From Junkyard Roots To Industry Leadership

A great yard isn’t built on luck; it’s built on discipline. We sit down with David Gold of Standard Auto Wreckers to unpack how a third-generation operator navigated expansion, a public roll-up, and an uncommon buyback to rebuild momentum with people, process, and profit at the center. From the early days of turning a “junkyard” into an environmentally responsible recycler to leading industry boards, David shares what still works—and what no longer does—in a market defined by vehicle complexity and tight margins.

We dig into the real levers of profitability: protecting your core parts business, saying no to distractions, and using metrics to separate vanity volume from contribution margin. David explains why weekly manager development, hands-on leadership, and ride-alongs translate directly to better dismantling flow, cleaner inventory, and faster customer responses. He also breaks down the tech stack that actually pays off, from URG’s modern web services to a warranty platform that functions like a purpose-built CRM, complete with call recordings, technical bulletins, and expert support to help parts stick and returns drop.

Vehicle acquisition remains the heartbeat of a buy-or-die industry, so we explore Green Vehicle Disposal—a marketer’s moat designed by recyclers to route local sellers back to licensed, environmentally credible operations. With national SEO authority, lead capture, and certification, yards see stronger supply, including late-model units they once missed. It’s a practical blueprint for taking back your market from brokers and unlicensed operators while raising community trust.

If you care about sustainable growth in auto recycling—recruiting and training people, picking the right tools, and staying laser-focused on the work that pays—this conversation is a field guide. Subscribe, share with a fellow recycler, and leave a review telling us the one distraction you’re dropping this quarter.

Transcript

New Host And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome one and all to the URG on the go podcast. It's your podcast, a podcast for the pros that have a need to know and are on the go. My name is Michael Guerra. I'm a member of the URG IT staff, and I'm deeply honored and humbled to be stepping into the podcast here to take over the MC duties that the incomparable DJ Harrington did so well for so long. I can only hope to do half as well as he has done the entire time he was uh here on the podcast. Now, uh, I would like to introduce the real voice behind the podcast, the always lovely Amanda Morrison. Amanda, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_04 0:43

I'm doing good, Michael. Look at you. I'm I'm loving the intro.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Uh thank you. It's uh it's been uh oh gosh, it's been 20 years since I was on the radio in college. So I guess it never it's like a bike, it never really goes away.

SPEAKER_04 0:56

There you go. You're doing great. You're doing great. I appreciate you being on here as well. And it's nice and sunny here in Austin. Well, we're in Georgetown. Michael and I are both in Georgetown, Texas, about 66 degrees, a little windy today, but we have a guest from up way north of us. And uh he's feeling a little bit of a of a of a cold chill up there. We were talking about the weather and and how how chilly it is. I I used to live in Montana, so I I am aware, but I think it's even colder where where he is. So uh for everyone that uh is listening, I would love to welcome David Gold with Standard Auto Records uh from Port Hope, Ontario. David, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_02 1:40

Great, Amanda. Thank you very much for having me on the podcast. Michael, I appreciate the beautiful words and introduction. Um I'm with professionals here with experience. Geez, got me outnumbered, but um, I'm glad to be here. Right now I'm in Toronto, actually. Um I said Port Hope. Um uh one of our facilities is in Port Hope, just about an hour east of Toronto. Uh our main hub is in Port Hope. But uh yeah, we're getting some bone chilling temperatures coming through here. That is for sure with wind chills of minus 25, for example.

SPEAKER_04 2:16

Holy moly. Yeah, I don't I don't miss those temperatures, that's for sure. Being in tech in sunny Texas where you can golf pretty much year-round is has been a nice change of pace for me, at least.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Except that one time when it got really, really cold and the power grid failed, that was awful. We don't we don't do cold real well here in Texas.

SPEAKER_04 2:36

We don't. It gets down to about 30 and people panic.

David Gold’s Origin Story

SPEAKER_01 2:38

So panic by the shelves are empty and there's no food anywhere to to to be seen. Yeah, absolutely. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Well, we appreciate you being on here, David. And and we want to just for anyone who hasn't had the chance to meet you yet, and you're pretty involved in the industry. Uh, and and I just kind of want to start by beginning how you got involved in the auto recycling industry and how how you came to be today.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Absolutely. Yeah, for uh for me, I've I've been involved in this industry pretty much um because I have the same last name as the person before me, which is how a lot of us got in this industry. Um I've been at this desk for about 35 years. And for me, it's um I can honestly say that the industry is just is a labor of love, you know, as a youngster coming here, being in the trenches, getting involved in anything and everything. Um again, it's it's a labor of love, and um they couldn't keep me out of here as uh as a youngster, that's for sure. So it's uh it's home for me, and it's been home uh since my career started. So um, yeah, I to your point, I I'm involved, and I I know a lot of the the listeners and a lot of those that have come to the conventions, and I cherish uh the involvement and the uh and the industry as a whole for sure.

SPEAKER_04 4:06

Yeah, and and you're not only you know involved in your business, but you know, you're a former Automotive Recyclers Association president and board member member. And now you're a newly appointed United Recyclers Group board member, which we we love having you on the board, and and we really appreciate your time and and uh dedication that you guys have as board members, uh, and just using your decades' worth of experience and and perspective uh to try to help build the industry and in you know, um also working with profit team consulting. I know you work closely with them as well. And so again, you're just deeply involved in so many different aspects, which is is very cool to have, especially as a URG board member.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

You know, and and from an early from the early days really, um, I got involved with with the associations, obviously starting with ARA. And then as soon as URG, um the inception of URG, I was I was right there um never missing um a convention, a training expo. Um, and naturally I got involved in in committees starting with ARA. Um, to your point, I was involved in the e-commerce committee um pretty much uh from the inception, eventually went on to chair that committee. And we did some great stuff, some stuff that still is applicable today, sort of like um ARA damage locator and you know, which parts are graded by mileage, which parts are graded by units of damage on the body side. So that um has really grounded me and enabled me to I think carry it forward and eventually become president of ARA, which is a is a big deal, especially that one year that you are the president. And um, I mean, to be able to be exposed to so much and to travel and to see other recycling facilities, it helps. And really for me, I um I I've learned a lot and I'm just I'm honored to get back. That's uh that's the spirit with which I go into the URG board with um whatever knowledge, tribal knowledge that you've gained over the the years of experience, I want to bring it to URG and I want to be able to do whatever I can to see URG flourish. And um that's uh that's why I'm proud to be there and I'm proud to be with uh with all of you. It's uh it's a great group and much different than ARA because we have more continuity with uh URG. And um for that reason, I I really think the setup is is great and um the collaboration that we're having as a board is great, and that's uh it's gonna continue going forward for sure.

