By Caryn Smith • Photos by Sonja Yearsley

Relying on years of experience working in the self-service sector for Foster Auto Parts and LKQ, Mark Forcum set out to apply his knowledge to his own venture. What started out as a “side hobby” has now become a top-notch three-location Certified Automotive Recycler (CAR) operation. Automotive Recycling magazine discussed his journey from acquiring the self-service Yakima location in 2013 to expanding his self-service and now full-service auto recycling business across three locations: Yakima, Pasco, and Kennewick.

Mark detailed the extensive renovations and expansions, including a new production facility in Kennewick to support the strategic shift toward electric vehicles (EVs). He also emphasized the importance of CAR certification for environmental standards and safety, which served as the basis for building the business. Here is what he has to say.

Automotive Recycling magazine: What is your background in automotive recycling?

Mark Forcum: I started my auto recycling career at Foster Auto Parts in Portland, Oregon, in 1980. I helped Fred Hopp’s team build it into a regional powerhouse with two full-service stores and five U-Pull-It Auto Wrecking locations. In 2004, LKQ acquired Foster Auto Parts, and I continued to work for LKQ as a district manager, then moved into business development. I was traveling around the country looking for opportunities to either buy existing self-service yards for LKQ or find property to develop self-service yards from scratch. We did quite a few of those, and I held that role for 7 years.

I already had extensive experience in construction and facility development for Foster Auto Parts, where I worked prior to their LKQ acquisition. So, this work felt natural to me, and I enjoyed traveling around the country, visiting salvage yards, talking to people, and seeing what was out there.

ARM: Provide details about your business and how it has developed.

Forcum: In the fall of 2013, I acquired the Yakima location while I was still working for LKQ. This was an existing full-service yard that was neglected. It required a major remodel of the existing buildings to make them useful and to develop a sales and production area. For the first year and a half, I started with a partner and store manager to run this operation. I would come home from the road on a weekend, spend a short time with the family, and then drive from my home outside of Portland, Oregon, to Yakima to work at the site. This facility opened in early 2014.

In 2015, I decided that working for LKQ was not going in the direction I envisioned and left to devote myself full-time to the self-service business.

I purchased a Pasco location, which was an existing junkyard—it was rough—so I tore everything down, regraded the yard, and started from scratch. The facility was properly engineered for stormwater, with a block wall perimeter fence, new buildings, and equipment. This facility opened in March 2016.

In 2019, I purchased property next door to my Yakima location to build a new production facility, expand my holding pen for incoming cars, and expand my customer parking. Yakima is now 7 acres total, with 15 employees and 900 vehicles.

In 2022, I purchased a scrapyard next to the Pasco location. I also tore down those existing buildings and remediated the soil. I built a brand-new production facility and a building to house a car crusher. I applied concrete to the entire two-acre property as a basis for hauling and processing. Pasco is now 8 acres, with 15 employees and 900 vehicles.

In September of 2023, I purchased 20 acres for the new Kennewick location. It was just raw farmland, but it was zoned heavy industrial, like my other two locations.

We built it from the ground up, with civil engineering for grading and stormwater. Pre-engineered built an all-new facility with 3 new buildings, a large car crush area for scrap, and a building to house a car crusher. We opened in May of 2025 with 900 cars in stock for self-service. This new location will co-locate U-Pull-It Auto Parts and Supreme Truck & Auto Parts. Eventually, we’ll have about 2,000 cars at this location.

Kennewick is staffed with 25 employees and serves as our corporate headquarters. I have our accounting staff, dispatch, and car buying at this location.

All my locations are ARA CAR, RECALL, and HVV Certified for electric vehicle handling.

Housekeeping has always been very important to our operation.

ARM: How far apart are these three locations, and what type of vehicles do you inventory?

Forcum: Yakima is 85 miles away from Pasco. Pasco and Kennewick are 8 miles apart. We form a nice little triangle. We focus on late-model vehicles, mainly what people drive in our weather and terrain—Subarus, Toyotas, Nissans, and lots of trucks.

That is what works for us. It is amazing how everybody has their own twist on this business; we do the same thing, but everybody has their own way of doing things. I don’t know if there’s a right way or a wrong way. If it’s working, keep going.

ARM: How did you begin work in auto recycling?

Forcum: I’d always been into cars. My mom was a hairdresser, and one of her clients was Fred Hopp, the owner of Foster Auto Parts. I was going to college part-time and was out of money. I asked my mom if she could ask if Fred could give me a job. Also, I needed some car parts for a car I was fixing up. I left college and went to work for Fred, and I never left. I started in the warehouse and, after about 6 months, became a salesperson at the counter. One of the guys went to lunch, and they sent me out to go find him because he had a history of going to lunch at the tavern and not making it back. I found him, but he wasn’t ready to come back to work. So that’s how I ended up at the sales counter.

This was before computers, so everything was on file cards. It was a lot different back then.

When I started with Fred, he had one location. By the time he sold in 2004 to LKQ, I had become a partner with him at a location in Salem, Oregon, and together we had seven locations with 150 employees. It was quite a ride.

ARM: Why did you pivot into full-service auto recycling?

Forcum: I saw an opportunity to sell more parts to more customers. It gives us an opportunity to buy more cars, and we have a place for them in the business model to maximize the return. When I look at the LKQ model and the other consolidators, I see an opportunity in the full-service model to serve the customer base that they’re not serving. I like the retail business, and I want to target independent auto-body shops, independent repair shops, and rebuilders. They need parts, and I think I can service them a lot better than consolidators. I can sell them a door and then sell them all the other pieces inside that car they need, and you can’t get that with their model. Sometimes they don’t keep the hulk of the car, so they don’t have those pieces available. We have always focused on mechanical parts, and this again gives us the opportunity to say yes more often.

ARM: How is it working with your son Mitchell as the General Manager? How do you manage the father-son vs. boss-employee dynamics?

Forcum: It’s amazing. We treat business as a learning mentoring model; he wants to learn. He’s very good at catching on quickly. I’ve always tried to teach Mitch and all the other kids how business and life go hand in hand. Learn the value of hard work and why we do things to achieve the outcomes we want. If you can’t get the outcome you want, shift gears and do something different. It is great to have him here.

Mitchell’s been working full-time here for six years; he started when he was 19. He’s an owner. He’s a boss. We kick ideas around, and I like listening to what he has to say. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don’t, but it’s just great to run things by each other. I think it makes us both better.

ARM: Does Mitchell ever get tripped up around the facility by his age?

Forcum: We’ve talked about that. I had the same problem. I was 20 when I started at Foster Auto Parts, and within 6 years, I was managing facilities. It’s important to lead by example. Mitchell is very calm and stays focused. He’s a hard worker. He can relate to the young people who work for us.

For our customers, he goes to dealerships and buys cars from sales managers. He presents himself in a way that they can tell that he knows what he’s talking about. He is very professional, and he represents U-Pull-It Auto Parts very well.

ARM: What trends or changes do you see in the self-service industry from when you started until today?

Forcum: I think the biggest thing is the various point-of-sale systems today, which are a great thing for the self-service industry compared to when we started. You basically had to create your own point-of-sale system.

Today, you’ve got several vendors that have out-of-the-box systems, and I think because there’s good competition, they’re getting a lot better. We’re excited to see what comes. Social media has become much more important for marketing self-service yards. I think there’s more value there than in traditional media.

