U-R-G On the Go
An informative podcast for the United Recyclers Group. Each week we will feature an entertaining guest that will share their knowledge and information with you, providing you with tips and tools to help you become a more profitable business.
U-R-G On the Go
Bourbon, Wine & Auto Parts: The Unexpected Joy of Recycling
What happens when life forces you to step up and lead? Shan Latham never expected to find herself at the helm of Cocoa Auto Salvage, but following family tragedy, this second-generation recycler transformed from financial manager to industry leader. Her journey reveals powerful lessons about resilience, adaptability, and the unexpected paths we sometimes must navigate.
"Treat everybody fairly," Shan shares, echoing the wisdom her parents instilled when founding their Florida recycling operation in 1979. This simple principle has guided her through complex business decisions and helped build a thriving company culture. Her story about repositioning an underperforming employee who became her star parts puller demonstrates her keen insight: "Sometimes you have the right person, they're just in the wrong seat."
Shan credits industry connections as her lifeline during challenging transitions. Unlike many competitive fields, automotive recycling fosters a collaborative spirit where even competitors freely share knowledge and support. Her involvement with FADRA, ARA, and URG provided crucial education and relationships, ultimately leading to her presidency of both state and national associations. "What you put into it is what you'll get back," she advises newcomers, emphasizing the unlimited opportunities available.
Looking ahead, Shan identifies securing affordable salvage vehicles as the industry's most pressing challenge, with global demand driving fierce competition. She advocates for balanced export regulations and stronger partnerships with insurance companies and auction houses. While acknowledging industry consolidation will continue, she remains optimistic about the future of independent recyclers, noting their ability to pivot quickly gives them certain advantages over larger corporations.
Want to connect with industry leaders and access valuable education? Join us at the FADRA conference July 17-19 (celebrating its 50th anniversary!) and the ARA conference in Birmingham October 15-18. These events aren't just educational—they're transformative opportunities to build the relationships that can help your business thrive.
Welcome one and all to URG on the go podcast. You are there and we are here. This URG podcast is the true voice of the automotive recycling industry. It was created for the pros that are on the go and have a need to know. I'm DJ Harrington, your co-host, better known as the cardiologist, but the other co-host who is really the host, is the talented Amanda Morrison, director of Member and Vendor Relations at URG. Amanda, how are you on this beautiful day?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great, dj, just getting lots of work done. We just had an eBay presentation yesterday for WHI eBay and getting some information out to try to get that improved and improve our processes over here. So we're always working, always busy.
Speaker 1:You ain't kidding, and we got a great one today. You know the past president of ARA, the past president of FADRA, a leader of leaders inside the industry, so this will be a great one.
Speaker 2:Yes, we have a great guest today. We have Shan Latham from Coco Auto Salvage here. Thank you so much for being on today, shan. Well hi, thank you so much for having me. Yeah, we love having guests on and people that have been in the automotive recycling industry and you were a past president of ARA, so we wanted to get you on here and discuss how you got into the industry. So can you share a little bit about how you got started in the automotive recycling industry and how you got involved? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4:So, like so many recyclers, I'm a second generation. I was born into it. My mom and dad started the business in 1979 here in Cocoa Florida and I grew up in the business and my first like official job was as a delivery driver when I turned 16. So that was. That was a lot of fun. The manager at the time tried to fire me because he hypothetically said that I might have been stopping at the mall on my delivery route. I cannot confirm or deny this, but you know. Anyway, that was my first official job here. It was fun. That's awesome yeah.
Speaker 2:And so what else did you get into after being a delivery driver?
Speaker 1:That sounds interesting that you started out at 16.
Speaker 2:I'm sure you were involved in the yard whenever you were younger, even as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, we've all got to start somewhere, right? I mean, I appreciate that time. It definitely gives you some perspective coming up through the ranks. But after I graduated from college I went to University of Central Florida. I got a business management degree and at that time my mom, dad and my older brother were all involved in the business. So as a family we had a discussion and like where would my talents and my skills be best suited? So we decided that I would take over the accounting office and lead the financial operations of the business, and at that time we had a lot of different automotive-related businesses towing, convenience stores, repair facilities we had around 80 employees. So it was a pretty big operation.