Lessons From A Family Business

SPEAKER_04 6:48

Love that. I love that. Well, I want to go kind of revert back a little bit to your origin story. I know you said you had the same last name as the owner, and that's how you got into it. Uh, so obviously it was your father, right? That was the one that started the business. What did your dad teach you that still shapes how you run the yard today and continue to grow the business?

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Yeah, it's it's true. I mean, um, my father came into the recycling business from a legal background. Um, interestingly enough. He had a thriving law practice on Bluer Street here in Toronto in the heart of the city. And he was practicing law from the early 70s until the early 80s. Um the opportunity came to purchase the facility where I am right now in Toronto, in the northeast part of the city. It's a it's a big city, one of the maybe third or fourth largest in North America, uh, in 1979, actually, is when he purchased this particular facility. And there wasn't much to it. It was uh a couple of folks here, pretty much uh a junkyard. But the um he saw an opportunity, and um, I'll tell you, most people thought he was nuts. And um and and he must have had to have been, but you know, God bless him, and and thankfully he did because he had that spirit in him. As my grandfather had a recycling or scrapyard also in downtown Toronto, and um my father wanted him to retire because of the toll that auto recycling and and scrap metal, moreover, in this case, took on my grandfather. So while my father was practicing law, he got my grandfather out of it so he could he could be a snowbird and go to Florida in the winter, avoid freezing cold temperatures and have a good 30 years um of his life. And my father was always really proud of it, and then and then go figure uh a few years later he would wind up back at it himself. Um, and in the early days, he would be working in his law practice that he owned with other lawyers in there and other uh representatives, and in the early evenings, he'd be in a loader, um, being able to see the fruits of his labor, moving stuff, cleaning, organizing. Um and um I those stories have just stuck with me and um and ground me of the the kind of work ethic it takes and how great um auto recyclers are with their work ethic to be able to take something from essentially nothing and and you know give it give it the chance to grow and and that's uh and that's what I love and that's that's what keeps me inspired every day, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

Definitely. And and you know, being that third generation, it sounds like right? You're you said your grandfather started out in automotive recycling and and having those roots, uh, you know, I I feel like people have a really hard time once they have a taste of the automotive recycling industry getting out of it.

Expansion, Phoenix Era, And Buyback

SPEAKER_02 9:54

So I I know that from experience, yes. Um not that I ever left it, but I did have some evolutions in in my career. Uh never left it for a single day. And um yeah, like some key points that you know my my father did ingrain in me at a young age was that he wanted to do things properly, um, no matter what. It wasn't a short-term deal for him. He felt the population was growing, there's gonna be more cars. Um, again, he saw opportunity, and from the early days, we wanted to do things right. And that um that still really is the case today. You know, we look at everything from a long-term perspective. It's uh it's not a get-rich quick scheme or anything like that. You know, we grind it out. Um, you gotta be tough, you gotta be mentally tough, especially in this day and age. Who could have predicted, you know, the last X amount of years and what we would be all going through? Um, but yeah, the um the spirit of autorecyclers is is something special. The the people in it are the best. And um for that reason, I I absolutely love it. I love coming to work every day and I love taking care of customers, just like uh those listeners that are recycler members on this uh podcast that are listening. They uh they know the value in what we do and people appreciate us, and um, and that's why I I keep my feet to the ground um and try and you know engage with consumers as much as possible.

SPEAKER_04 11:22

Awesome. It's really cool to hear kind of a transition too. So your your dad did he focus more on scrap. Is that kind of something that he did more of? And then you kind of evolved it. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 11:36

Exactly. And I think there's a lot of people that maybe uh aren't aware of it. And and he was involved at at ARA at one time. He was um our provincial uh leader here in the province of Ontario. The um yeah, the focus for him when he got into the business is he literally thought he was getting into the scrap business. Um auto recycling was uh a kind of an afterthought. Um and fortunately, we kind of diverted into what was is more of a niche business auto recycling, because we have scrapyards all around us in Toronto, um, kind of like low barriers to entry, so to speak. Whereas uh the auto recycling was a niche, and um it just by flukey met the right person at a convention, introduced them to another person, and next thing you know, um we're involved with uh Howard Nusbaum and profit team groups long before they were trendy. Um and uh it's amazing. I mean, I was just thinking before this podcast is my first profit group was uh in '94 with Howard Nussbaum. My father sent me to Connecticut, and we did what we're doing later with you know, Jim Counts and Bill Stevens and Mike Kunkel today, um, way back 30 years ago. So it's um it's remarkable. And um, yeah, we've always embraced um collaborating, sharing, and recyclers are very giving like that. We uh we like to we like to teach, we like to talk, we like to there's no real trade secrets, so we we want we want that give and take. And that's uh really what um what is also so special about the industry. You don't see that in every industry, uh, where we're also giving up our time and and literally trying to trying to help others.

SPEAKER_04 13:27

Right, right. And and you ended up uh purchasing the yard from your father at a certain point, correct? As well. And and kind of going forward, I I want to kind of go into the progression of where you kind of got today as well.

