In Memoriam: Martin L. Wilhelm.

Marty Wilhelm, an owner of Youngstown (Ohio) Iron & Metal Inc. and Atlas Recycling Inc. died suddenly in a car accident in mid-November. Wilhelm, who was 47 when he died, was in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago on a scrap buying trip with a business associate, Emile Valere, who also lost his life in the accident.

Marty entered the recycling industry when he joined his father Harold "Bud" Wilhelm's company Atlas Auto Crushers in 1977. Marty became the chief operating officer and president of Atlas Recycling Inc., based in Warren, Ohio, and of Youngstown Iron & Metal, which Marty and Bud established in 1997.

Youngstown Iron & Metal was created to operate an automobile shredder to provide recyclable material to steel mills and foundries in the Youngstown, Warren and Canton markets. Marty used emerging technologies and methods to recover the maximum amount of usable materials in the recycling process, with the goal of limiting the flow of material into the landfill.

Marty led the family-operated businesses into additional opportunities, including international scrap brokerage and structural demolition projects. One of his recent entrepreneurial projects was International Materials Trading Ltd., founded in 2006, which is involved in the international import-export business.

The companies were built with Marty's strong belief in the importance of personal and business relationships, many of which were cultivated through the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), say his survivors.

Marty is survived by his father Bud and stepmother Nancy; wife Joanne, who he married in 1981; sons Matthew and Christopher; brother Scott; and sister Christine.

Contributions can be made to the Martin L. Wilhelm Charitable Account, which will provide funds for university scholarships and environmental and community projects, at any Chase Banking Center or by mail to JP Morgan Chase, 6 Federal Plaza West, Youngstown, OH 44503, Attention Private Client Services, OH2-5761.