Meet Jonathan Schacter, CPA, CA: Our CFO par Execellence

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Through a local community networking event, a chance meeting led Jonathan to meet Jeff Solomon, Globe Metal’s CEO. “When I met Jeff, we clicked right away. It was truly refreshing to meet someone in business who is so open, interesting, and has this amazing easygoing attitude,” says Schacter. Globe Metals’ business was evolving, and Jeff was looking for top quality candidates to join him. Jonathan was mainly attracted to Globe Metal because of the role the company plays in helping with environmental waste. “I liked the fact that the company makes the world a better place. It does good for the planet and everyone at large,” says Jonathan.  In 2011, Jonathan was hired to replace Globe Metal’s comptroller, who was retiring.

Jeff had this to say about Jonathan’s strengths: “Jonathan brings tons of experience, and tenacity to get the job done. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he motivates his team and staff around him.”  No doubt, a part of this enthusiasm comes from working at Concordia and McGill, where he teaches accounting.

Globe Metal Develops Strong Growth In The North American Market and Expands Internationally

Jonathan had some important mandates when he started working at Globe Metal. His first directive was to save the company money. As a result, he spent a few months reviewing the general ledgers and all accounts to identify opportunities to maximize revenues and reduce costs. As the new Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan brought fresh ideas to internal controls. He also found some in-depth non-traditional finance packages for North American growth and international expansion.

Jonathan’s first significant accomplishment, which he considers his early success, was procuring a substantial grant from Investissement Québec. “We had to provide and prepare a large assemblage of documents such as financial projections for the Globe Metal group of companies. The combination of the grant from Investissement Québec, along with our bank, worked very well because there was money to be accessed,” says Schacter. However, Jonathan feels that his biggest success story required some real “out of the box” financial thinking to create special financial packages. Doing so allows Globe Metal to access large amounts of capital.  “First, this helps us buy large quantities of material and, at the same time, pay our suppliers quicker. This is something that many other companies are not able to do,” says Schacter.

His favourite part of the job? Day-to-day operations.  “Since the company is always finding ways to make deals that are not always typical, we have to arrange special financing for it. And that’s a forte of mine.”

For Globe Metal, The Sky Is The Limit

Jonathan is proud to be working in this industry. It’s not just because of Globe Metal’s values and the contributions the company makes to the planet and the economy. No, he is happy to be working with his co-workers. “We have some very, very good people who are not only highly skilled but who also have great attitudes.”

During his tenure, Schacter has seen Globe Metal become more and more of an international player in the metal recycling industry. “I believe this is because we’ve had such big growth in North America and the way we’ve expanded internationally. It just keeps on going!” says Schacter. For Jonathan, this is also due to the people he works with, as their can-do attitude allows for this continuous explosive growth.  “That’s why it makes it so exciting to work here. There is never, and I mean never, a boring day at Globe Metal!”

This is the third article in an ongoing series. Please read about our other featured employees:

Meet Brendon Chrus: Your Specialist in Difficult Metal Waste Streams

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“When you get to a fork in the road, take it!” This advice from Yogi Berra was indeed taken by Brendon Chrus, which is what lead him to Globe Metal and then to his role as Globe Metal’s Account Manager for North America.

“I was hired as a marketing advisor and became a metal trader,” says Brendon. When Brendon accepted this marketing position, he brought to the table what Globe Metal was looking for. He’s a seasoned marketer with experience at many different types of start-ups, including co-founding a casual cycle clothing company. Education and experience open doors, but the future is there for people like Brendon who take on new challenges. Quickly, his role evolved.

“The company was getting inundated with inbound leads,” said Brendon. He was asked to help pick up the slack. One call led to another, and very quickly Brendon became the Account Manager for North America.

Globe Metal is the last stop before a metal waste stream goes to a landfill.

Brendon’s primary focus is on metal waste streams from environmental service providers, working with such companies as Apex Environmental. “Many materials have been sent to landfills in the past. We’re always looking for and finding alternatives. We are the last stop before a metal waste stream goes to a landfill.”

Brendon Chrus’s other specialty is on metal catalyst recycling and rare earth metals, which mainly come from the chemical and petroleum industries. “We recover a wide variety of metals from catalysts such a Vanadium, Nickel, Molybdenum and Palladium,” says Chrus.

Why is metal recycling environmentally friendly? The environmental impact of mining and metal production from raw materials is high. However, as metals are perpetually recyclable with reduced water and energy inputs, recycling industrial metal keeps used metal from going into landfills, in addition to eliminating the waste that results from producing new metal. Globe Metal plays a significant role in making this difference as the company successfully recycles hundreds of thousands of pounds of metal waste that would previously be going to landfills.

Brendon and his sales colleagues bring value to the metal recycling industry by investing their time to find new outlets for their client’s metal waste. “In addition to dealing with prime materials, which we buy from around the world, we’re able to work with a diverse network to recycle difficult metal streams that many companies are not willing to invest their time in.”