Culture, People, And Tribal Knowledge

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, um we um we we had been through a few transitions here. Um currently, everyone who works here, we've there's about 150. They're like my family. Um there's no immediate family here, um not even any cousins or anything like that, just the way things worked out. Um but um you know, my sister's smart. She she moved to Florida, so um, she got out of dodge, you know. Um so she's smarter than I am. Um but um the uh the net net is that um yeah, the um the business evolved. We ended up expanding at one point into Niagara Falls, New York, um in the early 2000s, heavily involved with PRP. Um of course at that time we um became part of uh the Phoenix group and we went, I guess you could call it public with a conditional concurrent IPO. So that was uh quite an interesting um uh sequence of events in our history. And then um as it as it turned out, um we were able to get the business back, was able to buy it back in um 2018. We got our businesses back, we own the lands, and um we you know terminated the leases with Phoenix. And from then on, I've um I've taken over. And in the last you know, seven years or so, seven, eight years, we've um we've really grown back and we're back to where we were prior to the acquisition of Phoenix in 2015. So um it's really uh a testament to like being hands-on, being that family type business where we have that, you know, not that corporate feel to it. We can work with key people, many of whom I was able to bring back, who are gonna listen to this and they'll they'll know who they are. Um these types of people, they don't grow on trees, you know. Um, you can't you can't be in business without them. They have innate knowledge um and experience. And we're talking, we have folks with us that have been with us for 40 years. Um, and thank God they're still with us because they um they're the ones that make the place run. They're the ones that we lean on and others look up to. And now we know how things have evolved that our job is to give back to everyone in our organization to teach so that they can kind of absorb some of the spirit that we kind of grew up with, which is it's not common sense, it's not intuitive. I mean, our our industry is not necessarily uh rooted in AI. I mean, these these cars don't take themselves apart. We're 20, 30 years behind maybe some other industries in some respects. Um but the ingenuity of recyclers, uh, the smarts, um, and I'm seeing it more and more um as I'm networking, the um the spirit of the recyclers, the collaboration. You mentioned the profit groups. Um, we're bringing our whole company in into the fold here because at this point, for me, my job is to teach everything I know. I want to pass it on. I want them all to be better, smarter. Um, and I'm learning a boatload every day. I I'm humbled quite often because you know, there's folks that are in departments that are they're doing the job. So presumably they've thought about how to do it better once or twice because it's their career. And when you go in there, you know you have to listen. Um, so there's uh there's there's so much to this business, and um it's it's why we're all so busy and also you know run ragged, really. But that's that's the game. And um, and I love it and I'm fortunate to be here.

SPEAKER_04 17:42

Yeah, yeah. And it's awesome to hear your perspective. You know, there's a lot of times where growth uh comes from seeing what others overlook and leaning into strengths and leaning into those people that are key people and key players, and being able to kind of come back from you know being purchased and then being able to buy it back. Hearing that story is is such a cool, cool way and cool perspective. You know, there's not a lot of yards that have done that. I I don't actually know of any other yards that have done that personally. And so uh hearing that story is is is very cool and uh a very cool way to bring back your business and and to shout out the people, the key players that you you have. It's it's a very neat way to be able to uh to look at the business. So we're gonna go ahead and take a quick break here. When we come back, we're gonna hear from David Gold. I hope you guys are taking notes. He has so many different perspectives and so much knowledge here, uh, from being former uh ARA president and board member to now our URG uh board member as well. So please stay tuned and we'll be back after these messages.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

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SPEAKER_01 19:35

Welcome back, listeners. If you're listening to me right now, that means you're still listening to one of the best podcasts about the automotive recycling industry, the URG on the go podcast. I would like to remind everyone that we are available on Spotify, on iTunes, on Pandora, Stitcher, iHeartMedia, and wherever else you may get your podcasts. Uh so make sure you download and give us a listen. And now Back to the show, Amanda.

State Of The Industry And Profit Pressures

SPEAKER_04 20:03

All right, Michael. Thank you so much for that intro. Uh, and we are interviewing David Gold here for the podcast. David Gold is uh owner at Standard Auto Wreckers in Port Hope, Ontario. And then you also have another location. Is that correct, David? In Toronto.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

Yeah, um. Exactly. Yeah, our home base is in Toronto, and Port Hope is uh is a really robust distribution center, which is just an hour east of here. And then we have our location in Ottawa, which is um really just a distribution center where we have salespeople and a and a building for uh to bridge the Ontario and Quebec market. So, yeah, so those are our three locations.

SPEAKER_04 20:43

I love it. That's perfect. And so I wanted to dig into previously we we got into the origin story of how you got started in the automotive recycling industry and your your heavy involvement in the industry, and and most people in this industry know, I think, of you or who you are, obviously, with being ARA president and now as a URG board member. I want to go over a little bit of the the state of the industry right now. What are some recyclers coming to you for advice on for the most part right now with this industry and the way it is?

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Yeah, it's a good question because recyclers are looking for guidance. Um, we can see that at, for example, like the URG training conference, how robust it is, and and just the amount of people that are attending and showing up. And that's because they they're looking for answers. They they need to learn. I think um I think the the business is it's a little confusing for sure. Um, it's complex. I mean, for one, vehicles are becoming more complex. Um, humans are also becoming more complex, but that's another podcast, probably. Um I I think there's there's a lot of a lot of bright folks that are uh lending themselves to be vendors to the industry. So it's a lot of tools to the industry that we didn't have before. You know, we always had you know a quasi-buying tool, but now you've got everything from you know rooting to answering your calls via AI. It's the whole spectrum and everywhere and everything in between. So I think that um recyclers at the end of the day need to um need to understand them, they need they need the training. Um, but ultimately, in order for them to keep coming back and to keep innovating and and growing, they need to make money. Um, we're not subsidized, um, not in this country, not in America, to my knowledge. We're pretty much on our own to make it. And I know that recyclers are really keen on the bottom line. How do we just not, you know, work our tails off here? And how do we streamline the business to focus on, you know, a profit so that we can invest, invest in ourselves, invest in equipment, which breaks down over time. We're still heavily dependent on equipment in our businesses. It's not just delivery trucks, it's loaders. It's it's our crusher that just got fixed today that we're just trying it now for the first time. And fingers crossed it works.

SPEAKER_04 23:26

In the negative 30s, is that I'm I'm sure the coin doesn't help with the breakdown of your equipment either.