We use Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. The young guys run it—Mitchell, Edgar, Jeremy—so the people that are tuned in are doing it. I’m an old guy, so I’m out of the picture.

Customers demand more today than before. They want warranties, information about vehicle parts, and an easy shopping experience. We organize our yards by make and model. We put the most popular vehicles close to the sales counter so customers don’t have to search all over for the parts they want.

The complexity of vehicles has given self-service yards a lot more parts to sell. Just look at how many more items are on a 2010 Ford F-150 versus a 1980 Ford F-150. I think this trend will continue to provide a larger assortment of parts to sell.

ARM: Have you started using any AI tools?

Forcum: We just started using it for forecasting. For now, we use AI-generated data to compare it with our own manual forecasts when bidding on a car. That allows us to test and trust it, and it seems to be working well. I think there’s a lot more growth potential in AI for auto recycling that will change this industry. There might be an advantage for the early adopters who get a grasp on it. But AI is not going to be less work; it takes an awful lot of work to set it up and make it work in your system.

Mitchell is using it to write and update our policies and procedures. He is also using AI to record our equipment maintenance logs, which automatically send reminders when our production managers log the machine's hours and the date of service. It sends them a reminder of when it needs to be serviced again. AI and various models will help us run the business.

ARM: How do you plan to handle/not handle the EVs in your facility?

Forcum: We were handling EVs at all three locations. Now, we handle hybrid cars at all our locations because we buy lots of them. Then, we decided to move the pure EVs to our new Kennewick location. We store all EV and Hybrid batteries in a dedicated area of our facility.

At this point, we have sold some batteries to retail consumers. We have many that we’ll be selling to battery recyclers. Overall, the industry’s figuring it out, and I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

Gas-powered vehicles are still the go-to here. Electric vehicles have their place in big cities. Here in Eastern Washington, people drive a lot of miles.

ARM: How important have ARA’s CAR, RECALL and HVV certifications been to your facility, and how has it helped you?

Forcum: Well, it helps us run and operate an efficient business. Personally, being CAR Certified has always been my number one goal; it’s just the way we run our business. We’ve always been housekeeping-centric. We feel that having a clean facility promotes a better, safer work environment not only for our customers but also for our employees. That’s just our policy and procedure; we live, eat, and breathe it. The CAR Certified model of best practices also prioritizes environmental protection.

I just wouldn’t want to do it any other way.

Honestly, I like to be able to sleep well at night knowing that we’re doing the right thing for everybody, and especially for our employees. I want to stay up to date on the best practices, so I don’t have to worry about someone getting hurt. That’s really the main push and goal.

We’re processing hybrid and electric vehicles. If we don’t train and want to have employees certified to handle those cars, we shouldn’t buy those vehicles.

We also use ARA University to train our employees on all aspects of safety protocol, forklift training, vehicle dismantling, and proper lifting.

The RECALL certification is a consumer protection. We should be trained to know which airbags we should and shouldn't pull so the customer won’t receive recalled parts. If you are not in the RECALL protocol, I don’t know how you can educate yourself to ensure you’re not letting the consumer access unsafe parts.

ARM: What is the nature of your volunteer service in the ARA?

Forcum: I am on the Certification Committee. In the fall of 2025, I was nominated and accepted onto the ARA Board of Directors. For me personally, it’s been a very educational experience. I’m thrilled to be on it. I have over 40 years of industry experience, and I’m humbled to be on the committee and to be part of a great group of people.

ARM: Why do you think others should be volunteer leaders?

Forcum: I’ve been going to ARA conventions regularly for 30-plus years now. Last year, Birmingham was a fantastic show. Getting involved with ARA, whether you choose to be a speaker to share your experience or serve on one of many committees, will help the association and your business.

ARM: Do you have any final thoughts?

Forcum: I’ve had the auto recycler bug since I was a young kid. I love coming to work every single day. I love the challenge. And I love people.

I have an amazing group of employees who make this journey possible.

One of the things I like about our business is the customer interaction. It is great to see what people are buying, and I love to hear the feedback. We can sell them a set of tires for $300, and they just left a retailer where they were quoted $1,200 for the same set.

We only want to sell high-quality parts. It makes me feel good to give people a lot of value.

Caryn Smith is the editor of Automotive Recycling magazine, and has been covering the industry for over 25 years. She is a freelance writer for industry publications, such as Recycling Today.

Automotive recyclers are expanding their footprints with new construction to streamline processes and expand operations.

Morrison’s Auto Parts

Edgerton, WI
Full-Service Recycler
Process 2500 cars annually
www.morrisonsauto.com

After a devastating fire destroyed our dismantling facility in September 2024, we were forced to take a step back and rethink how our entire operation flowed, from dismantling to quality control to shipping. What started as a loss quickly became an opportunity to improve our layout and processes.

As part of the rebuild, we constructed a new Quality Control and Shipping building and relocated dismantling into our former QC space. This change created a more efficient flow of parts through each stage of the process and allowed us to better define and separate departments. The new building also gave our Quality Control team a more functional workspace, including an enclosed wash bay to help contain the mess and keep the rest of the shop clean.

If there’s one piece of advice we’d share from this experience, it’s don’t try to do everything yourself. Hiring a contractor helped keep the project moving forward and allowed us to focus on continuing operations during the rebuild.

Snyder’s Certified Auto and Truck Parts

Holland, Texas
Full-Service Location
www.snydersalvage.com

New Dismantling Building. This building has 14 bays and is over 11,200 sq feet. It will increase our dismantling capacity to 22 bays.

All of our dismantling bays are air conditioned, have overhead cranes, and two post lifts.

As far as advice goes… Don’t forget about the site prep. We have built several locations through the years. We have learned that it is best to spend site prep money up front, even though it feels like you are literally throwing money out into the dirt. Those that we did right we have never regretted. Those we didn’t we are still fighting and spending money on today.

Rocki Top Auto

Glen Flora, WI
Full-Service Location
www.rockitopauto.com

Here at Rocki Top Auto, we have been very busy building towards and for our future needs. The majority of our warehousing has been housed in a pole construction type building measuring 60×100 feet. We had four rows of standard size pallet racking 12 feet tall. It was pretty good. However, for the last couple of years we have found that there is not enough space for all of the engines, transmissions, and driveline components we wanted to store inside. This led to frequently discarding inventory that we were not quite wanting to scrap. Enter the new space.

In Summer 2025, we constructed a new structure to store those same part types, but this time we did it a little differently. The floor size is not much different; this one is 60×120 feet. The difference is in the construction and the racking. Rather than build a shed and then fill it with racking, we decided to use the racking for the structure. After much discussion, it was decided we would build this with 8-foot-wide aisles and cost of construction would include a forklift that was capable of working in tight confines.

Where the old 60-foot-wide shed had four rows of racking, the new one has seven. The racks in the center are tallest, and they get progressively shorter towards the outside wall, creating a line for a peaked roof. Then, 2×12 laminated beams were used for rafters and bolted directly to the uprights of the pallet racking. And, 2×4 wood purlins were bolted around the sides of the racking and the rafters to accommodate standard roofing steel to be applied as you would in any pole barn.

