My First Trip to an ARA Conference

Article by Ian Hope, Executive Director AARDA, October 2011

I’ve just come back from the 68th ARA Conference that was held in Charlotte North Carolina from October 12th to 15th, 2011 and words fail to describe what a wonderful experience it was- well, aside from missing my connecting flight in Toronto on the way down… regardless, I should just be thankful for a safe arrival in the end, right?

Ian Hope, Executive Director of AARDA being greeted in the Conference Exhibit Hall by Loretta Byrd, Executive Director of the Carolina Auto Recyclers

I returned home with an enhanced sense of what an effective and dynamic organization the Automotive Recyclers of America are. They certainly do know how to plan a great conference, and provide sound value to their members, while also taking lavish care of the ‘creature comforts’ of delegates.

Conference delegates on Wednesday night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame which was hosted by Hollander, a Solera Company

The downtown convention hall was spacious with plenty of room for exhibits and delegates; the hotel and meals were fantastic, and the entertainment included the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday night, Awards Night on Thursday at the Westin Hotel’s elegant Grand Ballroom, and then on Friday evening it was off to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Race. I must say it was pretty exciting to be there and see it live!

The NASCAR Race itself! After hitting the wall (hard!) early in the race, Carl Edwards mounted a dramatic comeback in the last few laps moving up from the 23rd position to claim his 37th career win…

There were numerous informative sessions for delegates to choose from each day- everything from communications skills development, to the dismantling aspects of hybrid vehicles, internet marketing tips to innovative recycling practices at an international level. At the trade show of course little was left out in terms of what would most interest recyclers- I stopped by booths that showed innovative products and services ranging from shredding and crushing, to liquids recovery systems, parts inventory and management systems, yard security…you name it.
Not many of the exhibitors at the conference presently provide services in Canada, but it was impressive to hear how many more of them would like to do business in Canada, or are in fact already moving in that direction. We shouldn’t be surprised in future to get calls from new automotive industry service providers based in the U.S. and entering Canada, looking to do business with us. We’ll no doubt find many benefits in giving them our time to listen.

Here, Steve Fletcher introduces a panel that featured international innovations in automotive recycling. Presentations were made by Canadian, Japanese
and Mexican representatives.

I’d have to say though, that what impressed me most in terms of what I witnessed at Charlotte was the camaraderie that has clearly developed in the past few years at an international level, particularly between ARA and the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC). The Managing Director of ARC was everywhere to be seen among the ARA events, and was a frequent and distinguished speaker at sessions. I give Steve Fletcher a great deal of credit for this strengthening working relationship and feel that it will serve us so very well as we continue to find mutual benefits in terms of cross-border networking and the sharing of ideas and innovations with our American colleagues in the years ahead. The ‘Green Parts’ branding is just one example of where this already applies.

Some of the Canadian ‘delegation’ that went to Charlotte, N.C. for the ARA Conference. From left, Philippe Fuger, Ian Hope, Steve Fletcher, Managing Director of ARC and Ed MacDonald

In closing, I had a great time, learned much about this amazing industry that we work in, and came away with many new insights as well as a number of new friends who I can look forward to seeing again in my travels, and quite likely at a future ARA conference. I hope that members of our Association will want to participate in conferences such as this at the international, national and provincial levels- there really is so much to be gained from such experiences!

ARC to roll out final phase of nationwide certification process

Banff, Alberta -- July 26, 2011

At a recent meeting in Banff, Alberta the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) backed up their commitment to having all of its members certified to the National Code of Practice for Auto Recyclers with the funding to complete all of the remaining audits across the country. "For years, a national certification program has been a dream of the association. We have always pushed our provincial associations and their members to follow best environmental practices in every aspect of their operations, but up until now there has never been a way to accurately and objectively measure both the facilities and the processes everyone used." said Steve Fletcher, Executive Director of ARC.

ARC developed the National Code of Practice for Auto Recyclers for Environment Canada to support the national "Retire Your Ride" program. It includes stringent compliance requirements for a recycling operation to properly and legally process a vehicle. ARC and their member associations retained an independent auditor to physically visit all of the recyclers who were participating in the program to evaluate their business against the standardized protocol. Any potential shortcomings were rectified and confirmed by the auditor before a recycler was deemed certified. Only certified recyclers were permitted to participate in the national scrappage program.
"As successful as the Retire Your Ride certification process was, we recognized that there were still some gaps in the national coverage." stated Fletcher. "Now we're putting our money where our mouth is to get the rest of the recyclers certified so we can finally state with absolute confidence that all of our members do things the right way". Going forward, any recycler who wants to join a provincial association will first need to complete the certification audit as a condition of membership.

Every vehicle that a Certified Recycler handles goes through a methodical process to maximize reclamation and minimize environmental impact. Good reusable parts, batteries, mercury switches, oils, fluids, coolants, gasoline, and refrigerants are all removed and properly managed before the remaining hulk is sent for metal recycling.

The next step, says Fletcher, is to push the government for legislation that will make it mandatory for anyone handling end of life vehicles to be certified. "With certification, people know that a recycler has been thoroughly checked out by a third-party auditor. They know they're dealing with one of the good guys. But I've seen some of the nightmares out there. There are guys who buy cars just to crush them and sell them for scrap metal. They let toxic fluids and heavy metals just escape into the soil and groundwater. They don't recycle any usable parts and don't care about the environmental damage they're doing. I can tell you there is a real need for legislation to make sure everyone handles vehicles responsibly and properly."

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