Tech, Training, And Vendor Landscape

SPEAKER_02 23:32

You almost don't even want to run it. Um, yeah. But you know, when you're when you're on 11 acres and you're you're buying hundreds of cars a week, you got to crush them and get them out. Yeah, keep it moving. Um, and I see recyclers asking the right questions. Um, you're right. I'm I'm always talking recyclers. Uh I know the last URG convention, I I showed up around five o'clock. Some left for dinner. I'm standing in the lobby. I don't want to exaggerate, but maybe within a five-foot radius, um, just talk to one person after another. The group that went for dinner, when they came back, I was still standing in that five-foot radius. Um, and I and that's because I love the people. Now I was so hungry. I had my luggage and stuff, otherwise, I might have gone for dinner with them. But I I felt an overwhelming sense of joy. I'll tell you, this is this is not folklore. This is this is true. Um, and even I had a conference call with Dan Snyder the other day, and and we we started off with when are we gonna make this trip to the Caribbean? Um, so you know, I think it's the friendships, and when you look at how the recyclers evolve, the ones that I've seen that have really grown, they've embraced recyclers, they've been embraced giving up their knowledge and and getting knowledge back. Um, and that's why I put myself out there. I'm really not afraid to say anything, what I think, what I see. Um, I just penned an article and and sent it off to the autorecycling world. Um, and when it's published, I'll I'll send it your way. And it's very critical of a lot of the things that are important to recyclers, specifically um the underground economy and what's happening, um, the shrinking of our marketplace in some areas likely worse than others. My areas, it's pretty bad. Um, jumping around a bit there. But you know, with respect to the spirit of your question, I think that um there are many recyclers that are struggling. We've seen it. And um, maybe a lot of it has to do with the uncertainty in the marketplace. Um, maybe before it was a little bit of COVID, maybe it was EV. Um, maybe the land that they were on was worth more um sold to whomever. Um, we know that around us, we've had one sell to an auction, um, one sell for self-storage, one actually sell for building development. So maybe the dirt was worth more than the business because it wasn't profitable, which is which is a shame because one of them had a 60-year legacy in my marketplace with roots in the community that was loved, um, that we did tremendous amount of business with. But the pressures um for that particular business, it was the insurance um bill that came in that was just put them over the edge. It was just too much. So I think that recyclers need to be profitable because um everyone around them, and I guess to get to get to the point, everyone around us, they need more. They need more, they need more, they need to make more money. It's just the nature of the game. We all do, um, as the expenses, the cost of living increases, and our expenses in our business are are going up. We track the metrics and we see what's going on. So I think ultimately um the the struggles have a lot to do with profitability as a rule. And then every recycling facility out there, it's unique. They have unique populations, unique, you know, designs, unique acreage, building, whatever other limitations they may have and and or advantages. So everyone has to be um essentially reviewed on their own merits. And uh I see that um a lot of them are looking for answers. And um, and the good news is there's a lot of bright people, a lot brighter than than me, that are are actively involved in talking to them, mentoring them, and engaged with working with them. And I thank God for that because I I utilize those same people that have helped push me because we need pushes. We need we need the push. And um, and thankfully we've got some bright lights and um and they're all friends of URG and they're at the meetings, and um, and I keep very close to everyone, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_04 27:45

Yeah, that that's one of the coolest parts about the industry and URG as a whole, as you know, there are a lot of newer people too coming to the industry wondering how they're gonna be profitable, how they're gonna keep up with buying cars, how they're gonna inventory properly, how they're gonna, you know, keep up with technology and and how to run their business profitably. Uh, and there there is so many people to rely on that are willing to share those experiences, such as yourselves or you know, a Dan Snyder, or you're even joining the profit team consulting and the different groups that uh just have people that they can rely on to really help grow their business. So it's it's such a cool avenue for for people. And you know, I love small business. That's my passion, is not necessarily small business, but entrepreneurship, you know, starting a business and and moving it from the ground up. And even if you are, you know, buying it and taking it over and and seeing those different perspectives and and how you know the ever-evolving economy can really affect the way we're buying, the way we're dismantling, the way we're, you know, just doing our day-to-day processes and how to make them more profitable. And I think that's one thing that you do well is being able to evaluate those things and where your where your your strength is too. Um, you know, you're always looking for new technology, and and you just did a uh a URG website as well with us and and getting kind of up to date with with all that different stuff and and how important that is for your business.

Green Vehicle Disposal Strategy

SPEAKER_02 29:22

Absolutely, and I I'm really inspired by everything that URG is doing in that regard. Um, if you'd have asked me five years ago, would would I get URG to build my website, um, I wouldn't have thought so. Um for a myraid of reasons. You know, you're you're there, I'm I'm here. Um we can't really meet and sit at a boardroom table, but um it's not necessary now. And a lot of the the plugins and technology that we need and rely on, URG's already got it. So it's an absolute natural when I rethought about it, and we actually had to make the decision because ours was antiquated and so forth. And just dealing with the URG team on the web services side was humbling to me. How sharp and smart the team is, that the templates, the ease of use, the ability to work with our existing team that has you know the knowledge of what works for our business. Um, and any hiccups that we encountered, I quickly nipped them in the butt, you know, not just because I'm a URG board member, it's just because everyone in the room was responsive and and knowledgeable. So I was learning as I was um sort of giving instructions of what we need in this business to make it tick. And um and I can see the uh the services um that URG is providing, specifically in this particular case, the website, but of course, on the warranty program, um being able to help diagnose and help complement sales managers that are overwhelmed with trying to grow sales, trying to deal with remote salespeople, which is a tall word on itself, to know they get the backing of URG, which is gonna constantly evolve and grow and get better because we're gonna make sure that it does and help make parts stick or help diagnose the issue. Um, just being with Shane in in in Dallas Fort Worth um recently for the uh the screening, um, getting to know him and seeing you know how how smart he is and how he's constantly learning. Um, because we quite honestly don't understand all the products that we have. We can't be experts at every make and model. And I'm seeing more and more, yeah, our customers aren't either. They need the help, they need the guidance. Uh, it's unreal. So they they really don't know in many respects um the uh the particulars of certain components and how what makes them tick. And I see that trend getting tougher going forward. So we need a strong URG. This is a big part of association work, you know. In the olden days, it was advocating for legislation and and you know protecting protecting our industry. Now we need this extra help. That's how complex the business has become. And I know URG is gonna play a big part in that going forward. Um, and they're the only ones doing that. And um, and I'm gonna make sure that um anything I can do to help propel that, um, we do it as a as a URG board and as a URG team because um it's it's very, very important for the future of our industry.