One important thing to note if you decide you want to build this way: The tallest uprights we used for the center (24’) have a beefier construction than the shorter standard height uprights.

This makes the footprint slightly different when using 8’ crossbars. It also caused the uprights in the center not to form a straight line with the other uprights and created an issue with our rafter system. You will want to keep that in mind when laying things out. We solved that by adding braces along the top for the rafters to rest on and not all of the rafters landed on an upright in the center.

The pros: We leveraged a LOT more space. That space is very well-lit and this construction method saved a lot of time versus conventional construction methods. Additionally, our construction cost was about 25% lower due to material and labor savings.

The cons: The narrow aisles do require a little more care. Extra training seems to be the thing with the forklift operators. Specialized equipment is needed for those narrow aisles, and that costs a bit more.

The new building has four times the storage space over what the old one had. Couple that with a very high number of high bay LED lights and good Wi-Fi for the inventory system, and we are looking forward to growing into this as our business expands in the coming years.

Ennis Auto & Truck Parts

Ennis, Texas
www.ennisauto.com
Since 1977

In January 2024, we opened the doors to our new 23,500 sq. ft. facility, built next to our original 1983 building. Growing from 7,500 sq. ft. to our new space represents a major step forward for our company.

This expansion was designed with the future in mind—preparing the 3rd and 4th generations for continued success.

We are also a full-service facility. We currently process about 900 vehicles per year.

While global scrap prices vary by region, they are trending toward overall stabilization. Profitability in the resource sector is also stabilizing due to rising prices for recyclable materials (such as aluminum, copper, and catalytic converters).

Korea’s Automotive Recycling Industry

Korea News from the Republic of Korea and the Korea Automotive Recyclers Association (KARA)

By Johnny Jeong Howon

Automotive Recycling magazine: What news would you like the industry to know from your country and automotive recycling?

General Status of Korea’s End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Industry

• Korea currently operates 570 officially registered end-of-life vehicle dismantling companies. (There are no unregistered illegal companies.
• While Korea generates approximately 800,000 end-of-life vehicles annually, the number of used vehicles exported is rapidly increasing (from 300,000 units in 2020 to 850,000 units in 2025).
• Domestic used parts sales are not increasing due to fewer car accidents, but used parts exports are rising in line with the volume of exported end-of-life vehicles.
• South Korea is institutionally striving to achieve a 95% recycling rate under its automotive recycling laws, which comply with ELV directives. The current recycling rate is reported at 92% (including thermal recovery).
• In recent years, electric vehicle recycling and automotive plastic recycling (ELVR) have become key topics within the industry.

Technologies and companies for electric vehicle recycling are rapidly expanding, and systems for remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling are either being implemented or are in preparation.

ARM: What are the current opportunities or challenges that your members are facing today?

Opportunities:

• Improved quality of Korean-made vehicles, increased preference in importing countries, and enhanced competitiveness in exporting scrap vehicles due to rising exchange rates.  

• Particularly, increased exports of used and scrap vehicles to emerging markets. 

• Expansion of the electric vehicle reuse industry. 

• Policy momentum toward carbon neutrality. 

Challenges:

• Increased scrap car acquisition costs due to competition among scrap yards. High acquisition costs for used electric and hybrid vehicles.
• Increased export volume of older vehicles driven by the vigorous activity of internet and auction-based used car exporters (without a corresponding increase in scrap car volume).
• The risks and complexity of handling electric vehicle batteries necessitate investment in safety facilities and performance-evaluation equipment.

ARM: What policies are affecting the right to sell recycled auto parts in your country?

South Korea broadly permits the sale of recycled automotive parts, but the following regulations exist:

• Braking and steering components cannot be reused (remanufactured or remanufactured parts are permissible).
• Remanufactured parts require quality certification.
• Airbags cannot be reused.
• To reuse end-of-life electric vehicle batteries (for other purposes, such as ESS or power banks), compliance with the ‘KC10031’ safety standard for reused batteries (Korean standard) is required.
• A policy requiring end-of-life electric vehicle high-voltage batteries to undergo remanufacturing or refurbishing before being sold for replacement in the same vehicle model is scheduled to take effect in 2027.

ARM: How is your association advocating for your members?

• Policy development and proposals to represent the interests of related industries and member companies (automobile manufacturers and importers, auto dismantlers, shredder companies, resource recycling companies, ASR incinerators, waste refrigerant treatment companies, etc.).
• Providing industry information and facilitating exchanges to promote resource circulation.
• Conducting research projects for the Ministry of Environment (industry status surveys, policy demand surveys, other R&D support, etc.).
• Supporting disassembly technology for electric vehicle batteries and drive motors, creating disassembly guidelines, etc.
• Supporting activities of other new associations related to electric vehicle recycling.

Furthermore, we strive to align with international best practices and cooperate with global automotive recycling associations, such as JARA, MAARA, AARA, MoARA, and CARIDC.

ARM: Are U.S. tariffs impacting your members and their opportunity to do business? How?

• Exports of used vehicles, parts, and recyclable resources to the United States are minimal, and the trade volume for recycled parts or resources is relatively small, so the direct impact of U.S. tariffs is limited.
• Furthermore, while global scrap prices vary by region, they are trending toward overall stabilization. Profitability in the resource sector is also stabilizing due to rising prices for recyclable materials (such as aluminum, copper, and catalytic converters). Therefore, the impact of U.S. import tariffs is judged to be negligible.

ARM: What is the marketplace for recycled Electric Vehicles, including hybrids, in your country?

• Battery remanufacturing and reuse for electric and hybrid vehicles is becoming a major topic in Korea, and while still in its early stages, it is expected to grow annually.
• However, the export value of used hybrid and electric vehicles is high, leading to most of them being exported, leaving insufficient volume for recycling within the industry.
• The number of scrapyards capable of handling used electric vehicles is increasing. (Approximately 5% of the total 570 scrapyard companies.)
• Battery remanufacturers, manufacturers of performance evaluation equipment, performance evaluation service providers, and discharge machine manufacturers are active in the market.
• Sales companies for safety devices, storage equipment, transport containers, and fire detection/suppression systems for battery handling are increasing.
• A specialized transport company for used batteries (including remanufactured batteries) has been established.

South Korea's electric vehicle recycling market is in its early stages but is expanding rapidly. Significant growth is anticipated over the next 5 to 10 years.

ARM: How are recyclers handling EVs in their facility?

Recycling companies are categorized as follows and adhere to their respective roles:

1. Dismantling companies

• Purchase of end-of-life electric vehicles (ELVs) (Dismantling companies unable to handle EVs resell them to those capable of EV dismantling).
• Compliance with high-voltage insulation protocols.
• Battery removal and secure storage procedures.
• Fire prevention measures (monitoring).
• Battery disassembly and replacement of defective modules (may require remanufacturing license starting second half of 2027).
• Sale of batteries for repair (to repair shops, battery remanufacturers). Starting second half of 2027, batteries may be sold for repair after remanufacturing.
• Export of used electric vehicles (vehicles themselves).

1. Remanufacturing Companies

• Purchase of used batteries (from insurance companies and dismantling companies).
• Compliance with high-voltage insulation protocols.
• Battery residual performance evaluation (Precise evaluation. SOH, SOC, SOB, ACIR, DCIR, EoL analysis, etc.) Precise evaluation at pack level and module level.
• Replacement of low-quality or faulty battery modules, balancing, repackaging.
• Battery removal and safe storage procedures.
• Fire prevention measures.
• Sale of remanufactured batteries.

