off Locations for E-waste

A half-dozen Save Mart stores in California's Central Valley will promote environmental safety in their communities by hosting e-waste recycling events this weekend in partnership with Electronic Recyclers International® (ERI), a leading recycler of electronic waste. ERI recycles TVs, monitors, computers, cell phones, and other types of consumer electronics.

Electronic equipment contains environmentally damaging materials and can be harmful to human health if improperly discarded. It is illegal to throw away certain electronic items, such as TVs and computer monitors, with regular garbage or trash. These two-day events will allow residents in the communities that Save Mart serves to surrender their e-waste safely and legally. In addition, properly recycled e-waste yields valuable, reusable resources such as plastic, metal, and glass.

The following Save Mart stores will be set-up to receive e-waste on Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.:

• Los Banos – 1337 Pacheco Boulevard, 209-357-9840
• Riverbank – 2237 Claribel Road, 209-863-1480
• Selma – 2859 Whitson Street, 559-896-4203
• Delano – 1700 High Street, 661-725-2733
• Atwater – 351 Bellevue, 209-358-7932
• Manteca – 1172 North Main Street, 209-239-2267

CNET News

Companies to watch in green tech: Recycling

Tuesday April 21, 2008

More than 200 million pounds of electronic waste went to recyclers in California alone in 2007, according to John Shegerian, CEO of Electronic Recyclers, one of the largest e-waste recyclers in the U.S. And roughly 80 million analog TVs will get heaved out in 2008 and 2009. The European Union and four states have already implemented e-waste regulation and more are expected to follow.

The companies make their money in a couple of ways. First, governments pay them to process waste. Second, recyclers are free to refurbish and resell equipment. Third, if the PC must get melted down, the raw materials can be sold as commodities.

FOX Business

Terrence Grady Joins Electronic Recyclers International® to Head East Coast Sales

Tuesday April 8, 2008

Electronic Recyclers International® (ERI), the nation's leading recycler of electronics and e-waste, announced today that Terrence Grady has joined its staff as Recycling Specialist, overseeing sales efforts for ERI's East Coast operations.

With twenty-nine years experience as a sales management professional in the solid waste industry, including the last fourteen years as a municipal services manager for the New England area for Allied Waste Services, Grady brings to ERI a rich background in the commercial, industrial, and residential solid waste industry as well as a deep understanding of waste industry activities and issues relative to collection, disposal, and transportation.

"Having Terry join our team emphasizes our commitment to industry expertise on a coast-to-coast level," said John S. Shegerian, ERI's President and CEO. "He is known as one of the industry's leading problem solvers, and many years of first-hand experience, not only in relationship-building for this industry but also playing a key role in clarifying and resolving contractual and service issues with municipalities on behalf of the collection districts while negotiating new contracts and existing contract extensions. He really knows this industry inside and out. We are proud he's here and I'm confident his presence will help take us to yet another level as we continue to expand into other states around the country."

As Municipal Services Manager for Allied Waste Services' New England office, Grady oversaw and coordinated the bidding/proposal process for residential contracts for all collection districts within the states of New England and developed pricing models for all bids and proposals using operational, financial, and demographic data.

Grady sits on the Board of Directors for MassRecycle and has been a Massachusetts and New York member of the Solid Waste Association of North America since 1995. He is a four-time winner of the President's Club Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sales.

Forbes.com

Rehab, Reuse, Recycle

Wednesday April 2, 2008

John Shegerian gives second chances to busted computers--and to former addicts and ex-cons.

Touring the grounds of Electronic Recyclers International® in Fresno, Calif. is unnerving, like an unarmed walk through a prison yard. Tattooed, muscular men tear apart computers with hammers and electric drills. A guy with a gang insignia etched onto his neck hoists a monitor over his head. Another rips the face off an old television with his bare hands. Machines chomp and grind gadgets and cell phones, spitting out shards of metal, plastic and glass. Sharp edges and ex-cons are everywhere you look.

