The RMG Roane Metals Group operator uses a Sennebogen 835E in the yard.
Some people are born into the family business while others marry into it. Luke Wyatt of RMG Roane Metals Group in Rockwood, Tenn., jokes about being in the latter group. Wyatt and his business partner, Steve Kennedy, are owners of RMG, Roane Metals Group and Roane Transportation.
Wyatt's father-in-law, Albert Baisley, had a company, Southern Alloys and Metals. Wyatt said he learned about the recycling business from him.
"He brought me in, trained me and we started this particular company [RMG Roane Metals Group] in 2003," said Wyatt. "He was in the business since the late 50s, early 60s and worked for an implement company, a tractor supply company and sold farm machinery, before getting into the scrap metal business."
Baisley also hauled material, and in turn, learned about the recycling business. Later, along with a business partner, Julius Chazen, Baisley opened a facility in Rockwood, Tenn., called Rockwood Iron and Metal and Knoxville Iron Works that were sold to Blue Tee Corp.
Today, Wyatt's daughter and son-in-law, Brandon and Rachel Heichelbech, also work for the family business. The company is split into two divisions — trucking and recycling — which breaks down to about 60/40 respectively. At the company's facility, Wyatt said he buys material from the public and from industrial sources.
"An industrial source may make refrigerators, stoves, etc., or automotive parts, so they have byproducts, and we'll haul that in," said Wyatt. "We also buy from the public. If you have a bag of aluminum in your garage or an old swing set in the backyard or a turning plow, you can bring it into us. Consumers have different specifications, so we will pull that product and sort it to meet a certain customer's specifications. We do size reduction [by] shearing or compaction. We don't do shredding. We will grade out the items and crush them into a cube or we will shear them up to a certain size."
According to Wyatt, the company sells around 60,000 tons per year to several different sources, including aluminum, copper, brass, stainless and steel to consumers such as Alcoa, Nucor and Gerdau.
Wyatt said the company used a variety of equipment as part of his operation. He said the Komatsu PC 300 and 400 excavators equipped with Genesis 660 and 660 Max shears he purchased from Power Equipment Company have worked well for him.
"We cut up beams, scrap and heavy material, and we can pierce and cut up to a one-inch plate," said Wyatt. "We also get a lot of truck parts, semi-truck frames and structural shapes from building products. It's been a great product for us.
"We are running some Komatsu excavators out here, and one of them is 16 years old. I've got 30,000 hours on it. Yes, we've had to put an engine in it, but it's been dependable for us. We also run several Sennebogens — two 825s, an 835 and an 835E Sennebogen."
Wyatt also is pleased with the service he's received from Power Equipment.
Power Equipment honors warranties on any new equipment we buy. They do preventive maintenance for us at certain intervals. They are already knowledgeable about what we have, and are quick to respond to any problems. We have to deal locally here because we're a small yard. We are not one of the major players around, so we have to be repaired quickly. We don't have extra machines sitting around waiting for a breakdown."
There are several aspects of the business Wyatt said he enjoys, including the art of "the deal."
"Ultimately, there are hundreds of different grades of aluminum, so we try to go through that product and sort it out. That's always been real interesting to me. As technology evolves, it is interesting to see how much things change over time with the type of metals that are in products."
Power Equipment Company
Since 1946, Power Equipment (a division of Bramco) has sold, serviced and rented the heavy, general and light construction equipment, products and services in partnership with its suppliers from a base in Tennessee, northern Mississippi, northeast Arkansas and southwest Virginia. The company offers full parts/service/planned maintenance packages and a rental lineup.
For more information, visit www.powerequipco.com.
CEG
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