1. Additionally, various battery performance evaluation equipment manufacturers are operating.

ARM: Is there any EV dismantling training available in your country?

Yes, training is available through the following institutions:

• A few associations related to electric vehicle recycling exist; and they operate their own training programs on handling electric vehicles and high-voltage batteries.
• Government-supported technical training institutions.
• Automotive-related universities and research institutes.
• Electric vehicle dismantling manuals and videos are provided by automobile manufacturers (for their own vehicles).

ARM: What is the overall economic outlook for recycled auto parts in your country?

The medium-to-long-term outlook is positive for the following reasons:

• The volume of exported parts is expected to increase due to a surge in the number of scrapped vehicles and used car exports.
• While domestic consumer perception of used parts is improving, domestic demand for used parts is not expected to increase due to declining automobile accident rates.
• Overall, used parts sales at scrapyards are expected to remain stable or increase.
• However, the rising cost of purchasing used vehicles and the increasing trend of overseas buyers acquiring and directly operating Korean scrapyards present challenges as market competition intensifies.

ARM: What else would you like ARA and the industry to know?

• The Ministry of Climate and Environment is preparing policies to increase the recycling rate of plastics from end-of-life vehicles in response to the EU’s ELVR policy, and the industry is making efforts to find ways to achieve this.
• We look forward to strengthening cooperation with ARA and sharing best practices. In particular, we, the Korea Automotive Recyclers Association and our member companies, would like to participate in IRT events going forward.

Johnny Jeong Howon is a part of the KARA Technical Committee, and a member of the Korean delegation for the Asia Automotive Environmental Forum (AAEF).

United Kingdom News  

News from the Vehicle Recyclers’ Association 

By Andy Latham 

Automotive Recycling magazine: What news would you like the industry to know from your country and automotive recycling?

• Recycled (“green”) parts are getting easier to buy and specify at scale via parts-platform integrations and larger graded inventories, which is helping repairers/insurers use recycled components more routinely. https://atfpro.co.uk/2026/01/15/new-partnership-unlocks-potential-of-recycled-parts/
• Access to modern vehicle security-related data is changing in the UK: SERMI has gone live/been approved for the UK, creating a formal route for independents to access certain secure RMI functions—important for programming/coding modules, keys, and some security-gated systems. https://atfpro.co.uk/2026/02/03/sermi-approval-secures-security-data-access-for-uk-independents/
• Battery recycling capability is a strategic focus, with UK-backed projects and reports highlighting the need to scale recycling/refining capacity as EV volumes grow. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/

jaguar-land-rover-backed-battery-recycling-project-

gets-uk-government-funding-2025-07-17/

ARM: What are the current opportunities or challenges that your members are facing today?

Opportunities

• Rising insurer/repairer interest in lower-cost, lower-carbon repairs using recycled parts (“green parts”).
• Growing long-term opportunity around EV component harvesting (motors, inverters, onboard chargers) and battery logistics/triage as the parc matures.

Challenges

• EV battery fire risk management (storage, quarantine, damaged-pack handling, emergency planning) drives cost, space needs, and permitting scrutiny.
• Data and software lockouts: Even when a used part is physically sound, coding/authentication requirements can block fitment without authorized data access (SERMI helps, but it’s still a compliance burden).
• Quality assurance expectations (grading, traceability, documentation) are increasing as recycled parts move further into mainstream repair channels.
• Lack of Enforcement of rules and regulations is harming legitimate vehicle dismantlers and recyclers.

ARM: What policies are affecting the right to sell recycled auto parts in your country?

• End-of-life vehicle (ELV) rules: the UK requires authorized treatment, depollution, and producer/take-back arrangements; compliance underpins legitimate dismantling and parts resale.
• Insurer salvage categorization (ABI Code of Practice): it influences what happens to vehicles and what’s lawful/appropriate—e.g., Cat A is crush-only; Cat B is break for parts/scrap (not return to road).
• Environmental permitting and fire-prevention expectations, especially for lithium batteries and EV packs/modules, affect whether facilities can safely store/handle

EV-derived components.

• Security-related RMI access (SERMI) indirectly affects parts resale/value by determining whether some used electronic modules can be legitimately re-commissioned.

ARM: How is your association advocating for your members?

From the UK perspective, advocacy tends to focus on:

• Protecting access to repair/security-related data and workable accreditation routes (SERMI) so independents can keep repairing modern vehicles.
• Promoting standards, traceability, and professionalism in vehicle recycling representation (including governance/modernization efforts within UK recycling representation).
• Engaging internationally to share best practices and strengthen links with EGARA and ARA.

ARM: Are U.S. tariffs impacting your members and their opportunity to do business? How?

• The direct impact on UK recycled parts exports to the U.S. is usually niche, but metal tariffs can ripple into scrap/commodity pricing and volatility, which affects ELV economics and downstream values (steel/aluminum being core).
• If/where members export scrap metal or derivative metal products, tariff changes can alter buyer demand, margins, and routing of material flows.

ARM: What is the marketplace for recycled Electric Vehicles, including hybrids, in your country?

• Hybrids are already a steady stream of dismantling; full BEVs are rising but remain smaller as a share of ELVs (time-lag from new sales to end-of-life).
• Value is increasingly in high-ticket EV components and battery packs/modules—but battery value is tightly linked to condition, diagnostics, and compliant logistics. UK strategy and industry reports explicitly flag recycling/refining capacity as a coming bottleneck/opportunity.
• EU policy is also tightening circularity expectations (even though the UK is outside the EU, it can influence OEM design and supply chain norms that UK recyclers live with).

ARM: How are recyclers handling EVs in their facility?

Common UK-aligned practices include:

• Depower/“make safe” processes, isolation of HV systems, and controlled work areas.
• Battery quarantine/segregated storage (especially damaged batteries), with weatherproof/covered containers and separation from liquids/ignition sources.
• Fire prevention planning as part of environmental permitting expectations, plus documented emergency response plans for thermal runaway scenarios.

ARM: Is there any EV dismantling training available in your country?

Yes—there are multiple routes:

• Specialist recycler-focused training providers, including Salvage Wire’s ELV Technician and HV-related courses aimed at dismantling/recycling operations.
• Institute of the Motor Industry, or City and Guilds qualifications(e.g., Level 3 for EV/hybrid system repair & replacement; Level 4 for diagnosis/testing/repair on HV systems)—available through training providers including Charg-Ed.

ARM: What is the overall economic outlook for recycled auto parts in your country?

• Demand signals are positive where insurers/repairers push sustainable repair, especially as repair costs rise and total-loss dynamics create both supply and urgency to find cost-effective parts.
• The outlook is mixed by category: straightforward body/trim and mechanical parts remain strong; electronics/ADAS/HV components are higher value but more constrained by coding/security access, warranty expectations, and safety compliance.

ARM: What else would you like ARA and the industry to know?

• UK recyclers would benefit from shared best practice on EV battery triage, storage design, and incident response, because regulators and insurers are (rightly) sensitive to

fire risk.

