The secret to their success is to do it right the first time.
By Caryn Smith • Photos by Sonja Yearsley
Mark Forcum started in the self-service sector for Foster Auto Parts and LKQ before he set out to apply that knowledge to his own venture. What started out as his “side hobby” has now become a top-notch three-location Certified Automotive Recycler (CAR)
operation.
Mark began with one self-service business in Yakima, Washington in 2013 to owning two self-service and one hybrid location in Yakima, Pasco, and Kennewick, Washington. All are ARA Certified Automotive Recycler (CAR) facilities.
Not afraid of a construction project, Mark has extensively renovated and expanded each location, including a new production facility in Kennewick to support the strategic shift toward electric vehicles (EVs).
In the Beginning
“I started my auto recycling career at Foster Auto Parts in Portland, Oregon, in 1980 where I gained experience in construction and facility development,” says Forcum. “In 2004, LKQ acquired Foster Auto Parts, and I worked for LKQ as a district manager, and then moved into business development.” He spent 7 years traveling around the country to locate existing self-service yards for LKQ to buy or property to develop as self-service yards from scratch.
In the fall of 2013, while still at LKQ, Forcum acquired the Yakima location, an existing auto recycling business requiring a major remodel. It opened in 2014 with help from an operating partner and store manager, while Mark worked on weekends.
He left LKQ in 2015 and purchased the Pasco location, also a downtrodden junkyard. He tore everything down, regraded the yard, and started from scratch. The facility was engineered for stormwater, with a block wall perimeter fence, new buildings, and equipment.
It opened in March 2016.
In 2019, the property next to the Yakima location was purchased to build new production facility, expanding the holding pen for incoming cars, and the customer parking.
In 2022, a scrapyard next to the Pasco location was purchased, demolished, and soil remediated. Mark built a brand-new production facility, a building to house a car crusher, and laid concrete over the whole two-acre property as a basis for hauling and processing.
In September of 2023, the Kennewick location was purchased as 20 acres of raw farmland, zoned heavy industrial.
“We built it from the ground up, with civil engineering for grading and stormwater,” says Mark. “I built an all-new facility with 3 new buildings, a large car crush area for scrap, and a building to house a car crusher. It opened in May of 2025. This new location will co-locate U-Pull-It Auto Parts and Supreme Truck & Auto Parts [with full-service and EV dismantling capabilities].”
Yakima is 7 acres total, with 15 employees and 900 vehicles. Pasco is 8 acres, with 15 employees and 900 vehicles. Kennewick has 900 cars in stock for self-service (expanding eventually to 2,000 cars), is staffed with 25 employees. It also serves as the corporate headquarters.
Mark is joined by his son Mitchell Forcum, who been working full-time at the business for six years; he started when he was 19. “He’s an owner. He’s a boss,” says Mark. “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.”
Certified Story
All locations are ARA CAR, RECALL, and HVV Certified for electric vehicle handling. “Housekeeping has always been very important to our operation,” says Mark. “Being CAR Certified has always been my number one goal; it’s just the way we run our business. We feel that having a clean facility promotes a better, safer work environment not only for our customers but also for our employees. The CAR Certified model of best practices also prioritizes environmental protection and workplace safety. That’s really the main 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. We have always focused on mechanical parts, and this again gives us the opportunity to say yes more often.”
