Built to Work: Episode 4: Jay Neiderhauser | Premier Scrap Services

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xImKOlycgE

[00:00-16:37] 

Welcome to Built To Work the podcast that gets its hands dirty dives into the grid and uncovers the heart of what makes the blue-collar world tick I'm Collin your host and I'm sitting down with the people who keep our world running From those tackling the tough jobs no one else dares to do to the HR professionals working overtime to find the labor force we desperately need Whether you're in the trenches or behind the scenes this podcast is for anyone who values hard work determination and stories that build the backbone of our workforce So grab your gloves your coffee or your clipboard It's time to get to work Today I'm here with Jay Niederhauser He is one of our awesome employees and he has been here with Premier from the start So I'm super glad to be hanging out with you today Jay Thanks for having me I wanna talk a little bit about what you do and I wanna learn from you about the torching industry Okay I want you to teach me everything you know Pretend I don't know anything Okay So first tell us about your experience and how you ended up at So I started in the scrap industry in 1998 

[00:00-16:37] 

doing safety and quality- Okay for a local shredder and that was my introduction to the scrap industry 

[00:00-16:37] 

So I came in knowing absolutely nothing other than I'd taken aluminum cans maybe- Yeah a couple times 

[00:00-16:37] 

so I did that for about 3 or 4 years at 2 different facilities in Indianapolis And I left the industry- 

[00:00-16:37] 

and then it was kinda one of those deals that I always felt a drawback to it Yeah So I've been in and out of the industry a few times and I've always come back to it So after I left the first company the next scrap company I went to it was a company very similar to ours We had a small shredder 

[00:00-16:37] 

And we did a lot of torching Okay So off-site processing for customers Yeah And maybe a little bit of demolition work I did that for several years and then with one of the founders of that company started our own company- 

[00:00-16:37] 

and that's all we did was torching So we did a lot of rail cars all over the southeastern United States 

[00:00-16:37] 

so we did that for 4 or 5 years I left again So I've been in my present role since 2020 

[00:00-16:37] 

And so we again do the off-site torching and processing Yeah So And we also provide labor services Yeah Yeah Now so with the torching it's kinda neat because it's a unique situation that we're in because we don't have a yard Yeah So we only work for scrapyards or demolition contractors and it's it's an interesting and very unique field So I get to see a lot of different yards talk to a lot of different customers Yeah So within the industry we're considered a service provider Yes And that's how we're classified with REMA formerly ISRI 

[00:00-16:37] 

the Recycled Materials Association So with that like you were saying we don't own any yards 

[00:00-16:37] 

we don't own the material Correct We go in other people's 

[00:00-16:37] 

scrapyards steel mills aluminum melt facilities and we work for them right So we provide torching which not everybody needs right That's kind of like a sp- that's that's our niche But then we also provide labor too which is is a lot of people need across the industry Yeah So Jay's been here since the beginning Jay's been a great resource for us since we purchased the company last year 

[00:00-16:37] 

a year ago now which is crazy to think how fast it's gone by I've grown to know Jay very well call him a friend and Jay has just a wealth of knowledge and you've you've taught me a lot about this industry 'cause I came into it You've got decades of experience in it Correct 

[00:00-16:37] 

I I don't have any experience in it So I I know how to run a service Adam and I know how to run a service-based company know how to provide service 

[00:00-16:37] 

but have been fascinated by the industry and you've taught us so much And for people that might not understand what torching is I mean they can see some some sparks in the picture behind you 

[00:00-16:37] 

torching is essentially taking something that's really big big and cutting it down to size a really big piece of metal And the why or the because is because for the recycling process to happen it has to be melted Sure And they It can't fit into the furnace to be melted if it's still a whole rain car 

[00:00-16:37] 

r- rail car or a whole excavator or a bucket or whatever that is 

[00:00-16:37] 

so we cut it down to size Tell us about like give us a a brief summary on like the process of torching like how that works how the torch you know works and like the mechanics of torching So we use 

[00:00-16:37] 

an oxygen propane cutting torch That's what our And that's what we use just to get the production that we need to get 