• Data access and parts enablement (coding, secure gateways, authorized pathways like SERMI) is now a make-or-break factor for the circular economy—great parts are wasted if they can’t be re-commissioned legally and safely.
• There’s a big near-term opportunity in aligning grading/traceability standards so recycled parts are as “easy to specify” as new parts across estimating and procurement systems.

Andy Latham is the Chairman of the Vehicle Recyclers’ Association. He is also the Managing Director of Salvage Wire.

Taking CAREC in Canada

From Early Self-Regulation to a Mandatory National Standard

By Wally Dingman

The Canadian auto recycling industry was an early adopter of voluntary self-regulation, recognizing that credibility, environmental stewardship, and professionalism were essential to legitimizing the sector and strengthening confidence among regulators, insurers, and the public. These early efforts helped establish baseline practices and began shifting perceptions of an industry that had long been viewed through an outdated lens.

Over time, however, industry leaders recognized a key limitation: voluntary participation, while valuable, could not deliver the consistency or accountability needed to advance the industry as a whole.

That realization laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Canadian Auto Recyclers Environmental Code (CAREC).

In 2008, the National Code of Practice for Automotive Recyclers (CoP) was developed for recyclers participating in Canada’s federal National Vehicle Recycling Program—Your Ride. The Code provided a practical framework for responsibly managing end-of-life vehicles and introduced consistent environmental practices that could be implemented across operations of varying size and complexity.

When the Retire Your Ride program concluded in March 2011, the industry recognized that the Code of Practice had proven too valuable to retire along with the program. Participation levels were strong, implementation was achievable, and the framework had already begun influencing how recyclers operated—and how the industry was perceived externally. As a result, the Code was renamed the Canadian Auto Recyclers’ Environmental Code (CAREC) and expanded to apply to all end-of-life vehicles, not only those associated with a federal incentive initiative.

A defining feature of CAREC’s evolution has been its mandatory adoption within the organized Canadian recycling sector. To be a member of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) through a provincial association, recyclers must be audited by CAREC. This requirement ensures that participation is not merely symbolic but measurable, verifiable, and consistent across jurisdictions.

Today, we have 330 businesses in all corners of Canada that are audited to the Code.

CAREC was intentionally designed as a practical, operational tool that provides recyclers with clear guidance to prevent hazardous materials contained in end-of-life vehicles from contaminating water, land, and air during dismantling, storage, and processing. The Code reflects real-world recycling environments, balancing environmental responsibility with operational practicality.

As the program matured and professional recyclers fully adopted the standard, audit performance steadily improved. CAREC scores increased year over year, demonstrating consistent compliance and continuous improvement across the industry. This sustained performance allowed the audit framework itself to evolve, with strong-performing facilities moving to longer audit intervals—a recognition of proven, repeatable compliance rather than a reduction in oversight.

While CAREC was originally developed to address environmental performance, its broader impact extended well beyond compliance. The presence of a nationally consistent, third-party-audited standard significantly improved insurers’ and other regulators’ views of the auto recycling industry. Recyclers operating under CAREC are increasingly recognized as professional businesses operating within a defined, transparent framework—rather than informal suppliers operating in isolation.

This shift in perception has enabled more constructive dialogue with insurance partners, increased confidence among regulators, and positioned Canadian auto recyclers as credible contributors to broader environmental and circular-economy objectives.

Perhaps most notably, CAREC has become a practical reference point for provincial governments developing or modernizing legislation governing auto recycling operations. Rather than starting from scratch, regulators can look to a proven, industry-led standard that reflects operational realities while delivering measurable environmental outcomes.

The evolution of CAREC demonstrates an important lesson for the broader auto recycling community: voluntary self-regulation establishes intent, but mandatory, audited standards deliver consistency, credibility, and long-term industry advancement.

Wally Dingman is Executive Director of Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) and can be reached at 1-866-977-8868 or wally@autorecyclers.ca.

By Caryn Smith

Sandy Blalock is a name that most everyone knows. Her activism work puts her in the top echelon of leadership. Her work ethic, integrity, and tireless dedication to automotive recycling, along with her smart strategic intelligence and big picture view, makes her one of the most impactful leaders of this generation.

Her business acumen didn’t start with her roles in the automotive recycling industry. Some may not know that she had another career prior to being owner/operator of her family’s automotive recycling facility – Capos Truck and Auto Parts in New Mexico. A funny fact, her first career also focused on body parts, but these parts were attached to humans.

“I have a college degree in computer programming, and a minor in accounting. At the time, I was a young mother with a very young child. In that day, it was very difficult for companies to hire a woman with young children at any high level. When the computer programming jobs were limited to banking, I decided to find a different path and found employment in the orthotics and prosthetics industry,” says Blalock.

In the evenings, she was studying for her CPA license, and weeks away from taking the exam, she thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t want to be an accountant in the future.’ “So, I dug into orthotics and prosthetics, eventually working my way up to managing director, overseeing multiple locations, for the largest orthotics and prosthetics business company.” She spent 20 years in this endeavor, learning the business skills needed for her next career, which ironically included guiding the company through multiple consolidations.

While she was enjoying this career, her husband, Butch Capo, and his father were 50/50 partners at then-Capos Truck and Auto Parts, which is now part of the LKQ Corporation. Butch focused solely on his new parts business, B & B Brake and Suspension. His father, Jim, managed their automotive recycling business. “In the early 1990s, we had the opportunity to buy out my father-in-law’s interest in the company as he retired,” says Blalock. “I then joined the company to manage our auto recycling business. Working in healthcare gave me insight into changes that could be made within the auto recycling industry. I felt like our industry was behind the times when it came to the customer. I chose to make my business focus on customer service.”

“In our family dynamics, my husband and I both have very strong personalities,” says Blalock. “I’m very independent, as you may know, we agreed that I would manage and run our auto recycling business while he managed his new parts business. It was important to me that our employees, customers, and fellow recyclers understood that a woman could effectively manage an auto recycling business.”

“As in most family businesses, Robert, my youngest, was only nine years old at this time, so he grew up in the industry,” she recollects. “My oldest son Bill was a teenager, so he had grown up working at our business on the weekends and summers with his grandfather. Eventually, he joined the business with me, and, again, like most family businesses, I had him do everything and anything from the bottom up. He was not fond of sales and preferred working with our production team. He eventually became our production manager.”

While in her other career, having attended industry events with Butch, she was no stranger to auto recycling. “I had attended ARA events with my husband since he co-owned Capos Truck and Auto Parts for 10 years before I came to run it. My first event was as manager of Capo’s,” she says. “I attended to learn about automotive recycling. It was interesting, and I was a sponge and tried to soak up as much as I could.”

One of the first things Blalock did as the facility’s owner was attend her first New Mexico Auto Recyclers Association meeting in 1994. She showed up in Sandy-style. Listening to the discussions, she saw that her business approach varied from those in the room. “You know me, I raised my hand and said, ‘My philosophy is going to be a little bit different from all of yours, from the discussions that we’re having. I would like to share the plan for our company.” Blalock proceeded to explain her focus on customer service, sharing, “As an industry, if we do this, it will help us improve the image.” Continuing to share her vision, she said, “If you’re not really engaged at the customer service level, it’s probably going to be very hard for you to be in business in the coming years.’”