Speaker 4:So I was mostly on the back end of the business. I really wasn't on the front end. So I really grew to understand accounting on a pretty deep level and enjoyed it. As the years went on my brother got involved with other things, and as the years went on my brother got involved with other things and so his time was less dedicated to the family business and more dedicated to his other pursuits. So just kind of organically, I started learning about the front end and so that really prepared me for years down the road when my father passed away and my mother had retired from the business and my brother actually passed away as well. So it was really kind of a tough time going through all that with the transition of the business. But that's how I ended up leading and I found myself in this situation. It was definitely an unexpected unexpected. Never would I have thought that it would have turned out like this for me, but I've enjoyed it and you know, I guess you never know what life's going to throw at you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's an interesting way to get involved and kind of have to take charge, right. Yeah, definitely for sure. Yeah, so I would love to hear some of the biggest lessons you've learned while growing the business and getting involved and becoming, you know, the head of the business. What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned throughout all that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I think you know, just growing up in the family business, I think that one of the most important things that I learned from my mom and dad is you treat everybody fairly. You operate out of fairness, be fair to your employees, be fair to your vendors, but be fair to the company as well. And I think if you just kind of keep your eyes on that, it gives you good guidance for the decisions that you make. So that's something that I still hold near and dear to me. But creating a good culture, that's very important. That's something that you know it's hard to do. Your team is the key to your success or failure. So just working to surround myself with the right people, you know that's a challenge and it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and, you know, one of the things that I found is sometimes you have the right person, they're just in the wrong seat. So I always love to tell this story. It's just always a good reminder to myself.
Speaker 4:I had hired a young man. He was right out of high school, no experience, never had a job before, but we needed somebody to break down tires and he was very slow. You know, I would catch him just walking in circles trying to look busy just wasting time, disappearing into the bathroom for 15 minutes at a time just to not have to break down tires. And so, you know, we talked to him. He wouldn't change his ways. So I was finally like you know, he's going to have to go. You know, I mean we just can't keep this anymore. It's driving me crazy.
Speaker 4:So a parts puller job opened up and he wanted to do it. I said here's my opportunity. He's going to go there. He's going to sail miserably. It's a production based position. I put him in that position and he's the best parts puller I've ever had. It was a sweet shot to everybody, especially me, but it was just a great reminder to you know I wasn't doing my job well and I had them in the wrong seat, and we always need to reevaluate, reevaluate our decisions. Sometimes it's just a good lesson.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that example like that's. That's such a key thing to you know, making sure you know if it's a good person and you and you want to keep them, but just rerouting what they're. You know what they love to do and what they want to do, and that's exactly what a boss should be doing.
Speaker 4:That's awesome, awesome you're right and you know you mentioned you know if it's a good person, and I think that's another another lesson. We talk about this a lot amongst our managers here. It's like you know, when you have somebody on the team that just has a bad attitude and they're just a cancer to the organization, you've got to cut it out. And I think you know a lot of times we try to hang on to those people too long and you just have to make the decision and move forward.
Speaker 2:For sure, For sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I the the the whole idea of you know, making sure that they're not infecting anyone else. You know, and a lot of times you don't even want to give them that two weeks, you know, if they're, even if they're quitting, um, you know, just get them out of the business so they're not infecting others with their ideas. So true, Yep, For sure. So I wanted to ask you as well what advice would you give someone new that's entering into the automotive recycling industry? We have some yards that are just getting started and people getting involved. What advice would you give to them?
Speaker 4:Yeah, no, I would say definitely, do not limit yourself by any preconceived notions of our industry, right? I mean, we are big business and there is unlimited opportunity in this industry and what you put into it is what you'll get back. So, you know, educate yourself and, I think, most importantly, make friends. Right. The phone, a friend is so important, there's no doubt. I mean that has. That's what I've leaned on, you know through, all've leaned on, you know through all these years is, you know, just, the relationships that I've built and the friendships they're. They're so important to your success.
Speaker 2:Right yeah, and I feel like this industry is unlike any other. Everyone's always, you know, willing to help anyone else that's in the industry and even if you're a competitor, you know you're still a friend, you're still someone that you can go to and and get advice from. I love that about, about this industry specifically.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I agree. So many resources out there, you just just look for them.
Speaker 2:I love it. So what partnerships and collaborations have been the most beneficial for you and your business, like ARA and URG and different resources. What's been super beneficial for y'all? Yeah?
