industries, so we ship them out by rail car or truck. Practically everything that we process is recycled, and that's another source of pride for us. We've always believed in recycling materials; we were doing it before it became the standard thing to do. It is part of our philosophy to stay on the cutting edge of the industry."
Leader in wire chopping
That philosophy has helped Shine Bros. continue to grow and explore new areas, including wire chopping, the company's main specialty today. Shine Bros. began chopping wire in the '80s to increase its presence in the highly competitive scrap industry and has been a leader in the field ever since. The process takes nonferrous materials such as insulated copper and aluminum wire and creates "chops," or small granules of the material that can be used for a variety of purposes.
"We're one of the largest producers of wire chops in North America," Wycoff noted. "The chopping process separates the insulation from the wire. In the end you get a finely chopped material such as copper which can be used in the refining and recycling industries. It's a real benefit because in the past, that material would have been thrown away."
Biggest asset: employees
Shine and Wycoff both credit Shine Bros.' work force of nearly 100 as the major factor in the company's ability to process materials in short order. In addition to Dan Wycoff and his son Mike, key members of the operations team include Steve, Levi, Rick and Randy.
"We consider our work force our number-one asset," Shine emphasized. "Some of our best production ideas have come from our employees. We encourage independence in thought and planning processes. At any time, if employees believe something would work better, they can come to us and discuss it. They have that great Midwest work ethic. They're topnotch, devoted, hardworking and enjoy what they do. Our workers take the assets we put in front of them and get terrific production."
Wycoff said the company assigns specific tasks to each employee, but cross-training is an important aspect of the business. "We've
Operator Paul uses a Komatsu PC300LC-7 equipped with a magnet to unload scrap metal from a customer's trailer. "I like the way it handles," Paul said of the PC300. "It has good hydraulics and will pick up a lot of weight."
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Shine Bros. uses several specially adapted Komatsu excavators at its facility in Spencer, Iowa, including this PC300LC-7 equipped with shears for cutting large piles of scrap metal into more manageable pieces. "I've been buying Komatsu equipment for several years," said Owner and President Toby Shine. "They're good, dependable machines that are trouble-free."
found that when we assign people to certain tasks, they take great pride in it, and that boosts production," he said. "But everyone is prepared to do a variety of work. That way, if we need help in an area they aren't assigned to, they can cover that other area and keep production up."
The best in equipment
While employees are the number-one asset of the company, good equipment is a close second, according to Wycoff. Shine Bros. makes it a point to have the best machinery possible so it can efficiently process the large volume of materials that pass through its yard daily. "We've always had the philosophy that having the best equipment makes the job easier for our people," Wycoff pointed out. "That keeps our costs low because there's less maintenance, and it increases our production. Our equipment is there to augment our employees so they can get a large amount of work done in a good, safe environment."
Levi, Maintenance