“Overall, I asked many questions that night,” Blalock laughs. “My husband kept saying, ‘Stop asking so many questions.’” By the time it was all said and done, Blalock was attending NMARA’s 1994 annual meeting and was nominated to be the president. “I served for the next four years as president and helped drive a lot of new initiatives,” she says.

Building Foundations for the Future

Automotive Recycling editor Caryn Smith caught up with the busy leader to discuss her life of service as she prepares to end her run as Executive Director of the Automotive Recyclers Association, filling that role since October 2017. While her primary goals, drive, and motivation were to run a top-notch professional automotive recycling facility, her willingness to do the volunteer work when asked has also blazed the trails and opened doors of opportunity for others who want to make an impact, as well.

Automotive Recycling: What were some of the initiatives you accomplished in your early work with NMARA?

Blalock: They are many of the same issues we’re working on now. Unlicensed operators were one of the biggest issues we were very concerned about. Our state licensing was a mess back then – it was not well defined by law. Many operators that held the license weren’t auto recyclers. We asked the state to change it, and they defaulted to the written law. So, we hired a lobbyist to work on changing the law through advocacy.

Two and a half years later, we successfully rewrote the licensing structure in the state of New Mexico, defining auto recycling and associated responsibilities, such as full compliance with all local, state, and federal laws to hold a license as an auto recycler. We did not allow for a grandfather clause to ensure that everybody had to re-qualify and met all requirements. There were close to 400 licenses in the state before the new law. After its implementation, there were 81. Being passed in the early 2000s, our state’s accomplishment was before its time.

We also lobbied to make it illegal in New Mexico to dismantle or destroy a car unless you were licensed. The state can shut down and prosecute people who have no licenses and are dismantling vehicles. That’s been effective for us as well and we have worked closely with law enforcement to ensure compliance.

Fast forward to today, now as the Executive Director of NMARA through my state advocacy work, I continue to work with New Mexico’s Division of Motor Vehicles to ensure all the standards are being upheld and to help them in any way they need our assistance. Once I complete my duties with ARA, my first order of business, is to reactivate our work to help the DMV clean up unlicensed operators that have crept into the state.

AR: When did you begin ARA volunteer leadership, and what were you involved in?

Blalock: I began attending ARA and other industry events when I became an operator. I believe in continuing to learn in order to grow your business.

Ironically, in 1994 I attended my first ARA convention as an owner, and one of the first meetings I joined was the Affiliate Chapters committee meeting. I met Barb Utter, Martha Cowell, and other active recyclers in their state associations.

I’ve formed lifelong friendships with some from this first encounter. I remember networking with the industry executive directors, who told me about ARA’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference in San Diego, so I went there. As a fish out of water learning to swim in this world of auto recycling, I listened to all the committee reports on their activities.

Jim Watson was chairperson of the Government Affairs Committee (GAC), and from my prior career experience, I have always been interested in government affairs. Therefore, one of the first things I did was join the GAC and work with the affiliates and my state association, as well.

For my region, John Fischl of Riteway Auto Parts was the ARA Regional Director. ARA also used to have State Directors, as well. So, my very first position with ARA was under John as a State Director for Region 8. When John fulfilled his term, and I became the Regional Director.

I also joined the ARA Educational Foundation (ARAEF) and worked very closely with Virginia (Ginny) Whelan on launching her passion project, ARA University, which was subscription-based at the time. 

On the ARAEF, I met Fran Reitman, owner/operator of Reitman Auto Parts and Sales in KY, who is now one of my closest friends. At this time, she co-owned the business with her husband Randy Reitman, who later also became an ARA president. We lost Randy several years after his EC service to cancer, and Fran and her sons continue to honor Randy’s legacy in the family business.

AR: What led to being on the ARA Executive Committee?

Blalock: I do not sit around unproductively and un-participatory, as I am sure most know about me. I was fully engaged at the state and national levels. I actively participated in the discussions of Affiliate Chapter and other committee meetings.

For me, it was more to soak in everything I could about the industry as an owner/operator. I just assumed that after my Regional Director term and service on the ARA board for several years that this was my service role and contribution. Then, ARA leadership asked me to step into the position of incoming Secretary in 2004. We had discussed the idea a year prior, and when the time came to make it official, I said ‘yes.’

AR: Women owner/operators were an anomaly at this time. Ginny Whelan served on the EC from 1996 to 2000 as the first woman president. You served from 2004 to 2008. What are your thoughts on breaking down industry stereotypes for women?

Blalock: It was definitely different. I can tell you that in the state of New Mexico, I was the only woman running an automotive recycling business.

Generally speaking, I was the only woman at the auctions buying cars. It was rare if you had the opportunity to meet women in the industry who were working on the operational level in those days.

For the most part, women were serving as executive directors for the state associations as leadership. Most other women worked in the back office. Also, wives attended the events, but were not part of the recyclers’ programming and even had their own programming track at the ARA convention.

Ginny and I worked closely together in the ARAEF and the early days of ARA University. Industry-specific education and training programming was important to us. Like most things with ARA, it slowly grew and is today one of the cornerstone ARA member-benefit programs.

We also knew there was an opportunity to reach other women and encourage them in their careers. Eventually, more women attended ARA convention sessions. So we felt, along with Fran Reitman, that it was time to form an official group to allow them to band together. That’s why we formed LARA – Ladies of the Automotive Recyclers Association. The first meeting was a happy hour in an ARA Convention hotel suite, where a handful of ladies attended. It has grown every year since.

LARA is an opportunity to connect. You can walk around the ARA Convention now and probably see as many women as men, including in vendor companies. We want to encourage them all to get involved with everything, provide opportunities to support each other and ensure we continue working together.

AR: You have broken some significant barriers. How has this has opened the doors for others?

Blalock: One of my goals was to empower women to do what best suited them and not settle. Pursue your passion; don’t be relegated to a position.

At one of the early LARA meetings, I remember speaking to the attendees, ‘If there’s something else you would like to do in your business, don’t sit back if you think you have sales skills.’ I shared the story of one of the best salespersons I ever had. She worked as a support staff member but was self-taught on all the codes. She knew how to look up parts and had a good phone voice. I was listening to her one day talking with a customer, and I said, ‘You know what you sound like? Somebody who would be a great salesperson. Would you like an opportunity to try it?’ And she goes, ‘Oh, yeah, I’d love to do that.’ She very quickly became our top salesperson.

That LARA discussion was a defining moment to empower other women, and if they want to pull parts, you know, let somebody in your business know that you have different skills that are not being utilized. Don’t just do a job. Do something that makes you happy and excited to come to work every day. And I think that’s what’s important for women.

AR: The industry has more woman operators, like Amber Kendrick, Pete’s Auto Parts, Recycler Keynote for the 81st Annual ARA Convention. How can more women become owner/operators?

Blalock: Amber grew up in the industry and wanted to grow her skills to purchase her family’s auto recycling business. She worked hard to get there, leaving the family business for years to work for other recyclers. She knew she needed skills that she may or may not have been able to learn working in her family business. That is a remarkable journey that came full circle.

I think the most important lesson for women to recognize is to know what they want to do, have a goal in mind as to what they would like to achieve, make a plan to get there, and create a support network for the journey.