Speaker 4:there's two that really stick out in my head. When I took the seat now I was leading a business on my own. I didn't have any more family involved. You know we've been in and out of profit team meetings for many years. You know, going back to Sturgeon and Count. You know we've been in and out of profit team meetings for many years. You know, going back to Sturgeon and Count. And once I didn't have that family support. I knew I needed to be committed to a group and to the accountability that you get there. So I'm in a quarterly profit team meeting now and so thankful to Mike Kunkel for all he has done and continues to do for me.
Speaker 4:The other impact for me was getting involved in our industry groups and associations. You mentioned URG and ARA. I mean that's just paramount to my success. I was on the FADRA board the Florida Association Board early on and I moved up through the ranks there and I was president During that time. Chad Councilman was actually participating in FADRA events, since Alabama didn't have their own association. I got to know him and he was a regional director for ARA at the time. A couple years later he was asked to participate on the EEC. So the relationships that I have made, you know, with the other businesses, the vendors. It's really, it's just been transformative for me, just the participation, the participation in those groups. I really give a lot of credit to my success to the profit team and the association.
Speaker 2:That's perfect. Yeah, and going to ARA conference and URG conference is key to that too, continuing that relationship and networking and growing that network as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and just the education that you get. You know, I mean, I'm so thankful for ARA and URG. Everybody does such a great job in bringing what's coming next what's happening now but what's coming next, preparing us so that we know how to move our business in the right direction. Because if you're not plugged in to these conferences, you're not going to make it. You're definitely not going to make it, you know. I mean, I just you're definitely not going to grow. So I would encourage everybody to put it on your calendars and just show up. So show up for the meetings.
Speaker 2:Definitely. I completely agree with that. So, dj, I think it might be time to take a quick break.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we could take a quick break. Listeners, I want you to make sure you got a pad paper, something you take notes with. Take out your iphone, start taking notes. We're getting some good stuff from the, so let's take a real fast break and we'll be right back urg can help you streamline your business for maximum efficiency and increased profits.
Speaker 3:Access powerful software and unique tools. Receive top-level training with industry experts. Network with hundreds of recyclers. Employ e-commerce solutions to boost business. Receive support, resources and discounts Starting at just $150 a month. It's the smartest investment you will make for your business this year. Go to u-r-gcom and click on Become a Member. Your path to a profitable future is just a click away. That's u-r-gcom.
Speaker 1:Welcome back listeners. You know you're listening to the number one podcast in the auto recycling industry. We want to remind all of you that we are available on Spotify, itunes, pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia or wherever you get your podcast. Now, before we go back, I want to tell all of our listeners the person you're listening to right now, shan Latham, has been so involved in our industry, the past president of ARA and a real gift. So take notes, listen up and, amanda, this will be one of our best podcasts ever.
Speaker 2:I agree with that, DJ. Yes, thank you so much again, Shan, for being on today. We love listening to all the different tips and tricks that you guys have and different lessons that you've learned I wanted to talk a little bit about. We were just discussing how important it is going to conferences and FADRA is coming up here shortly, so we just wanted to touch a little bit on that. What are you looking forward to most about the FADRA conference?
Speaker 4:Yes, yes, fadra. So I hold FADRA near and dear to my heart. It was the first association that I was involved in. It's Florida's association. This is the big 50th anniversary for FADRA and our executive director, kim O'Dell, is pulling out all the stops. It's going to be a great conference. You know, anytime we can get together it's time well spent. Facetime with our industry friends is so important. But I guess if I had to pick one thing that I'm most excited about, I would have to say it's our keynote speaker, tom Andre, from Everett in Massachusetts. I'm not sure if you saw his ARA Yard Tour, but he's a really unusual operator. He processes something like 60 000 vehicles a year, which is crazy, wow yeah, right, I know it's something else.
Speaker 4:so I've seen him speak in new york, um, and at ara and urg, and I'm really looking forward to listening to him and picking up some tips on how to grow my business. Um, he does both full serve and self-serve, so there will be some great information for everybody, but lots of fun things planned. One thing new this year Kim has introduced a bourbon and wine tasting in the vendor hall. Yeah, so I always like to say we like to keep the fun in Fadra.
Speaker 4:I love it, so that will be a good time for sure.
Speaker 2:Definitely that's exciting. I didn't know that that was going on, so that's something I look forward to for sure. Yeah, I'm excited to get dressed up for the theme night too. That's always my favorite part is getting all dressed up for the themes that you guys create. It's so much fun because every time you guys have a show, I feel like there's some kind of fun theme that's going on with it too. I know.