SPEAKER_04 32:41

I completely agree. Yes, and that's exactly why we we wanted you as a board member, and you know, you're so involved and and and ready to to help at any moment's notice. And so we we really appreciate all the feedback and and having some, you know, that's what the importance is of the board members is you guys are in it day to day and and seeing what's happening and and being able to rely on you guys to really help develop these products and make them and tailor them to the the modern-day automotive recycler. And uh talking about evolving and and growing different things, you guys are involved in the green vehicle disposal. Can you tell me a little bit about that and and where that origin happened and and how that that came to be?

SPEAKER_02 33:28

Absolutely. I mean, and thank you for everything you said, by the way. Um because I I could tell you I feel the same way about Christy, who I've known for a long time. Uh Kristen and yourself, Amanda. Um, I'm I'm constantly encouraged. You've come to our profit meetings and presented, you come to our association meetings, um, and the industry needs to hear it. The folks all around, statewide, provincially, we we need to hear it. So thank you for that. And of course, to my fellow board members. Um, the two Matt's Junior, Ryan, Kelly, you know, um, I love the group.

SPEAKER_04 34:08

So um the Rockstar group. It's an all-star, all-star team right there.

SPEAKER_02 34:13

Love them. Love it.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yeah, we're gonna have to get all of them to go to the Bahamas. Well, Amanda, we'll make sure we're gonna have to make sure we get in on that.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

You're right.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

Yeah. Sounds like it can't be that hard, right? There you go.

Staying Profitable By Staying Focused

SPEAKER_02 34:28

There you go. Exactly. Exactly. Um good deal. I think um the Green Vehicle Disposable Program, and I appreciate you asking about it, it's it's an important part uh for me specifically, and it's very close to my heart. It's it's it's almost more personal because it's it's built for recyclers, um, obviously by a recycler. I started it because we needed to take back our industry. Um, quite honestly, for a long time, and we see it now. There's outside lead brokers, there's unlicensed operators, and they've driven a wedge between auto-recycling businesses. Um they're scooping vehicles from underneath us, they're cutting corners, um, they're undermining the credibility of real environmentally responsible recyclers. That's the way I saw it back then. Um, I ended up partnering with um a really good group of recyclers from the beginning that understood the value of it. We we got on a call, a group of 10 of us, and then I got on a call with another group of 10 recyclers. Also, a lot of people may not know that back in in 2008, all of which advocated for licensed recyclers and said, David, we're in. If you're doing this, um, you know, I've got Jim Watson back there um on the wall there back in 2005. He said, David, if if you're doing this, you count me in. Um and um the uh the spirit of it was to make sure we elevate auto recyclers and elevate their stature and their community and differentiate them from other impostors. So that's the spirit with which GVD is created. So what we do is when recyclers join G V D, they don't just get like a banner on a website, they plug into a national marketing engine that routes real local customers to their business. That's what we do. We do exclusive branding and we have a certification that instantly sets the affiliate, as we call them at GBD, apart from other impostors, other junk operators in their community. We help them with SEO authority and the digital marketing muscle that we have that amplifies their visibility online. We help them with lead capture technology that turns web traffic into pickup and part sales. So we want vehicle acquisitions. Of course, we all need it in a buy or die business. Um, we have a professional SEO representative. I'm actually standing in his chair right now, so I have some quiet here. Um Jay Jay Gronofsky is his name. Um, and he's here, he's been here since the beginning. Um, has roots right from the beginning of the inception of the internet with respect to um how it works and how to elevate our business here locally, and of course, all the affiliates that come on board with GBD to optimize them and help them grow from day one. So the um the program is um is taking off. We partnered with Jim McKenney and his team, Alex and Chris. We're regularly in communication with them. We're investing um a lot of resources, a lot of my time and their time and and money into the program. Um, we have good programmers and good coders on the team. And um, in some respects, it's it's like a light switch. Uh in Mill Iron's case, we plugged them in and and we ended up um really changing the dynamics for them um in terms of vehicle acquisition. We became a big part of their business, and that's what we hope to to do going forward. And we do it by working with the recycler, collaborating with them, and uh there are recyclers of integrity that have authority in their local marketplace, and we want to see them succeed. So that's the way I see it. I see it uh helping shape the next generation of good recyclers, and um we're um really we're really excited about the future of GVD now.

SPEAKER_04 38:43

Sounds awesome. And yeah, it's it's kind of the same spirit of URG having those progressive automotive recyclers that are represented in their area. And um, you know, when recyclers work together, you can help protect the the margin, the brand, and the long-term industry health, right? And and that goes towards towards getting those cars, those vehicles as well. So very, very cool. And and if they're if they're wanting to get signed up for the green vehicle disposal, how would they go about doing that?

SPEAKER_02 39:15

Absolutely. I mean, we have um something very interesting that actually some listeners may want to tune into. It's uh autorecycling.ai. It's um it's a website, autorecycling.ai, and it's got uh a little uh blurb about the nuances of the industry and then how GBD can help elevate them in ways that quite honestly, we can't do it alone. I know even for myself, um, with the with the history that we have in our own city, I still need the power of GBD. So um I encourage those. Um, shameless plug, maybe. Um, and now that I think about it, autorecycling.ai has a short little video which explains it. Um And of course, um on Easy Suite, um the uh their website has uh the information for sign up and um and that's what um Alex and Chris are doing um in concert with um Jimmy Kenny, myself, and Jay and our team here. Um so Easy Suite's actually taking the lead to sign up the recyclers and work with the recyclers. So yeah, I appreciate that. And it's uh and they're very responsive. Everyone knows uh everyone knows them. So it was a natural for us to partner with them because um what they've got going on there, um, they've they're taking G V D to levels that I I couldn't do it with Jay alone either, because we're adding on to the suite of their products and um they're telling me stuff daily that's okay, pretty cool. I'm glad I'm glad we found the route right partner with G VD, and we certainly did. And it's it's gonna be a great fit for a lot of recyclers, and we're gonna make a difference because that's just the way it's gonna be. We're we're gonna be there for them and not gonna get in between them and uh uh consumers selling their vehicle in any way, shape, or form like so many others. So uh we uh we plan on growing, and I hope uh we all talk about it a lot more because it's um it's it's for me the uh the future and that's where my heart's at to see recyclers thrive with the program.