But ERI Chief Executive John S. Shegerian strolls comfortably through the place, dressed in a three-piece suit, green tie, cufflinks and Rolex. Like a lot of right-minded businessmen these days, he espouses the importance of doing good while making a profit. "I believe you can recycle everything," he says, "including lives."

Shegerian aims to be the biggest among the 700 or so electronics recyclers in the U.S. He's already a leader in California, which in 2006 banned all electronics from its landfills. Electronics can contain toxins such as cadmium, mercury and chromium. California first outlawed dumping of lead-heavy cathode ray tubes in 2001. Ten other states, including Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, have passed their own laws banning e-waste.

ERI brought in $30 million in revenue last year, and Shegerian, 45, expects to gross twice that much this year. Operating income (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) was $3 million last year and should double in 2008. Over the next 18 months he plans to open five more recycling centers across the country, up from the two he has in Fresno and Gardner, Mass. "Electronics are the fastest-growing solid waste stream in the world," he says.

At a big enough scale, Shegerian hopes to stanch the flow of electronic waste exported to poor countries overseas. Over the next three years Americans will throw out maybe 110 million computers, 80 million television sets and 350 million cell phones. The majority of electronics recyclers don't even bother recycling this waste. They just ship it to India, Southeast Asia, China and Africa. Organizations such as the Basel Action Network and Greenpeace say workers there, often children making pennies a day, troll mounds of garbage in search of computers and TVs. Lacking proper tools to tear open computer shells, they burn the plastic to get to the valuable stuff inside, breathing noxious fumes. They dip circuit boards in acid and melt lead in the same pans they use to cook their meager meals. They toss any remains back on the pile, where toxins seep into water supplies.

Peter Muscanelli, president of the International Association of Electronics Recyclers, downplays the harm done by exported waste. "There are illegal actions done by every field," he says. "Whether it is dog food or something else, there will always be someone who will export a product that will be tainted."

Shegerian exports to foreign dumps none of the 8 million pounds of electronics ERI processes each month. His glass-crushing machines are hermetically sealed to trap lead dust. In March he bought a $4 million automated system that crushes, shreds and sorts metals and plastics using magnets, X rays and other sensors. He even has cameras inside shredding machines to provide clients such as banks evidence that their disk drives really are destroyed. "I meet with people and try to tell them how to do this the right way," he says. "They say, 'What? We're making money. Who cares? No one will ever find that stuff in China.'"

He wants to open his next few recycling centers in rusty, neglected neighborhoods. It's all very much in keeping with his drive to rehabilitate whatever he comes in contact with: people, places, things. One-third of ERI's 200 full- and part-time employees are in its "second chances" program, which includes ex-cons and former addicts. It so happens these workers have a 17% turnover rate, half that of other employees. But Shegerian also likes to surround himself with ex-cons as a way to remember how fragile a "normal" life can be.

He grew up in New York City, in the Borough of Queens, the son of a printer and a housewife. His father split when he was 5, and his mother ended up on welfare. Shegerian took his first job at age 10, grooming horses and mucking stalls. In his teens he raced horses as a harness driver. He started reading forbes at 14 and dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. A few years later he raised money from the owners of dry cleaners and pizza parlors to buy racehorses he managed.

He moved to Los Angeles to work for a real estate development company and in 1992 took over a tortilla shop one of his tenants abandoned after the Rodney King riots. He brought in Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest who preached about giving second chances to troubled kids. They staffed the shop with former gang members and renamed the business Homeboy Tortillas. "I decided then that whatever I do in my professional life will also have a heart," Shegerian says.

He left L.A. in 1996 to move to Fresno, where he opened a restaurant and brewery with some investors. He left in 2001 to cofound a Web site called Financialaid.com that helped kids get access to money for college.

Everything came to a halt in late 2003, when Shegerian acknowledged to his wife that he had a serious problem: He was a sex addict and had been cheating on her for years with random female partners. "I was living a double life," he says. His wife kicked him out, and in April 2004 he checked into a rehab clinic in Arizona. It was a tumultuous time. That fall, within a span of several weeks, his wife divorced him, his father died, and the Web site, of which he owned a third, was sold to Education Lending Group for $20 million in cash and stock.