Speaker 4:I'm with you, Amanda. I love a good themed party and it's going to be a blast.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's awesome. Yeah, and again, just being able to network with the people that are in your area, getting them to tier you even through URG, or just getting their background of how they grew their business, is just so important and cause it really is. You know, each business that's in this industry is so different. Like you're saying, tom Andres does it completely different. Tom's also going to be um, he's in, he's on the ARA board or EC board, correct? No?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, he'll be a future future president of ARA.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So, yeah, definitely come and listen to him, and you guys got a great lineup of speakers and I think it'll just be one of the best shows, for sure.
Speaker 4:Oh, thank you. Yeah, we're really looking forward to it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm excited. So going into that, how do you see the automotive recycling industry kind of evolving within the next 10 to 5 to 10 years? You know we have so much technology that's coming in place. What do you see for the future of the?
Speaker 4:recycling industry. It is interesting, right. I mean, this is the question we always ponder whenever we're in a group setting, and I know it was something that we talked about all the time when I was on the executive committee. You know, I think in the next five to ten years, I think we're definitely going to see more consolidation and less facilities overall. You know what does that mean for us?
Speaker 4:I think when the consolidators first started coming in the industry, a lot of us, it made us really nervous, right, we didn't like it, and I was one of those people.
Speaker 4:And now I think you know it's just made the independent stronger and made us step up our game, and competition will usually do that to you, right, you've got to tighten things up and do a better job with what you're doing, and I think you know, as far as being an independent, you know we can pivot so much easier than a large corporation can, and so there are a lot of efficiencies with that as well, and that's really what I've seen the next five to 10 years. And so you know there are a lot of efficiencies with that as well, but that's really what I've seen the next five to 10 years. You know there's been a lot of talk about EVs and what that looks like. And listen, I think the ICE vehicle is here to stay. I think we'll see a lot more hybrids. You know the automotive recycler, I think, is in a good position over the next five to 10 years.
Speaker 2:Definitely yeah, and you know, when you think about you know commodities and materials as well. I feel like that's something that's going to be key. You know, getting resources to build these parks is going to be more and more difficult, so I think people are going to start turning to the automotive recycling industry more and more as the years go on too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I totally agree with that. I think you know we saw that during COVID too, right Like when the new parts weren't available, and you know we had people that were utilizing the recycled part that would have never even considered it as an option before. So it's good to see you know that we're becoming more aware of the options that are available and seeing that you know the public in general is opting for a more environmentally friendly solution to their problems.
Speaker 2:Right, yep, and that kind of goes into my next question of what trends do you think will be the biggest impact on the industry, you know, is you know, making sure your parts are available online as well and through the electronic, you know data feeds that we provide? I think is key as well. You know, if you're not online, if your parts aren't readily available and you can't order on on your website or you can't, you know, do certain things you're not going to be able to evolve into the future of what this industry is going to look like.
Speaker 4:Yeah, no, I agree with you 100%. I think that you know so many people. That's how they want to shop now, right, they don't want to talk to anybody. They don't want to. They don't, they don't want to pick up the phone, they want to text you or they want to go to a website, and you know bringing up websites.
Speaker 4:I know I reached out to you making sure that your website is up to date, right, user-friendly and making sure that, just like you said, those data feeds are working properly, and that's something that you know. It takes time and it's one of those things that's really easy for us to overlook. But setting aside the time and putting that on a regular schedule to evaluate your feeds and making sure that they're working properly is so important, and I know you guys at URG do a great job. I know we've met a couple times in the last several months because you know we don't know what we don't know, right. So it's good to have you guys the experts in those feeds and the tiering and all those things do a review with us. So I appreciate all the time you take to make that happen. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's kind of what drives me. You know, I started out I got a minor in small business management and thought I wanted to start my own business, until I took those classes and realized how dang difficult it is to own your own business. And so then I figured out, you know, I want to help people. I want to help people grow their business. So it's been a great fit here and I love working with y'all and working with all the other automotive recyclers and just seeing those profits. You know it's such a cool way to be able to help and you can see exactly what what the impact is from from getting those speeds corrected, or you know getting that hearing added.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean it's dollars, right, I mean so it is. It's so important. So, nope, what you do makes a huge impact on us, and you guys have great tools. I cannot imagine not utilizing the tools that you guys offer and I know we don't utilize all of them but, just like you were saying, the tiering, the data feeds, the core feeds, it's all so important.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, and I love the fact that you know me and Christy and Eric. Like we all kind of got together and just decided you know we should be working together and I love the fact that you know we were able to kind of come to come to that and are able to do the quality assurance program now with ARA as well. It's been such a cool, cool process to see evolve. Oh my gosh, Let me tell you.
