Scrap dealers struggle to thwart thieves

by Brian R. Hook

Randy Katz receives reports of stolen scrap metal on a daily basis. “Every day there is a new issue,” said Katz, co-owner of City Scrap & Salvage Co. in Akron Ohio.

Thieves are taking everything from aluminum siding to copper wire and tubing from construction sites and production plants around the country. Scrap dealers are also often targets. “Prices are high and people are taking advantage of that,” Katz said.

Katz coordinates a theft alert system for the Northern Ohio chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Every time Katz receives a report of stolen scrap metal he forwards e-mails with information detailing the theft to other scrap metal dealers.

An alert went out in June detailing the theft of 30 newspaper vending machines that were stolen from the offices of The Gazette newspaper in Medina, Ohio. The metal boxes were awaiting shipment for refurbishing and each one weighed about 80 pounds.

City Scrap & Salvage, which operates a ferrous and non-ferrous scrap facility, has not had recent problems with theft, Katz said, due to a high-tech security system put in a few years ago. “We have a pretty good security system,” Katz said.     ...read more