American Auto Iron & Metal: hard work will pay off: Wisconsin recycling firm is fueled by the hard work of its people and its Sierra shear/baler/logger.

Carl Kienbaum grew tip in the salvage and scrap business, learning about the trade while watching and helping his Father at the Family business in Whitewater, Wis. Two decades ago, in 1985, Carl and his wife Brenda moved north from Whitewater to Fond du Lac after acquiring a piece of property consisting of a small cinder block building and some vacant land.

Although the property had once hosted auto recycling and salvage companies, the Kienbaums started with virtually no inventory and no equipment, building a business from scratch.

The duo credits hard work and a handful of good decisions for helping it to grow from a vacant property to a company with three locations and 20 employees.

SALVAGE AND SCRAP

As its name implies, American Auto Iron & Metal operates in the auto salvage and the scrap markets.

Serving a semi-rural market in East Central Wisconsin, American Auto can provide more options for its widespread customer base by staying involved in both segments.

The salvage operation in rural Wisconsin yields resalable parts, but also a healthy amount of scrap metal in the form of car bodies and non-working parts.

Scrap metal service and processing makes up the larger part of the company's business, however. "We buy cars and sell used auto parts, but the main thing is to concentrate on scrap," says Brenda.

A visitor to the Fond du Lac location would see a scale station toward the front of the property. Some grades of scrap brought in by customers are stored in an indoor facility, while other grades can be off-loaded outside.

Obsolete ferrous scrap grades include sheet, pipe and old farm equipment, much of which is processed by the firm into "3-foot prepared steel," Brenda says.

The company has been pouring concrete at its Fond du Lac yard to help customers navigate the sometimes hostile Wisconsin weather with less difficulty--and less mud. "Customers have complimented us on that; it is much easier to keep clean," Brenda comments.

American Auto customers come from a variety of industry segments, including building and HVAC contractors, farmers, property cleanup and hauling contractors and--with the recent pricing boom--collectors who target obsolete farm scrap for cleanup and recycling.

Brenda says the company has appealed to this broad cross-section of customers by offering different levels of service, depending on what is most important to the customers.

"We give them the opportunity to either unload it and be paid quickly or to wait for a thorough sort and be paid by the grade," she says.

Additionally, the company has begun to offer roll-off container services to some industrial and agricultural customers.

SPREADING OUT

The American Auto philosophy has served Fond du Lac well, as the Kienbaums have been able to build a growing customer base in the city at the southern tip of Lake Winnebago.

Establishing a successful business model in Fond du Lac has given Carl and Brenda the confidence to buy two additional properties and establish locations in Mt. Calvary and Nekoosa, Wis.

The Mt. Calvary property was purchased in 2001 and the Nekoosa facility is American Auto's most recent purchase, made in 2004. Brenda says operations at these two sites have largely been set up to emulate the operation in Fond du Lac.

Scrap is weighed, purchased and separated at these new locations just as it is at Fond du Lac. Additionally, the company's most important piece of processing equipment can be transported to the new locations when it is needed there.

American Auto owns a T500 model shear/baler/logger from Sierra International Machinery LLC, Bakersfield, Calif. "The size of the machine is just right to serve all three yards and still be portable," says Brenda.

The Sierra T500 processes sheet steel, pipe, aluminum and sometimes auto hulks and is taken from location to location as inventory needs dictate.

Managing the additional locations has kept Carl and Brenda busy, but also has kept American Auto on a growth path that has also included a major facility expansion to its original cinder block building in Fond du Lac.

Brenda says the small cinder block building that was originally acquired with the land parcel now measures 60 feet by 100 feet.

FRIENDLY TERMS

Although American Auto Iron & Metal has branched out beyond its original location, the company's reach does not seem to exceed its welcoming grasp.

The Kienbaums say they have not forgotten how they achieved their prosperity in the first place and strive hard to keep their company's core values in place.

Two decades of hard work have gone into building a business that now includes three locations and a customer base that grows each year.

Because their scrap-generating customers often travel many miles to reach their facilities, the Kienbaum's identify their ability to offer quick and friendly service as the factor that will make or break American Auto's reputation at all three locations.

"We always try to keep in mind that the customer comes first and we do whatever we can to make them happy," Brenda says.

PORTABLE YET STILL POWERFUL

For American Auto Iron & Metal, Fond du Lac, Wis., the acquisition of a Sierra T500 shear/baler/ logger has provided the ideal combination of processing power and portability.

Owner Brenda Kienbaum says the Sierra model is the "workhorse" of the company's three-location auto salvage and scrap recycling business. "We pretty much run it five days a week," she says.

The machine can be mounted on a trailer and moved between American Auto's three Wisconsin facilities in Fond du Lac, Mt. Calvary and Nekoosa. "The fact that it is portable is one of the main reasons we purchased it--so we could move it," Brenda says.

In addition to working from all three American Auto locations, the portable Sierra machine is also taken to remote cleanup sites and business locations with significant scrap volumes.

American Auto purchased the machine from Sierra International Machinery LLC, Bakersfield, Calif., about four years ago, around the same time American Auto acquired its Mt. Calvary facility. Since then, the company has added the Nekoosa site, making the Sierra machine's portability all the more critical.

To operate more efficiently, the company has added Sierra's remote control feature to its T500. "Now it's even easier to operate."

American Auto owned one of the first Sierra machines to be placed into Wisconsin, meaning Sierra sales representative Dave Berg has brought many prospective buyers to Fond du Lac to see the machine in action.

After four years of operating the machine, the Kienbaums say they are happy to allow the machine to serve as a demonstration model for curious customers.

"We're very happy with it; it has been a good, reliable investment," says Brenda of the Sierra T500. "Carl and I absolutely agree that we would make the same investment again."

PROFILE:

Company Name: American Auto Iron & Metal

Owners: Carl and Brenda Kienbaum

Locations: Fond du Lac, Mt. Calvary and Nekoosa, Wis.

Sierra Equipment: T500 Portable Shear/Baler/ Logger

Company Philosophy: "The customers come first. Do whatever you have to do to make them happy."