Speaker 4:Let me just tell you so, when I came onto the executive committee, that was one of the things that was on my list from the get-go was how can ARA and URG work together? Because we really haven't had the opportunity to do that, and it's so important. You know ARA from the advocacy side and all the tools and the support that you guys give the recyclers. There has to be some way for us to work together, right? So I know that the four of us got that ball rolling and it's in your guys' hands now and I know you're doing great work on it and to see it come to fruition and to see it be available to recyclers, I'm just I'm so excited about it and I'm so excited about the future for URG and ARA working together.
Speaker 2:I completely agree.
Speaker 4:Yep, it's been it's been a great partnership and it's just going to make the industry better all in all, and let me just say to you those meetings that we had to discuss it were pretty fun too.
Speaker 2:Agreed, agreed. We know how to have fun.
Speaker 4:Gotta pretty fun too. Agreed, agreed. We know how to have fun. Gotta have a good wine, you have to.
Speaker 2:You have to do it. Yeah, I love it. So, speaking of how do you stay up to date on industry trends and changes? So you know everything's always evolving. How do you stay up to date personally on all the different things that are changing?
Speaker 4:You know, yeah you know it's kind of funny. I was on the executive committee for five years and so it was a long five years and I felt like I was on the forefront of just knowing what was happening and what was coming and so initially I felt a little bit in the dark there. You know just not getting like daily information on what's happening, but you know you plug into the meetings you plug into. You know just not getting like daily information on what's happening, but you know you plug into the meetings you plug into. You know, going to your state association the FADRA event is coming up here in a couple, three weeks you plug in. To go into URG, you plug in to go into ARA. You sign up for the newsletters, you read the magazines when they come out. You know, I think that that's just how you stay up to date. Right, I mean sharing of information, just being plugged in. Just stay plugged in, I think, is the best, my best advice for that.
Speaker 2:Agreed, yeah. And then, you know, attending the conferences too, you know, I feel like, even if you're not keeping up with the newsletters, you know, because day to day it does get busy, those conferences are such a good blast of information and you can talk to all the vendors you can talk to, you know, and the vendors are so important for the conferences and, and you know, ara is coming up in October and we want to make sure all of the and FADRA, all the people that are attending those, go talk to those vendors that you know they're the ones that kind of help create those conferences and make them big, big enough for them to attend, right, yeah?
Speaker 4:no, that's for sure. Yeah, without the vendors, I mean we just we couldn't, we wouldn't have the luxury of having these types of get togethers. And you're right, I mean just the information that is shared there and the exposure to new products and services. Yeah, you get a feeling for what's happening, what's coming. And you know, I would definitely not say I'm an early adopter of new technology, but I hear about it and then I reach out and I search out the recyclers that have started to use it and then figure out whether or not that's something that'll work for me. But yeah, the vendors, the vendors are great. They support us and bring so much value to our operations.
Speaker 2:Agreed, yeah, and that's a great strategy too. You know, reaching out to the other recyclers that have utilized the technology that's there and having that network of people to be able to go to and ask those questions is key. Yeah, definitely For sure. All right, DJ, is it time for our last break?
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's take our last break and we'll be right back, folks.
Speaker 3:The URG Scholarship Foundation was founded in 2014 in honor of individuals who give their talent, time and, very often, their own finances, to ensure the growth and success of the automotive recycling industry. We understand college is not for everyone, so each year the Foundation offers substantial financial scholarships to auto recycling employees and the children of employees that are attending four-year and technical or trade schools, to assist with their education. Don't leave money on the table. If you have a child or if you're interested in attending continuing education, this money is available to you. Go to u-r-gcom and click on the Scholarship Foundation tab. Urg keeping our industry strong through education.