[00:00-16:37] 

a lot of people think of torching and they think of like a small shop torch like a mechanic would have Yeah Or you know a welder Yeah 

[00:00-16:37] 

but so like little 2 2foot hand torch 

[00:00-16:37] 

We've got 

[00:00-16:37] 

the smallest torches we have are 4 feet Most of our guys use 6footers 

[00:00-16:37] 

So it's the the torch is 6 feet long Yeah the torch itself is 6 feet long And that just keeps you safer and kinda puts you away from the heat and the sparks and if a piece falls you've got some distance right And it gives you longer reach as well Oh and longer reach Okay great So instead of With a smaller torch you're gonna be moving more often especially if you're cutting like a rail car for example 

[00:00-16:37] 

With a a longer torch you're gonna have much more reach without having to continually move- 

[00:00-16:37] 

and restart Okay So that's a big part of it And it it does it's nice when it's hot out that you can be 6 feet away from you know a big piece of cast iron that's gonna be- Yeah extremely hot and it holds the heat for a very long time Yeah So that extra distance is definitely a plus Yeah Especially in the summertime I'm I'm I'm sure it is I'm super thankful for our guys that do that work 'cause that is hot uncomfortable work- It is absolutely during the summer and it is- I'm not good at it but I've done it Oh It is 

[00:00-16:37] 

it's rough Yeah Yeah It's definitely rough and somebody that can do it 12 hours a day every day it's impressive They're tough They are Those guys are tough And they're hard workers aren't they Absolutely Yeah 

[00:00-16:37] 

so yeah during the summer it's hot and during the winter out here in the Midwest it's- cold it's windy it's rainy Right And all their PPE they're wearing they have to wear leathers they've got hard hats and respirators and visors and the boots and tarsal protectors and I mean they are just totally kitted up Yeah that's one thing that we really pride ourselves on is that we do more than just is required not You don't have to wear metatarsal guards but it's just we require we pay for it 

[00:00-16:37] 

We go a little bit above and beyond and we we spend a lot of money on making sure our guys are outfitted properly Yeah And that's important because a lot of times I've I've been to yards where they're not using us 

[00:00-16:37] 

And you'll see guys out cutting in just blue jeans or you know lightweight cutting jackets Yeah And maybe it works but I think taking the extra steps to protect our guys 

[00:00-16:37] 

and that's one thing we also do is and a lot of people don't do this but we do all The respirator fit test We do lead testing So- The lead testing is testing the blood right Yeah Yeah yeah So we do that pre-employment and then follow-up every year 

[00:00-16:37] 

So we have a baseline Yeah And then if there We haven't had it happen because we are so good with you know the respirators But if it does then we would pull that person There there are steps that we would have to take 

[00:00-16:37] 

But I think that there are companies out there that don't spend the time put the investment in on the safety end of it And I think that that's one thing that sets us apart Yeah it's it's super important to keep everybody safe A- accidents are always going to happen that they're in- inevitable but whatever we can do to mitigate those happening Yeah 

[00:00-16:37] 

A- and one thing we do as well is I mean torches are torches there's not a huge difference between the different brands or different types but we Our investment in the equipment as well- 

[00:00-16:37] 

as far as all of our regulators are new or newish 

[00:00-16:37] 

So we keep everything on top order Our vaporizers we have nice trailers that go to the job sites Yeah So everybody's outfitted with first aid kits fire extinguishers Yeah all the necessary things All the necessary things yeah And then we also look at the hoses to see if the hoses are You know they can only have so many patches or splices or- Yeah we- or whatever before they We try to keep up on that because otherwise you're gonna If you start losing a hose you're going to spend more time repairing it 

[00:00-16:37] 

So- it's certainly an added expense but it keeps our production up I think I was either talking to you or the previous owner of of Premier back in the '90s or he was growing up in his yard talking about torching and just out there in like tennis shoes and shorts- Yeah torching No no PPE No safety glasses No safe- Yeah that was back before we've We've learned a lot- Yeah and come a long way and he was doing that in his own family's yard but it's just It's crazy to think the way the way things have changed in the last 30 years Well even when I started people would be out in like lightweight cutting jackets I think everybody's seen them they kind of look like scrubs 