A key to Brendon’s success is knowing about the recovery processes for different metals and understanding which materials customers have difficulty with. “Just recently, our networks have expanded, allowing us to recycle Zirconium, Lithium, Lithium-ion batteries, Zinc metal powders and sludges,” says Chrus.

Consumers get great prices; suppliers receive a fair value for materials

Brendon is proud to work in the metal recycling industry. He buys the metal waste destined for landfills and finds a new life for it in a range of ways. For Brendon, it’s all about selling secondary raw materials that benefit all parties involved. “The consumer gets great prices, the supplier receives fair value for their materials, and we get to make to make those connections.”

As the metal recycling industry is experiencing more and more consolidation by large global conglomerates, companies like Globe Metal are getting more competitive and are finding new ways to recover materials and offer better pricing. “The mega companies who have the majority of the market share are not trying to improve on anything,” says Chrus. “Financial viability and benefit for all are what drives us at Globe Metal.”

Metal Marketplace launching soon

While there are many accomplishments that Brendon is proud of from an individual and team standpoint, he is especially excited to launch Globe Metal’s online marketplace in the New Year. “Our goal is to keep more materials out of landfills by opening up the material to potential clients. We don’t just recover secondary materials; we make sure metal streams get recycled!”

If your metal waste streams are going to landfills, contact Brendon Chrus. He will be there to help and access your situation with any industrial metal waste stream you may have.

This is the second article in an ongoing series of employee profiles. Please read others:

Face-to-face with Ricardo Alberto Martinez, our leading Account Manager for Latin America

Face-to-Face with Our Leading Account Manager For Latin America

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Trust, Personalization Makes Ricardo Martinez The Sales Leader He Is

Sometimes the job you apply for isn’t the one you end up doing. For Globe Metal’s Ricardo Alberto Martinez, our Account Manager for Latin America and Spain, that turned out just fine. Upon finishing his studies in logistics in transportation, Ricardo saw an ad for an ideal position at Globe Metal. After a successful interview, he started working immediately. “Even though I had applied for a logistics position, I mentioned that I had experience in sales. That was very interesting to the team here,” said Ricardo.

After getting a trial position on the sales team, everything changed for Ricardo just four days into the job. Ricardo: “After my fourth day of training, we made a phone call to a supplier in Mexico, and my boss let me do it. He was so surprised how I managed the phone call; he said that was the end of my training. I applied for logistics, and I started as theAccount Manager for Latin America and Spain!”

Ricardo’s primary market in Latin America is the mining industry, as Globe Metal buys all the scrap from the drilling tools used in that domain. For our Spanish-speaking sales leader, “That means tricone bits, cutters, hammer bits… you name it, anything that contains tungsten carbide is something we’re happy to handle here at Globe Metal.”

Mexico, Chile and Beyond Latin America

Though Ricardo has seen success in Mexico, his primary market right now in South America is Chile, where he buys recycled industrial metal from scrap dealers and drilling companies. There are many sources. However, Mexico is different, says Martinez. “Mexico is more developed; they have all kinds of industries: aerospace, metal mechanics so forth; so we can buy a lot of different materials in Mexico.”

While Ricardo handles our Latin business, he does have familiarity with the North American market as well. The main differences, from his perspective, is a matter of personalization. In Latin America, Ricardo says, “We like to do business face-to-face to build a business relationship with your supplier. Often we become friendly with our partners. That’s a big difference.” That’s why Ricardo finds it so necessary to travel for his work, often visiting Chile, Mexico and Peru and occasionally Guatemala. He goes for about ten days every two months to tradeshows and clients and often makes time to meet new potential partners and companies.

Why the heavy travel schedule? For Ricardo, it’s all about building trust. “When I started in the mining industry business, I studied it a lot. People like to talk about their metals. It’s not just about buying and selling. No, it’s important to be confident and sincere to develop trust. Sincerity is essential,” says Martinez.

“When We Want The Business In Latin America, We Go For It.”

That doesn’t mean pricing and know-how don’t come into play. Globe Metal, according to Martinez, has competitive prices and becomes an essential partner to those who buy from them. “Our clients know that with us, they have one home for every need.” Why is that? “Because we are very aggressive. When we want the business in Latin America, we go for it. We’ll try every alternative to make a beneficial deal for our partners. That’s why our sales department is like a machine. We work together and help each other out. That’s what I will say about Globe Metal. It’s what makes us different and it’s how I like to work too!”

If you’re in Mexico or Latin America, there’s no better entry point to recycle your industrial metal than to reach out to Globe Metal team. We are ready to help you recycle your tungsten carbide, nickel alloys, spent catalysts and more, send us an email at sales@globemetal.com or call 1-800-700-6382.

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Globe Metal is a proud member of Minor Metals Trade Association.