In late 2004 he was approached by a friend to help a struggling recycling business in San Diego. Shegerian raised a sum of $12.5 million from hedge funds and angel investors to build the business. He takes no salary, but he owns 20% of ERI's equity and all the voting shares. He moved the business north to Fresno, where he spends less on rent and gets a tax break for hiring people in a low-employment region. He also got back together with his wife, who runs operations at ERI.

The state of California pays recyclers like ERI 48 cents a pound to crunch up television sets and LCD screens. The state requires ERI to give 20 cents of that back to the schools, churches and other groups that bring him the displays. Government fees make up 44% of ERI's revenue, but the price of that government work is having to fill out 7,000 pages of paperwork a month establishing the provenance and disposition of every piece of junk processed.

The rest of ERI's revenue comes from collection fees, fixing up and reselling what's salvageable and selling the waste. Plastic from a computer keyboard, for example, brings in 15 cents a pound; steel, 12 cents; aluminum, 70 cents; and microchips containing precious metals, $75.

Shegerian's plans to be the nation's number one electronics recycler will take him head-on with giants such as Waste Management and Allied Waste. They may not share his social mission, but they have the capital to match him in equipment. "I know the fragility of life," he says. "It would be an absolute shame if I didn't do something with this opportunity."

Yahoo! Finance

Peter Prinz Joins Electronic Recyclers International® as Chief Automation Engineer

Tuesday April 1, 2008

Electronic Recyclers International® (ERI), the nation's leading recycler of electronics and e-waste, announced today that Peter Prinz, one of the country's foremost shredding engineers, has joined its staff as Project Manager and Chief Automation Engineer.

"Having Pete join our team illustrates our commitment to state-of-the-art technology for this industry," said John S. Shegerian, ERI's President and CEO. "Pete is known as one of the most experienced shredding engineers in the business, and will play a key leadership role in our installation of revolutionary new shredding systems, organization-wide. We are extremely proud he's here and I'm confident his presence will help take us to yet another level."

Earlier in his career, Prinz also served as Vice President of Operations for Recycling Industries, a scrap metal roll-up corporation in Denver. While there, he had responsibility for managing 13 scrap metal operations in 9 states.

He has also served as President of Hawco Manufacturing, a producer of large material handling buckets and grapples for the timber, scrap metal, dredging, ship loading and other industries handling large quantities of bulk material. Prinz tripled the size of the company and became the first in the industry with an ISO 9001 certification.

Prinz also designed, coordinated and patented the first successful ash recovery systems for Waste Management's 4000 ton per day waste-to-power incinerator in Florida, a unit that is still running today. He started in the scrap metal industry with the installation and design of the first of the Super Auto shredders in 1975 for Miller Compressing and has worked for the David J. Joseph Company and Southern Holdings as a Plant Manager and Project Manager in the set up of heavy processing systems.

Brandweek

1-800-Recycling Aims to Clean Up

March 19, 2008
By Kenneth Kein

This week, 1-800-Recycling launched. The company, a division of Electronic Recyclers International®, aims to be the top resource for responsible recycling across the country.

John Shegerian, CEO of 1-800-Recycling, Fresno, Calif., originally bought the failing Computer Recyclers of America in 2002 and changed the name to Electronic Recyclers International®. For the past 12 months he has pursued the 1-800-Recycling name. The phone number and URL were owned privately and a deal was finally completed. (1-800-Recycle and 1-800-Recycles are owned by the government.)

Over the past six years, Shegerian's company has become the No. 1 electronics waste recycling brand. Shegerian is looking to expand his empire by partnering with all types of recycling agencies throughout the country.

Consumers looking to properly dispose of tires, paint, glass and other items will soon be able to call the number for a location where they can bring the products. 1-800-Recycling receives a fee for the referral and the recycler makes money by repurposing the items. Tires, for example, are recycled into clothes and other products.