SPEAKER_04 41:17

Yeah. And I know Mill Iron has a self-service. This is this for both full service and self-service. Can they utilize this as well?

SPEAKER_02 41:26

Great question. Um, yes, you can. Umiron does have a self-service. I think initially the spirit of it was more geared towards those that are looking to acquire vehicles that have reached the end of their life, you know, due to natural causes. Um and no doubt about that. But now I'm finding that we're getting a lot more interest in vehicles that might not otherwise come to us. So we are sending every day one, two, three, four vehicles to our late model operation that we wouldn't otherwise be in the market for um in the past. So I would say that with the 15 social media and web intellectual properties that GVD has that are indexed and that have authority, it actually helps elevate even just late model yards alone, that um whether or not they're interested in older end-olake vehicles or not, they'll still want to be a part of it. And there's a big place in the program for them. And of course, we tailor um the program to suit their needs. So yeah, I'm glad you asked that. That's uh something we've never discussed, but yes, it's a it's a very good point, and it and it is for all recyclers, 100%.

SPEAKER_04 42:39

Perfect, perfect. And and yeah, there's a I know there's a link on your current site that we just built for you as well that they can add onto their website. And and if you get a URG website, we are familiar with it and have plugged it in on a couple other sites as well. So I think that's something that we're working on with Jay actually here recently. So that's definitely if you guys have any questions regarding that, uh, as well as URG uh web services, please feel free to reach out as well. Uh, so thank you so much for all that information. I hope you guys are taking notes on all of this. It's all valuable information that you can use for the future and or you know, give us a call here soon. But I wanted to focus on you know profitability and staying in your lane, you know, kind of what is one thing recyclers are doing today that's hurting profitability. We had talked about you know how important it is to be profitable here at the beginning of the show. Uh, what are they doing that's maybe hurting their profitability without realizing it?

Hands-On Leadership And Team Training

SPEAKER_02 43:43

I see recyclers, and this is a very important topic. Um, and believe me, I'm I'm no expert. I'm listening and I'm learning all the time. And um what I've observed and what I've spoken uh to recyclers, big and small, is that some of them are just doing too many things at once, and it's pretty hard to focus. Um, I know for me, one of the hardest things for me is is has been to just say no. I don't want this product line in my business. I don't want to um go out of my lane to the extent where I'm working on small percentages as opposed to real dollars. Um I think focusing on the core business, especially for those that are having trouble right now financially. We make the most on our own parts. Um there's a place for some recyclers to get into the service business. You know, there's a place to have a tire shop, there's a place to have aftermarket. Um, I'm contemplating getting into the scrap business, but doing it in a way that doesn't detract from my core business because that would be uh a real threat to the core business, which is our cash cow, which we cannot let happen. So I think, yeah, you you're you're absolutely right. We we got to stay in our lane and we got to simplify the business because what I've observed, it's it's so complex. It's complex for this new generation to understand how we make money. They're they're so used to just buying stuff on Amazon and returning it and and all this stuff, which is nauseating to me, quite honestly.

SPEAKER_04 45:22

Um it is.

SPEAKER_02 45:27

I want to encourage them to think and engage. I mean, I've changed our business model here now. Every week, starting this year, we have a management team, there's five of us, and then myself, we're bringing in a supervisor every week to to make sure that we don't just say that we're teaching them, but we're gonna we're gonna come back from our conference and sit down with a bigger group. But every week there's some supervisor in our company, there's about 14, that are gonna come in and get time with us, and we're going to teach them some of this innate knowledge that we collectively have. So nothing gets left, you know, unspoken about. They got a question, hit it. You know, we may not have answers, but we're gonna we're gonna figure it out. If we need to call Gen C to help us figure out a program, we'll do it. You know, if something's broken, we need to know. If they got a better idea, we need to hear about it. Um, and the profit team group has given us the impetus to be able to now focus on our core business. And that's what I'm doing this year is to making sure that I can I can end 2026 knowing that I've given everything I had to make sure that the key people in there um are trained up to do the main cash cow part of the business. And and I think what I'm seeing with with others is they're just trying to do too much, and and I don't want to be guilty of that. So I've I've narrowed it down and I'm trying to simplify it. Um, and I'm figuring out what makes more money, what and do more of that, and do less of everything else kind of thing. So that's where my mind has gone, and it's sometimes not clear with with with those in the profit group, but by the time I explain it, you know, heads turn and and I get some, you know, people saying, geez, there there's uh uh how could I change my business um to be more profitable? Because at the end of the day, as we said earlier, you're right, that we need to be profitable.

SPEAKER_04 47:29

Yeah, completely. So it's all great information. And and I think that's one thing, especially with profit team consulting, you know, being able to take a look at your bottom line and being able to really look at your profit margins and seeing where processes are more efficient and where you are potentially losing money and having lower profits. Uh, and and you know, you may be running those big numbers, but the profit is low and and being able to see see where that is. So essentially the takeaway from that would be, you know, profit comes from discipline, focus, and knowing your core business, right? That's kind of where you're saying you you know you're looking into scrap, but you don't want to take away from the core business.

Why URG And Board Service

SPEAKER_02 48:12

Yeah, I think that's exactly right. And sometimes, you know, we're great at teaching each other as recyclers in the profit team meetings. Um, but sometimes we feel, and I'm I feel like I've been guilty of this, um, passing this to our teams in in a really um profound way so they get the same sense. Because I I'm going to Arizona next week. Uh you know, you can't take everybody with you. I I love it. You know, when they came to Toronto, I had there was like 20-something of us in this room. I have a massive boardroom, and um, I don't think um in too many places that um did recyclers bring in so many people from their company, but I wanted them to be involved, especially when they were talking about our numbers. So yeah, that was um fortuitous to be able to do that on site. But I think you're absolutely right. There's um big focus on profitability, and big numbers do not necessarily um mean big profits at the end, and uh recyclers are starting to find that out, and um and I'm I'm finding it out myself, so I'm streamlining things and changing direction because the stakes are high. There's a lot of mouths to feed here, and this business is tough. It's not for the faint to heart. It's we work hard. I I'll be honest, I I've never worked harder actually. Um I'm I'm here six days a week, as stupid as that sounds. Um I'm I'm living and breathing it. It's it's a love, it's a labor of love, but I also I want it to be successful, and I'm gonna make sure I do everything I can to see that it's successful.