[00:00-16:37] 

Just the green Yeah yeah 

[00:00-16:37] 

and and they're fine but for production cutting they're going to get burned up in you know maybe a couple days If they're working on something really big like cast iron they're not going to last very long Oh yeah There's just There's an impressive amount of sparks when you're cutting any of them- Specifically cast yeah cast iron too and it comes out in in chunks Yeah I've taken some really cool photos 

[00:00-16:37] 

where you can see like the cast iron it comes out it looks it looks different than the other sparks Yeah Yeah So one thing new that we've done in the last year is we bought a powder torch Yeah 

[00:00-16:37] 

specifically we bought it for stainless 

[00:00-16:37] 

We're cutting a lot of stainless 

[00:00-16:37] 

so that's a neat process Yeah For people who haven't seen it what it basically does is it gives you It sprays an iron powder out so it is automatically at the melting point of steel when you hit it 

[00:00-16:37] 

So it cuts through steel like literally- Yeah a hot knife through butter So it it gives you that heat so when you go you you're not spending the time heating the material Yeah It's already hot so you cut immediately So the cutting process when you're cutting 

[00:00-16:37] 

when you're torching metal is first you gotta you gotta heat it up to the point where it gets it gets almost molten Y- Yeah it is A- And so we mix propane and oxygen and this is I'm gonna try to pair it back what you guys have taught me the the propane is a low-pressure gas and it generates the flame and that heats the metal The oxygen is high pressure also flammable but it pushes There's so much pressure behind it that it blows the the chunks of molten metal away- Right and that's how it starts to separate the material But when we use the- I taught you well Yeah See I I'm a quick study 

[00:00-16:37] 

but when we use the powder torch you still have the oxygen and the propane but then you have nitrogen which is inert which means it does not combust Yes And it blows the the iron powder in there and that iron powder is basically then throwing molten metal at the metal just to help heat the whole thing up quicker right Yeah So you pressur- pressurize the powder tank It's a little vessel 

[00:00-16:37] 

And it blows it goes along the hose so instead of a 2piece hose you have a 3piece hose 

[00:00-16:37] 

And it will it comes out like 6 PSI 6 to 10 PSI 

[00:00-16:37] 

And it doesn't put a lot of powder on it but it's enough Yeah And and you're right So basically you're heating the metal to the mol- melting point and then the pressure from the oxygen is what pushes it through It's kind of like as a kid you would go out with a garden hose and make a hole in the ground- Yeah or in the dirt Yeah yeah So it just blows it out of the way Yeah absolutely No It's it's so cool It's hard work but it's it's really cool to see it in action 

[00:00-16:37] 

no That's great because not everybody knows that this exists right And it's a service so when we do it we charge people depending on the ho- 

[00:00-16:37] 

the material If it's a if it's a material we're not gonna make a ton of weight that's like an hourly thing cutting rebar 

[00:00-16:37] 

stainless steel the reason we bought the powder torch 

[00:00-16:37] 

it does a really good job of absorbing and dissipating the heat so it's it's harder to get- production tonnage weight out of it 

[00:00-16:37] 

but if it's just regular plate structural steel or heavy equipment that's something that we would bill by the ton Yes Which is 

[00:00-16:37] 

pretty standard for the industry 

[00:00-16:37] 

so yeah That's great 

[00:00-16:37] 

now some point along the way 

[00:00-16:37] 

the company went from just being a torching company to being a company that also offers long-term labor Yes Which as it turns out now has become a huge part of our well over 50% of our business So we started as a torching company but this this other service offering has now become our biggest service offering- Right 

[00:00-16:37] 

and one that we actually find is is very needed It is 

[00:00-16:37] 

a lot of people I hear it all the time- Yeah that 

[00:00-16:37] 

they The interesting thing is our turnover is so low and I I talk to people in the yards and their turnover is you know sometimes north of 50% 

[00:00-16:37] 