It is complex for women to navigate family life, as they often maintain the family foundation at home. Women can choose a career and parenthood and be strong enough to make both meaningful. My kids grew up watching their mother have a career and also spending a lot of time with them in their activities. The key is not to sit back and think you can’t do it because you think
balancing work and home is a stumbling block.

AR: As a volunteer leader, what made it worthwhile?

Blalock: Being involved with industry progress is one. We had some significant success with the licensing structure in New Mexico, and being able to share those lessons with others is rewarding. The Virginia Automotive Recyclers Association (VARA) asked me to speak once, having interest in what we had done in this area to redo their licensing structure. For me, that was one of the more important things that I accomplished, even before being on the ARA Executive Committee. 

Understanding the world of government affairs in my prior career and as a member of the ARA GAC was very beneficial. It prepared me for my executive committee role. When issues like NMVTIS and Cash for Clunkers arose, I understood the process in theory. Neither of those were anything to write home about, but I think we still worked very hard to ensure that our industry was heard and protected during that process.

AR: What was the most significant achievement from your EC term and as president?

Blalock: I would say the process and the implementation work we did for NMVTIS. One time, Michael Wilson, then-executive director, and I were driving back from a trip to New York, and we had to pull over to join a call about it with the Department of Justice. I remember how hard we fought to ensure that ARA was recognized as the leader in the automotive recycling industry. We fought very, very hard.

We attempted to get the reporting to go through ARA, but that did not happen. But there was not anything we could do about it. Continually positioning ARA as the one organization that represents the entire professional auto recycling industry has since made us the sounding board for many government entities who reach out when they need information or resources for their program.

Laying the groundwork for our future involvement with regulatory and government agencies is one of the things that I am most proud.

AR: After your service on the EC, you leveraged an opportunity to sell your business. After the sale, why did you decide to keep working in industry advocacy?

Blalock: For a multitude of reasons. The business was my husband’s family business.
He was ready to move on, so we sold. He wanted me to retire, but I was not yet prepared and felt I still had work to be done for the industry and now had a lot of time I could dedicate to that. I needed to return to my grassroots advocacy work.

I saw a significant gap between the states and the national association and nonexistent activity in 18 dormant states. At that time, there was no opening to work on this on the ARA/national side. Therefore, my motivation became to see what I could do about it independently.

I first got to work where I live. I drove around the entire state of New Mexico. I visited every auto recycler I could find. Some were licensed, some were not. I encouraged the illegal operators to become legal, or I’d help them find a new job because, at the end of the day, I believed my job was to protect the licensed professional auto recycler.

I developed a plan to share our experience and success in New Mexico state to state as a basis to organize dormant states and organizations. My goal was to ensure we didn’t have a vulnerable state, without people we could activate when needed.

That led me to Utah, driving hundreds, if not thousands, of miles visiting recyclers. With Utah auto recyclers, we worked on legislative updates limiting non-licensed buyers to the number of vehicles you can buy and cleaned up some other laws. We worked with oversight agencies to make sure that we were all on the same page.

Nevada was my next stop, and I was only able to develop a small group of auto recyclers to work as contacts for issues that might arise.

Eventually, I got a call from the Automotive Recyclers of Indiana about helping with their efforts. They are a great group and now are one of my most engaged ones. We discussed my desire to establish a state certification program, and they agreed to co-develop one. That is how I met Sara Hamidovic, CEO/President and Principal Engineer at VET Environmental Engineering. Her knowledge, capabilities, and interest in this project impressed me. She’s a wealth of information for automotive recyclers in Indiana and the Midwest, as well as around the country.

AR: What is the most challenging aspect of advocacy?

Blalock: Many people do not want to change or engage. They lack the understanding that being part of the process protects their business. Many of these are the ones that are unfortunately struggling today.

The hardest thing for me was walking into the doors of a businesses where it was meaningless to them that I was there. They did not see any value to being part of an organization that could do a lot for them. Keeping people engaged is an ongoing struggle. If we’re not together, then we’re fighting a battle by ourselves. That’s not something that any business can do alone anymore.

Overall, it is frustrating to see the lack of motivation to change, engage, and be a part of growing our industry and ultimately changing our industry’s image in local communities.

You can be part of the solution, or you can be part of the problem. I call them the “hangers-on.” They want to hang on and just show up somewhere every day to work. They’re not growing, and they’re not adding anything of value to the industry.

I believe that all auto recyclers are responsible to their business and to the entire industry. I want to be able to go anywhere in the country and take agencies or legislators into most, if not all, professional automotive recycling facilities. We have all seen ARA’s work in the last 25 years on certification and positioning in our industry. It’s tough to watch people not understand its importance.

AR: You are the only ARA President thus far who has gone on to serve as ARA’s Executive Director. You are also the first woman to be the ED in ARA’s 81 years. A lot of firsts! How did this come about?

Blalock: During the Hill Day 2018, as David Gold was serving his term as ARA President, the Executive Committee asked to meet to discuss how I might help ARA at the state affiliate level. They knew my involvement there was productive and were interested in ideas to generate more interest in ARA.

A short time later, they asked if I could serve as Interim Executive Director upon Michael Wilson’s departure. With the EC’s understanding that I would continue my state work, I accepted that position and began commuting from New Mexico to ARA’s Headquarters for a week at a time. I worked with the employees to ensure they had what they needed to succeed. We also worked on the financials to ensure we were being fiscally responsible.

Eventually, I was offered the position full-time, with the condition I could continue to serve my state associates. The announcement was made in July.

Ironically, when you end your term on the EC, you become a board member for another 10 years following that. The day I took the job at ARA, I was finishing my last year, my 15th year, on the board of directors.

AR: As Executive Director, what are you most proud of?

Blalock: The eBay Airbag Program is probably the most significant highlight, essentially providing ARA with the first actual industry endorsement of the ARA Certification program. eBay is now the only platform where professional auto recyclers can list and sell airbags and components only if they are ARA Recall-Certified.

We now also have the endorsement of our ARA Certification program with the help of current ARA President Nick Daurio with Amwins Program Underwriters. Certified facilities will get a discount on their insurance, which we all know is a heavy hit to most recyclers financials.

Our working relationships with the regulators has greatly improved, which I feel is also a benefit to professional auto recyclers.

We are deeply involved with Argonne National Labs, which offers various science and technology capabilities and collaborates with many sectors and agencies on projects. This is a growing relationship, and for ARA, it is helpful that Argonne is positioned with the Department of Energy and other government entities.

Our investment of time and resources with NAATBatt – and the presentations for their conferences – has set the stage for ARA to be viewed as the go-to experts within the auto recycling space. Emil Nusbaum has taken initiative in that realm now. NAATBatt will open doors with the OEMs and facilitate actual working relationships with them, including positive conversations. I think that’s significant.

Much of the work that we’ve done as advocates for the industry, which I think is our primary role and it’s certainly my primary focus, ensures that others see us advocate and protect auto recyclers unrestricted rights to sell ROE^®–Recycled Original Equipment auto parts. This registered trademark, along with Reuse, then Recycle^®, are brands that I am proud to have spearheaded for ARA, as well.

At the height of catalytic converter theft, we kept the focus on those committing the crimes, to deflect it from auto recyclers so their business dealings were not interrupted by somebody else’s bad behavior.