Speaker 1:Welcome back listeners. You know you're listening to URG on the Go podcast. This has been a great one. I want to remind all of you, if you want to hear another industry expert like Shan from Florida, who's been around a long time and has shared so much good stuff, if you didn't write down right person, wrong seat, that could have been another nugget that you could take back home. If you want to hear another industry expert, let Amanda know by calling our hotline number right here in the podcast center 706-409-5603. And please write down FADRA, july 17th through the 19th, and ARA in Birmingham, alabama, october 15th through the 18th. And you have to be there and, shane, I'm with you.
Speaker 1:I think Tom Andres is one of the best speakers in our industry. He's humble, he's sincere and I've listened to him four or five times. He is a gift and so a lot of. If you're listening to this, you make yourself available in July. Go down and see FADRA and there's a lot of out of state people that come to FADRA because of the speakers, because of Rob Rainwater, because of Mike Conkle, all of these people, their list of speakers is phenomenal. Go to the website and you'll you'll catch on to the whole thing. All right, amanda, I'll turn it over to you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, dj. Yeah, so I we kind of touched on the technology piece earlier, so I wanted to kind of go down and see what. What do you see as the biggest risk or challenge facing the automotive recycling industry today? While you're operating, have you, have you noticed anything that's come up for you?
Speaker 4:The biggest challenge, I think it's going to be securing a consistent, affordable supply of salvage vehicles. You know, the global demand for salvage units, especially for export, has driven up competition in prices, making it so difficult for us to acquire inventory. So you know, I think as more vehicles are shipped overseas, we risk losing valuable parts and materials that could otherwise support our domestic repair markets. You know so yeah so I think that's going to be our biggest challenge, and I think it's our biggest challenge right now.
Speaker 2:For sure, yep, yep. Getting those vehicles to be able to part out is tough right now. I've heard that throughout the industry. For sure, definitely, yeah. So how do you think they can kind of mitigate those risks and that challenge? How do you see yourself kind of mitigating that, and are you just looking for different avenues for buying those vehicles?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think it's multifaceted right. Like I think you have to explore every avenue to acquire the salvage. I think you know advocacy for balanced export regulations is something that we need. You know we need domestic recyclers to be able to have fair access to the salvage inventory before it leaves the country, leaves the country. Stronger partnerships with insurance companies and auction platforms, which I know that ARA has created an industry liaison to work with the auction houses. I know that's a touchy subject for a lot of us. We need them. We're a major customer to the auctions and it would really be nice if we could have a stronger working relationship with them.
Speaker 4:And I don't know if you saw Amanda, but just in the news yesterday in England LKQ and Synetic, which is IAA, have actually partnered. So that's super interesting, right. You know the initial thoughts are wow. You know I mean we pay 30% in fees to the auctions just to buy the vehicles for salvage. You know it's a huge number that we spend on every vehicle. And to see an LKQ and a kinetic or IAA partner, I don't know, It'll be interesting right.
Speaker 4:And of course that's in England now, but a lot of times what we see happen overseas is what makes its way to the US. So keeping an eye on that for sure. You know I think that we have to. Just talking about how difficult it is to acquire salvage and how costly it is. You know we have to invest in our dismantling, our inventory management, our parts, traceability technologies, just to maximize the value of every vehicle that we do acquire. Right, you want to make the most out of each one and you go back to those data feeds. You know getting our inventory out to as many sources as possible is so important.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Online selling. Right? I mean, we don't. We, we have not historically done a great job with our online selling, but it's it's on on on the list of things that we're prioritizing this year.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Yep, that's key for sure. And and going into that, so you're, you know, tracking all of that. How do you go about training your employees? And and you know we talked about the loyal or the the culture of the business as well how do you go about training your employees? And you know we talked about the culture of the business as well how do you go about training that culture and training your team to? You know, make sure they're at their top space that they can be successful at yeah.
Speaker 4:So I think you know training and retraining is always the key right, because I mean people fall off processes if there's not some sort of checks and balances there. And I think having your procedures written down, having training manuals, having you know a document where they can refer to it so you know they go well, are we supposed to do it this way or that way? You know it's written down and it's consistent. We always try to promote from within whenever possible, but that's not always an option, and we always have new employees spend time in each department to understand operations and cross-train them when we can. We're doing a better job with that. Now for sure, we do utilize consultants to train, whether it's sales staff or buying. We also have departmental heads that work with each new employee and all the employees for retraining on a regular basis, and we implement the ARAU, which has hundreds of different training classes available to members.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Yeah, having those resources readily available is just so important, because then they're not constantly coming to you as well, and then you're not over inundated with questions and frustrated with that too. So that's that's a great culture to create. You know, check manuals, check your operations list.