SPEAKER_04 49:45

I'm sure your employees are seeing that. You know, you had mentioned you have uh about 150 employees now, and and you're investing in and bringing in those managers and and really training them and and making sure that they are giving you feedback too. It's just kind of how we we have you guys as a board member, uh, you know, because you're in the day-to-day, but they're really in the the nitty-gritty of it, you know, selling those parts and dismantling those parts and and working with it and and being able to rely on your your employees and your your management as well is super important. And the fact that you guys are so hands-on, I think, is is key, right?

SPEAKER_02 50:22

Well, it helps because it's um you can't just mark orders from an ivory tower or anything like that. You gotta actually be in there and and do the job to know. Um, and before I would say anything about a department, I I would have to go there for an hour or two. Um, because that's how you learn. Even if you want to learn what's going on with the delivery trucks and the systems, you gotta go, gotta go for a run one day and go on the road. Um, the knowledge you gain, it's invaluable. So I would um I would definitely concur. If we uh if we want to make better decisions in the business, we gotta get in there and we gotta we we gotta be engaged. We gotta be engaged in our own businesses, and we uh we can't just leave it a chance because that does not turn out well.

SPEAKER_04 51:03

100% awesome. All right, we will break for one more uh one more time and we will come back after these messages. Learn more about standard auto records here, and we will be right back.

SPEAKER_00 51:18

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-G dot com and click on the Scholarship Foundation tab. URG, keeping our industry strong through education.

SPEAKER_01 52:14

We're back. Thank you one and all for staying with Amanda, myself, and David on the URG on the go podcast. Take it away, Amanda.

SPEAKER_04 52:23

Thank you so much, Michael. So we've been discussing all the industry ins and outs with David Gold here from Standard Auto Records in Port Hope, Ontario. He's got a few different locations up in Canada. You most likely have heard of him. He is a past ARA president and now a current URG board member that we love having on the team. David, thank you again so much for being on today. I wanted to kind of go into more of uh, you know, why URG and the board membership. Uh how did you how did you get involved and and how was that, how did that pique your interest?

URG Warranty Program In Practice

SPEAKER_02 53:04

Um I was with URG from the beginning. So with respect to URG, from the moment of its inception, I knew that the bright lights were um helping put this together and bringing in at that time the pinnacle system, which I was on the auto info system, which was sold and it was it was actually crashing. The interchange from Hollander was not working properly, it was a mess. And um we be uh we I I went to Jim Counts and you know, and he said, just let's get the pinnacle. I said, No one's got it here. And they said, Okay, well, you're gonna have Eden. Um, this will resonate with some people. Um, and it turns out we switched to Pinnacle, we were the only yard in Canada at the time. Wow, Eden didn't work between our yard and all of our trading partners in our region. So we became the only yard in North America that was literally on an island. Nobody could see our inventory, and we couldn't see anyone else's inventory. This is just before car part. So our sales like dropped, they went down. And Jim can Jim Counts told me don't worry, and it was kind of drastic, it was unnerving. Let's focus on the business. You got a better system, let's focus on the business and take a step back, and that's exactly what we did. And we went only up from there. Um, obviously, it helped to get the eating link, obviously, it helped when we had uh exchange key with Carpart. Um, but there was a period of time when it was dicey. Um, and a lot of people also thought, geez, what are they doing going a pinnacle? But it was uh it was the right decision. The um the result of it meant that there was other Canadians that took notice and eventually came on so we could trade with them and they they followed suit thereafter. Um, so I've loved URG, I love the spirit behind it, I love the fact it's member driven. Um I love the the long-term focus. I see I'm watching it evolve um in ways that quite frankly are very good for the overall industry. A lot of stakeholders have noticed that. Um, I remember at a time where it was more exclusive, and um I never really, really got that, but now it's it's more open and it's much better. You know, as Michael said earlier, the the the engagement of everybody collectively floats the whole boat higher, and that's what I'm seeing at URG. So when I got the call from Chrissy, um straight up I told her, you know, I'm I'm humbled. Um wasn't necessarily the same way for me at ARA because initially I just couldn't take it on. And then there was a time when I I was able to take it on because you're you really do leave your business for about a year. Um and it's at least presence they're they've gone bankrupt. They're gone. Um, it's been disruptive. They didn't have the the backing of their people to be able to take it on. Um with URG, it's it's uh it's much different. It's um a board that runs really well with with the great team. I mean, how how can you beat it? It's it's a pleasure to be able to give and take and share ideas and see where um URG wants to go and and help be a part of it. So I I just told her straight off the bat I'm humbled. Did the interview with um uh those on the board, and um I I told them my heart's in it, and I'm there, and uh and I'm proud that um they asked me. I'm honored and I'm gonna um I'm gonna do everything I can for URG. That is a certainty.

Rapid-Fire Advice For Recyclers

SPEAKER_04 56:49

Yeah, it was it was so much fun uh hanging out with you for the first I mean I've hung out with you before, but as the board member, uh as a as a new board member at the uh all access debut in in when we were at the stockyards, and you get your first cowboy boots, or I don't know if they were your first cowboy boots, but you got you know your stockyards pair of cowboy boots. That was so much fun. And um, yeah, you've just been a blessing to have on the on the board and and being able to see you develop your business through URG programs too, you know, we working with you directly. I've I've been able to work directly with you and your team on your website, um, and just some support items. I know Michael's worked with a few different things with you know, supporting y'all as well. Um, and you're on the warranty. I know you mentioned Shane and talking with Shane on the warranty program. Can you tell us a little? We haven't really talked a whole lot about the warranty program uh on the on the podcast, but it is one of our bigger pieces as well and part of our business. And how has that helped you guys uh at you know standard autorecards?