ARA was also a key resource for auto recyclers on state and national mandates on business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every mandate was posted on ARA’s website, and weekly e-newsletters kept recyclers informed. We also held the first-ever virtual industry convention.

Yet, what makes me most proud is that we can pick up the phone and call just about anyone, now, and have our industry position considered. We worked very hard with Collision Industry Conference (CIC) conference to understand and appreciate professional auto recyclers as viable partners in the repair process.

AR: What is next as you exit the ARA ED role?

Blalock: I will continue advocating for the industry at a state level, and work with ARA for the purpose of helping the states. Kim Glasscock and I are also partnering in a new business, Automotive Recycling Advocacy.

I’m going to manage our state associations, their government affairs and any other advocacy. She will manage the events for the states where we handle this work.

We plan to focus on developing more regional organizations, rather than state driven, to allow for meaningful conversations and sharing resources. Several state associations are very small, particularly the four corner states. Therefore, we will hold regional collaborative events. As an example, the Rocky Mountain Show is intended to bring more states together regionally. This year, we rebranded the Tri-State show as the Midwest Summit & Expo to include our new partners, Missouri Auto and Truck Recyclers Association. Utilizing my last 30 years of experience, I plan to apply it where it is needed.

AR: What do you think is the future of automotive recycling? How can recyclers prepare?

Blalock: Auto recyclers do need to prepare for the future – because it’s coming, whether they’re prepared or not. The best way to do this is to keep up with what’s happening around them. Being involved somehow will be crucial for knowing and understanding critical information. The quickest way to accomplish something is at the state level. On the national level is often arduous to bring something to fruition. We need to share our success with auto recyclers, and ask them to join in.

Hiring is a big issue; we need to start building qualified people, instead of looking for them. Hire someone with the required basics and interest in learning. This is the most critical now and in the future; find talent and train them.

AR: What about robotics or AI in automotive recycling?

Blalock: The one thing that I’ve always liked about our industry is that we’ve never shied away from technology. AI is going to be huge for our industry. It is being used in the collision industry now to write damage claims. We could be using that same AI to evaluate vehicles when bidding on them at the auction, as well as inventorying them once they come into a facility. Do not shy away from technology. If there is a technology program for your business that works, you need to have it. I mean, that’s the way I was. We spent a lot of money computerizing, even though it cost us a lot of money, but we knew the long-term gain was beneficial.

AR: What are your final thoughts?

Blalock: Stay engaged. Join your state associations. If you’re not a member of ARA, you must also join today. Come to the meetings. Come to the shows. It may mean you may have to close your shop for a day, but it will be money well worth your time. A lot of the work is being done in the committees at the state and ARA levels. Ask to join one and be engaged, because we never know who might have the next great idea to help our industry.

Stop waiting for things to fall in your lap. Search for them, and work with others in your industry. There are so many talented, knowledgeable people working in our industry that every auto recycler has access to if they’ll show up to meetings and be part of the process. I have a five-year plan in place, so I will be on the hunt to find that next person with the desire and ambition to continue the advocacy work that will always be a necessary part of any industry.

Caryn Smith is the editor of Automotive Recycling magazine, and has been covering the industry for over 20 years. She is a freelance writer for industry publications, such as Recycling Today.

By Caryn Smith

Automotive Recycling: What brought you to ARA?

Kim Glasscock: In 2007, I was referred by a former ARA vendor whom I had worked with back in my corporate days. I flew to the North Carolina state show to meet with Michael Wilson, then-ARA Executive Director, and Sandy Blalock, who was the ARA President at the time. Sandy walked me around to introduce me to all the vendors. As I was leaving for my flight, I asked Michael, ‘So Sandy was telling them I’m the new planner. Am I hired?’ He said, ‘If she likes you, chances are you’ve got the job.’ And now, it’s come full circle 17 years later.  

AR: How have the events evolved?

Glasscock: When I started, the association and the convention were in flux, due to industry conditions. Prior, ARA had well-attended shows. Slowly, we restored the show attendee numbers and even improved them. We consistently have averaged around 1,000 attendees – recyclers and exhibitors combined. The exhibitor and sponsorship programs have grown, which are vital to ARA. I want to thank all those companies that trusted me with their ARA show experience. I’m happy to report that we are tracking very good this year for the 81st Annual Convention & Expo in Reno.

AR: What have you enjoyed most working with ARA?

Glasscock: The people; it’s this group that makes it special. They care about each other. It’s a family environment. You know, I work with other groups that wouldn’t share a successful idea if they had to. This group willingly shares success stories and how they did it. They want to see everybody in this industry be successful. This makes it more meaningful to connect at events, and is why I so enjoy what I do – to provide those opportunities.

AR: What are your goals for the events?

Glasscock: The first goal is to find locations that are conducive to ease of travel at the right pricing and always at minimum cost to the association. I look for maximum value to the attendees and vendors. All parties must find benefit from the experience, or they won’t return. We have worked to provide a great overall experience, a well-rounded educational opportunity, and a generous return on investment of time and money spent. 

AR: How the virtual convention came about during the pandemic?

Glasscock: The virtual pivot for the ARA Convention & Expo, and that whole year, was such a learning process. We were scheduled for Reno, now rescheduled for this year. As a side note, my goal was to complete this Reno-location show before I exited ARA. This show was the last of the locations when I planned them seven years out. I wanted to see all of those shows to the finish.

ARA weighed the choices of not hosting an event to having a virtual option. It was decided to move forward virtually. We didn’t know if attendees and vendors – who love their in-person events – would even ‘buy-in.’ But they did! A lot of research on platforms, agenda formulation, online expo experience, graphics, marketing and more went into it. The staff and committees really worked very hard, and thankfully it was a success.

With that said, I would never do another virtual show again! It was good, and we had great participation from the industry, both attendees and vendors, but it was a huge effort. It’s not my preferred method of planning.

Many people thought that the convention would be virtual only from that point on. I’m glad it wasn’t. The strength of this group is togetherness, so for ARA, it would not be a good long-term solution.

AR: Who helped along the way to be successful?

Glasscock: You and the team at Driven By Design are one big component. You all keep me on my toes and point out things that maybe I hadn’t thought of. Michael Wilson helped me think outside the box. Sandy obviously has always been a proponent for women in the workplace and she’s been helpful with her vast knowledge. The ARA staff has played a part, as well as ARA Committees. It’s a team effort. I consider myself holding the master plan, and everyone has a part that is essential for a successful event.

Honestly, my faith in God gives me the strength and the courage to just keep doing it. I quit a corporate job to go out on my own years ago, and relied on my faith to do it and I have never regretted that decision.

AR: What’s the next step for you?

Glasscock: I’m will be working with Sandy and the State Affiliates. We hope to reach auto recyclers that are inactive in the industry, and get them involved. We plan to improve affiliate show attendance and engagement, and activate states lacking representation by regionalizing certain events. This will combine several states together that are smaller in numbers providing vendors with a larger cross section of recyclers and providing recyclers a broad spectrum of education and access to industry colleagues for collaboration. This will (hopefully) lessen everyone’s travel load as well.

AR: What do you want to leave ARA members with?

Glasscock: I hope that I have brought something to them that was beneficial and somehow helped along the way. I hope that it’s been worthwhile to them because I know I’ve enjoyed it.