1-800-Recycling is active, but the Web site has yet to launch. The new brand will be promoted online with other possible traditional marketing efforts in the future.

"We want to be the No. 1 recycling brand in America," said Shegerian. "Look at what Al Gore has done and what the media has done to raise consciousness in America. We need to make it part of the American DNA... It's great to make a difference and a profit."

Shegerian is no stranger to profits. He co-founded the student loan company Financialaid.com and sold it for more than $25 million in 2005. He also owns Addicted.com, which is the largest social network in existence dedicated to addiction and recovery.

Brandweek

Recycling Becomes Electric for CE Brands

May 11, 2008
By Steve Miller

EWaste management has gone from being a headache to a marketing tool. Electronics manufacturers and retailers are attempting to address the problem and give themselves a green halo by encouraging consumers to recycle old TVs, computers and other devices.

Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Office Depot, Best Buy and even 1-800-Flowers.com are among the many companies promoting recycling in their marketing efforts.

Obsolescence and trading up in consumer electronics generates up to 1.9 million tons of discarded electronics per year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The refuse jams landfills with toxic ingredients and emits hazardous gases.

The issue will take a higher profile as the government-mandated switch to all digital TV signals in February approaches. The shift should accelerate the move away from analog TV sets and make the mound of cathode ray tubes that much higher.

Sony, which last week announced the availability of its lower cost Bravia M line of LCD TVs, has paired with Waste Management, Houston, for a series of events around the country. The "Take Back Recycling Program" invites consumers to leave behind their unwanted devices for no charge.

Sony will plug the program with a national ad campaign, via BBDO, New York, this summer. New TV, print and online promotes recycling by recycling old ads for once cutting-edge products. "It really does help the brand," said Stuart Redsun, svp-corporate marketing, Sony Electronics, San Diego. "We've found that consumers who have dropped off their products have even stronger ties to the Sony brand, being that we did this for them for free. It also makes them feel good about themselves."

1-800-Flowers.com is launching a nationwide computer recycling program, starting with a June 4 event at its Carle Place, N.Y. headquarters in which donors receive a 15% off coupon.

Hewlett-Packard and Staples partnered with NBC Universal during Earth Week to launch the company's "Green is Universal" initiative. The kickoff event featured Matt Lauer and the NBC Today crew hauling in junked computers and cell phones for recycling. Electronic Recyclers International® (ERI), Fresno, Calif., handled disposal of the items.

Consumers were invited to also bring their old equipment to participating Staples stores. HP offered $50 off its more energy-efficient printers and $150 off select computers in exchange for old models.

"It begins to feel strange when you've always had this focus on the environment before and now all of a sudden it's fashionable," said David Roman, vp-marketing communications for HP's personal systems group. "Now we have to find a way to gracefully fold it into the marketing."

But recycling is of growing importance to consumers. A recent Consumer Electronics Association report found recycling electronics devices has increased 9% in terms of importance to consumers since 2005.

In all, eWaste is an eco-tragedy that offers both peril and potential for a marketer. "It's one of those things that you have to get involved with because if you don't someone will call you out," said Rob Enderle, principal at Enderle Group, San Jose, Calif. "Things like recycling and energy use are a big concern to both vendors and individuals, and they do take these things into consideration [when selecting a] brand."

Best Buy claims to have among the most expansive recycling programs going, from weekend eWaste roundups at its stores to its "Tech Trade-in" program where consumers can trade in gently used electronics for a Best Buy gift card.

Office Depot also offers in-store recycling bins, which gives the retailer a chance to engage the consumer in its line of green office products like recycled printer ink cartridges and printer paper, said Yalmaz Siddiqui, director of environmental strategy for Office Depot, Delray Beach, Fla. "There is a great cross-sell opportunity. People can go from the recycling service in the stores to the green products we offer." There's a risk when brands are competing to be greener than the next, said Roman. "I don't see it now, but it would trivialize things if it started to happen."

Even though it is in its infancy stage, ERI CEO John Shegerian said getting on the e-recycling bandwagon is a an important opportunity. "Brands don't want to blow this."