SPEAKER_02 57:55

Well, it's it's helped us tremendously, especially that um everything is contained in the portal. Um it's quite humbling to see that. It's almost like a CRM, but just for extended warranty. So now our sales manager just shoots me a link. I can see, um, and I'm not actively involved in as much as he is, along with with uh the some of the other managers um at our main location, but you could see the whole sequence of events with led up to the the issue. Um, they can put images in there. I see all the the call recordings, so uh the interactions with the customer on the platform. Obviously, you got the technical service bulletins, and then you get you know the support from Shane as as required to actually speak to the customer. In our market, they're not used to a third party, meaning they, meaning shops, aren't necessarily used to a third party calling and inquiring about the vehicle and the issue with the part. Um, but that's a big part of what's been happening in the in the US for a long time. It's slowly happening here in my market. And quite honestly, um, I briefly mentioned earlier, we need it. Um recycl need a warranty advocate so that we can learn, we can help make parts stick. The last thing we want to do is have that part come back. Um they're very complicated now. We're dealing with computers on wheels. And to know that URG is gonna constantly evolve with um the education and training on the on the warranty side, I think um it's gonna be a big part of the uh the association going forward. And um, I just want to support that. And I know that you got a lot of raving fans for sure on the warranty side. Um, you know, us being one of them, obviously hanging out with Shane was an eye opener for me for sure. We don't have that in our market. And um and now with URG, we do.

SPEAKER_04 59:47

Yeah, that's awesome. That's that's a great little snippet about it. And if you guys have any questions or listeners, if you guys have any questions about URG benefits or programs, websites, warranty, any of that, please feel free to reach out. uh to me or our support team and we'll we'll make sure to to to get that reviewed with you and and get you signed up. So David, I just have a couple of rapid fire wrap-up questions. If you could just kind of give me little snippets of of these little tidbits that maybe will help recyclers that are starting out andor that are struggling. What would be uh one habit every profitable yard should have probably review what actually makes money and do more of that.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:34

Know your numbers and focus on the the top line revenue and the most profitable aspect of the business. 100% love that what is one distraction recycler distractions uh recycler should drop chasing every new tool perhaps without necessarily an ROI um and that may also go for chasing every new product line or every new idea without contemplating what it might do to the overall core business.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:05

I can see uh that being paramount for recyclers to understand myself included yep yep and using leveraging those people that you know in the industry right and and maybe seeing if someone else has already traded out and and get their perspective. What's one investment worth making right now?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:25

People training accountability I mean that investment is pays off and it's long term and it builds onto itself. So um these people are doing the job every day you want them to be the best they can do. And um we uh we now realize that we're going to invest heavily in our people at aura you're gonna see probably 20 20 of our team members there we want to involve them and make sure they're at the table and we want to listen and we want them to be um you know really top of their game. That's my mission here because um it's a very people dependent business and that's the nature of auto recycling.

Closing Thanks And Contact Reminder

SPEAKER_04 1:02:08

100% yeah um Craig Aguilera in one of his sessions that this quote really stuck with me the the one thing worse than training your employee and having them leave is not training them and having them stay. And that's a Henry Ford quote which I thought was just so perfect and so especially for this industry. So I love that answer that you gave uh what's best the best advice you've ever received what's one piece that you've received for this industry I think moreover and this is something that was ingrained in me a long time ago but I would say maybe focus on what I can control and do it well as opposed to get caught up in you know I saw it 25 years ago in Vancouver there was BC there was a yard called United and the ownership you know the Mott family were was working on protecting vehicles from being stolen and getting involved in legislation that was so distracting um subsequently this particular facility and there was about 10 plus uh United locations are out of business and I and I learned from an early on I don't think I'm gonna fix the underlying criminal aspect of what might be going on in my marketplace. I I want to focus on what I can control not get overwhelmed by geopolitical situations tariff wars you know an upside down world the list goes on um so I would say yeah you know like you really I for me that was good advice and I don't remember where it came from exactly but um I I know that I preached it a lot yeah to those who have to focus on what we can control it's stuck it's stuck absolutely and not uh not get overwhelmed by outside forces that's great advice great advice well my one and final rapid fire question um the last one who do you think we should have on the podcast next who and what would you like kind of hearing about for podcast it's a good question because um my first thought is maybe someone that's doing something exceptionally well um and um I don't know I mean I I've been back and forth with Hayden Davies just before this podcast I I sent him an article and I uh I always enjoy talking to him because he seems to be talking to recyclers all over the world um or he is talking to recyclers all over the world and he says things that I don't hear from the average you know person um quite honestly um directly related to what we do so one one thought might be what might might be Hayden Davies yeah um that's not not a recycler but um hey any suggestion that you guys yeah anything that would you know pique anyone in the recycling industry's uh interest we love to we love to hear recommendations so uh well david thank you so much again for being on today uh I just wanted to um just really get across to everyone how reliable you are as well as a as a resource within the industry uh and someone that you know can really uh help broaden perspective as well when it comes to topics in the industry and and being involved in the different uh you know consulting you know profit team consulting as well as ARA and URG you're just so heavily involved in the industry and and always kind of touching base and and getting the pulse of the industry so I really appreciate having you on Michael did you have anything you wanted to say to wrap up this episode?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:57

Thank you Amanda thank you David and a very special thanks to you for listening to the URG on the go podcast we hope you enjoyed this episode and would like like to remind you that if you would like more we have a back catalog of episodes on Spotify iTunes Pandora Stitcher iHeartMedia please like subscribe and give us a listen awesome thank you again David thanks david guys I I really appreciate it Amanda Michael Chuck thank you um I almost get the chills in the way it's it's this was fun so I thank you for that and um yes you're right I'm an open book we all are we're all uh available at any time we get a text or an email we respond right away happy to help so um I appreciate everything you guys are doing for all of us um recyclers we need you and um we appreciate it believe me we really really do and I appreciate this today so thank you for thinking of me I really appreciate it uh a lot of fun of course a lot of fun all right everyone thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time on the URG on the go podcast