And ours is 4 Yeah So there's a there's a reason you take care of your employees- Yeah and we provide the benefits that we do and offer the things that we offer Our guys stick around 

[00:00-16:37] 

it's a funny story You're talking about starting labor 

[00:00-16:37] 

Without without giving any name drops to companies we've got some great customers I just don't wanna make sure that they're- A- absolutely Yeah yeah 

[00:00-16:37] 

we had a customer ask if we could help him with a project They just needed a couple people They couldn't find anybody to do it And we're like "Yeah We can we can do that." Then it was kind of like the "Oh We've gotta do that." Uh-huh But we did and that turned into like a couple guys turned into 4 or 5 to 

[00:00-16:37] 

I think at that particular customer we're up to 24- 

[00:00-16:37] 

I think now at one of their facilities We have- Yeah multiple facilities 

[00:00-16:37] 

so just started out and snowballed from there Yeah And it's been an 

[00:00-16:37] 

interesting learning experience Yeah It's- For sure it's been it's been cool It's been really cool to see how that growth has changed Yeah And you know the average tenure of our employees that are with us that are in these labor positions is 

[00:00-16:37] 

it's over 16 months now creeping up on 17 so we're looking at almost a year and a half that these employees have been with us at these facilities And in some of these positions you know we've done some research on what the average turnover is in know in scrapyards or metal facilities and and those turnovers are 50 to 100%- Yeah if 

[00:00-16:37] 

if not higher and the fact that that you know '23 we were at 4% '24 is not done yet so we'll we'll do a retro on that one 

[00:00-16:37] 

but even if we're at 25% we're at half of what the industry standard is I I hear so many stories about they'll if they ha- can't find people they'll go to a a temporary agency 

[00:00-16:37] 

we're not a temporary agency No These are our full-time employees that are we contract with customers Yeah And I I think that's key because everybody thinks of there's certain companies out there that everybody thinks of as labor- Yeah companies And if you get the guys to show up usually they'll commit to showing up and then whether they do or not- Yeah a lot of times they're gone before lunchtime Yeah Exactly You know it's- Yeah 'Cause this work isn't fun No It it is not easy And so we're very lucky Yeah And 

[00:00-16:37] 

it's not just luck I mean we spend an ex- an extremely large amount of money and time training people outfitting them properly and I think that's key 

[00:00-16:37] 

And the benefits that we offer I think also There's not a lot of labor positions that entry level that we 401 PTO 

[00:00-16:37] 

And then there's a lot of other things that we do Yeah Yeah The 

[00:00-16:37] 

and I've had the privilege here in the last week to also get and sit sit down and chat with 

[00:00-16:37] 

3 of our guys that work in these different facilities that are that are laborers or they're team leads or they drive a forklift 

[00:00-16:37] 

and they they love what they do and they're so thankful- Yeah for the for their work So 

[00:00-16:37] 

it's a great service that we provide for them So 

[00:00-16:37] 

yeah So no It's it's been great 

[00:00-16:37] 

Jay's been with us been with the company since the beginning Been here longer than I have now at this point And 

[00:00-16:37] 

so we've had a lot of fun in this last year We've gone to I don't know 5 or 6 conferences together We've been all all over the country We've visited customers 

[00:00-16:37] 

getting Jay into some of our hobbies Jay's rocking his his- I've got a- first fancy watch there so not not not super fancy but it's it's a hobby Yeah It's a hobby of ours that 

[00:00-16:37] 

Adam and I love love nerding out over watches so Jay was always looking at his naked wrist So we said "Well you know what For Christmas Jay needs to get a watch," so 

[00:00-16:37] 

but yeah No I appreciate all that you've done for the company Jay 

[00:00-16:37] 

thank you for taking this time to chat with me- Yeah teach me some more hopefully teach those guys- Yeah Ab- ab- absolutely 

[00:00-16:37] 

some more about torching and labor and what we do 

[00:00-16:37] 

in the niche 

[00:00-16:37] 

niche industry that where you work in Yeah No It's been great Yeah Thanks for your time bud All right Thanks Appreciate it