food manufacturing equipment - stainless, aluminum, iron, copper

Hello,

I just stumbled upon this forum. I am new here, but haven't posted in the 'Introduce Yourself' section because I don't really have much involvement in scrap metal other than this specific topic. So please pardon the 'newbie' question. I'm not in the business, and I have browsed around these forums without finding an answer to my questions.

I am in the food manufacturing business. I have quite a few pieces (maybe 20) of equipment that is no longer usable to me. Either because it is old, or obsolete, or broken/malfunctioning. There is little to no market for this stuff as it sits, so it is scrap. I would guess there might be a few tons of metal.

My issue is probably not uncommon. The machines have a lot of stainless steel (all food contact surfaces). There is some aluminum. The motors would have copper windings. The motor housings are cast iron. Most of the guts of the machine would be steel. Some machines are sitting on custom-built stainless steel stands; other stands are aluminum or steel. I also have some stainless tanks, a few pallet jacks, and some racking. The racks are either all stainless, all aluminum, or all steel.

Last time I explored the possibility of scrapping them, I couldn't decide on a course of action, so the equipment has been sitting for a long time. It's probably time to make something happen with it.

At the time when I last looked into it, I made some calls, and a few local places were willing to offer me a 'mixed metal' price for the machinery as it is, which was understandably less than the price of any of the other metals alone.

So I am hoping to get a little advice from others who have had similar experiences (as either a seller or buyer of scrap). I am trying to decide whether I should simply take the 'mixed metal' price, or maybe put someone on my payroll (probably $9-$10/hour) to disassemble the equipment and sort it. Clearly the mixed metal option has the downside of the lower price, but with the upside of sheer simplicity - one shot and done. The disassembly option becomes somewhat involved, but possibly much more lucrative, I guess. I can't decide whether the higher price I can get for the sorted metals is worth the time, effort, and cost of disassembly, sorting, interim storage of the metals while the project is underway, etc...

What about hiring a local scrapper from here and working a deal with them to tear down, sort, and haul; and you get a % of the reciept?

Originally Posted by JPete

What about hiring a local scrapper from here and working a deal with them to tear down, sort, and haul; and you get a % of the reciept?

Sure, I would certainly consider that. No one I had spoken with offered that service. Again, pardon the newb question, but where/how would I locate a scrapper who would do the tear-down, sort, and haul?

Oh, and I realize that although my description is lengthy, it still might not be enough info for an informed answer. So if pics would help, let me know.

I would think like JPete said working a deal with a local scrapper would be your best bet.

You should be able to find a local buyer. I work part time with a guy that works on egg production equipment and he had a warehouse full of old stuff out in the sticks. The local yard sent a guy over and offered cash on the spot AND would bring a truck immediately to start hauling it (i think 8 trips?). Originally my friend asked me if i would just pay him $1,500 and i can have it, but I told him to get a yard guy involved so he can make more money. They paid him about $7,500 (ya, my friend took care of me too). If the guy you called tries to low-ball you, just call another one. If you have a lot of stuff they will jump through hoops for it...or should anyway.

if you have a way to haul it I'd just start hauling it off. First load only stainless, tossing the Aluminum into another pile, motors in another pile, etc., etc. You can't afford to pay somebody to sort that stuff for you, and it wouldn't be so hard to do it yourself. Just get yourself a magnet and start sorting

Based on equipment type / retial value io would sell it outright on c/l or just hire a scrapper see what they'll give you

Originally Posted by Filthy

you are about two hours away from me, but if you have a few tons of material, i would drive down. and cut, sort, and haul for a percentage. PM me if you would like to talk logistics and whatnot.

I'm sure you could find someone more local, but i'd travel if it can be done right

i'll give you my phone number and we can talk for 5 min. even if i dont work the equipment, i have a few ideas for you

pm sent

Your description is based on food manufacturing equipment. I don't have a much knowledge about that but I think it really interesting if I get any information related to this I'll definitely share with you.

Hey Fellow Pennsylvanian! I'd disassemble it to get more profits. Also welcome to the forum

OK, so looking at the results of my poll, I see that there are no votes for "Let it all collect dust for a few more years - you'll get more later. "

Yet, although I'm no expert and I don't track these prices, bit I have been informed that scrap metal prices are low right now. I still want to do this, but I believe it might be to my advantage to wait until the market is stronger. Thoughts?