Springfield Iron & Metal recycles city stockyards

Fist-sized remains of the auto body are then fed onto a system of conveyers and magnets that separate valuable metals – primarily aluminum, steel and copper – from the refuse.

Nearby rail cars are filled with finished fragments shipped to domestic buyers, such as Nucor Corp. and Ameristeel Inc., and even to China, said Greg Westfall, who serves as Springfield Iron & Metal’s chief executive, metal commodities expert and employee trainer.

“I wear about a hundred hats,” he said during a recent tour of the company’s metal-processing facility at 1323 W. Locust St.

Westfall and two silent partners purchased the former site of Springfield’s Southwest Regional Stockyards for an undisclosed amount in January from Joplin Regional Stockyards’ Jackie Moore and Steve Owens. The sale marked the end of Westfall and company’s six-year search for the right piece of land.

Construction on the 15-acre parcel northeast of West Division Street and North Kansas Expressway began in July. Wirt Construction is the general contractor.

But company officials first had to deal with some unpleasant subterranean issues at the site, namely layers of cattle manure that had been paved over with concrete throughout the years.

Springfield Iron & Metal hired Ramsey Excavating Co. to remove and refill some 35,000 cubic yards of dirt before the existing concrete pad could be poured, Westfall said. Most of the stables covering the property also were demolished to make room for the metal-processing operation.

Construction is about 80 percent complete, and Westfall said the shredder – powered by a 4,800-horsepower electric motor – should start chewing up scrap metal later this month. It will process just under 100 tons of metal an hour, he said.

Springfield Iron & Metal will spend close to $6 million on processing machinery, accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s $20 million total investment.

Another costly component is a storm-water management plan engineered by Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc. that includes a water-filtration system to “keep fringe elements out of the ecosystem,” Westfall said.

“We’ve improved the neighborhood water quality already,” he said, noting that stockyard runoff previously went into storm drains west of the property.

On the morning of Dec. 3, a steady stream of scrap metal haulers within a 175-mile radius of Springfield entered and exited the company’s newly completed weigh station. Springfield Iron & Metal buys metal based on market conditions, Westfall said.

“One thing people don’t understand about metals is it’s a commodity,” he said. “Some days it goes up, and some days it goes down.”

Springfield Iron & Metal will compete with other regional scrap yards, including Bob’s Scrap Metal down the street at 3241 W. Division St. Co-owner Sue Bretz questioned whether the local scrap metal market could support another player.

“I don’t think the town’s big enough for that,” she said. “I’m sure some of my haulers will go down there, but I don’t think he’ll hurt me. We have – more or less – a personal relationship with most of our customers, and in a big business, you don’t get that.”

Bob’s Scrap Metal buys iron, appliances and auto bodies, which are mashed, bailed and then hauled off by the truckload to 10 cities in Missouri and surrounding states, said Bretz, who also mentioned the unstable nature of metal prices.

“Right now, the prices are good, but who knows how long they’re going to last?” she said. “It could be down to nothing tomorrow.”

Westfall doesn’t seem too concerned. When Springfield Iron & Metal is in “full flow” next month, the company will employ about 25 scrap metal employees and another 20 truck drivers. Wages for the full-time workers will range from $12 to $20 an hour, he said.

Westfall said company officials also might consider expanding its services to include the destruction of defective products made by area manufacturers.