Speaker 4:Well, I tell you, you know, I mean several years ago we started a sales manual, and that's exactly why I started it, because I could not remember what I told my salespeople. The policy was, you know, or I could not remember what the procedure was. So you just get to a point where it's just it's literally impossible to keep up with everything, so you have to rely on those documents.
Speaker 2:For sure, yeah, and I know that there's been, you know, sessions on exactly that at you know ARA and URG just setting up those processes, and there's so many people that you can, you know, reach out to to see what they've done to try to create those processes and create those manuals as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's right, and it's like you said earlier. You know this industry. Everybody's so willing to help each other that you know typically people don't mind sharing that information. So, while it might not be exactly what you do, it'll be a template for you to utilize to make it a little bit easier to get down that path.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. Well, this has been awesome. Thank you so much for all this information, bj, did you have any questions for Shan?
Speaker 1:No, I just want to tell all our listeners after listening to Shan, that's the reason why she's been president of FADRA. We were blessed that she was president of ARA and she's just a world of information. So I'm going to encourage everybody that if you don't know about FADRA and you don't know about ARA, you need to learn all about it and be there to enhance your own business. It was a great one and be there to enhance your own business.
Speaker 2:It was a great one.
Speaker 4:Well, DJ, let me just say thank you, DJ, for all of those kind words. When I need a hype man, I know who I'm calling.
Speaker 2:That's all I'm going to say he's the best hype man out there. Let me tell you, I've got him on tap too. I just call him.
Speaker 1:I love it should be doing. You know, and we use a saying at URG you may know your business, but at URG they'll help you grow your business. Oh, I love that, that's great and it makes a big difference. And going to ARA and some of the people like this year, shannon Nordstrom being the new incoming president in October, I mean the leaders that you have attracted I'm stunned, you know, when David Gold was there and you think back yourself as being there and Nick being a president of ARA.
Speaker 4:It's excellent, it's just you know, you know, dj, you read off that list, and of course I know all these guys, and it just reminds me, though, of you know what world, world class recyclers they are, and just world class people. And you know, I sometimes have to, just you know, pinch myself because, you know, you think what was I doing in the group of you know guys like that, you feel imposter syndrome, because it is, it is a stellar group of recyclers, there's no doubt about that yeah, yeah, and I love that you point that out, shan.
Speaker 2:You know the, the recycling industry. I. I think the general population doesn't understand that it's, it's, it's a, it's a high class business. You know the people that are operating on the level that. You know, shannon nordstrom, you, you know all the, the, the higher end recyclers are this. This is a, this is a an actual recycling facility and dismantling and it's not a junkyard anymore. You know getting that getting that mentality out of the general population's head is what what our goal is at this point.
Speaker 4:It's so crazy, right? Yeah, and just talking about that, we, we had a meeting the other day and somebody said something about junkyard and you know I had to say you know, we're not a junkyard, you know, I mean, and that's the problem sometimes with you know, we have employees that don't handle the parts with the care and the quality that they should, because it's a mentality, right. And so working really hard to change that mentality even inside our operation, let alone, you know, outside to the public. It's a challenge, but I think we're doing a good job. We're doing a better job than we ever have of educating people about the benefits of using quality recycled auto parts. So yeah, we've come a long way, but we've got a long way to go.
Speaker 2:Exactly. I love that. Yep, and DJ is actually going to be coming to ARA this year. So if you guys want to see DJ, he will be at ARA in October as well, so make sure you're there.
Speaker 4:Can't wait for it. That's awesome.
Speaker 2:Perfect. And yep, make sure that you attend FADRA as well. It's going to be a great show. I'll be there, shan will be there, all dressed up in theme, and we're going to have the wine and bourbon tasting. That'll be so much fun. So thank you for helping plan that. I'm sure you had a hand in all of that, because you're, you're, you're great at the theme thing. I have a feeling you had a hand in that.
Speaker 4:Well, I appreciate you saying that I do love a good theme party and it's going to be a good time and, um, I can't wait to see you there, Amanda.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. Thank you again for coming on the podcast today. Fan.
Speaker 4:Of course. Thank you guys for having me. It's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Awesome. All right, guys, we'll see you next time you.