Description
"AADCO was established in response to the need for an environmentally responsible method of recycling automobiles. Our goal is to be accountable for the environment." Since the pilot plant started operation in October 1999 in the Toronto-area community of Richmond Hill, AADCO's goal has been to recycle 100 per cent of every vehicle that comes into its possession. Typically, says Bookalam, up to 35 per cent of a car goes into the ground. "Here," he says, "we are recycling 96 per cent. We are well ahead of the pack." Most important, he emphasizes, is the fact that the vehicles, parts and materials waiting to be recycled are stored indoors in conditions designed to prevent any adverse environmental damage. At this facility, there's no way fluids can leak into the groundwater, no precipitation to rust the bodies, no critters hiding menacingly among the hulks. The floor of AADCO's 20,000 sq.ft. facility has been specially treated with an epoxy coating to prevent fluids from seeping into the concrete. One wall is lined with storage containers holding fluids - engine oil, fuel, coolant, brake fluid and transmission oil - recovered from the vehicles in a step called "greening." (An average car can contain about 19 litres of operating fluids.) They are either reused or recycled. Another area of the plant is lined with batteries, transmissions, differentials and engines. High-bay shelving holds various body components - doors (with their wiring harnesses intact), bumpers, windshields, dashboards, steering wheels and more. Everything is tagged with bar codes for quick identification - even the front and rear ends of bodies, known as "clips." Bins nearby are loaded with scraps of broken plastic and ripped cloth stripped from the vehicles. The scrap is sold by weight to approved recyclers. Parts that are not suitable for reuse are sorted by material type and sent to a sub-manufacturer or are further dismantled. The body hulks, some old and rusted, some new but crushed in an accident, are flattened by a crusher before being stacked for pickup by a steel recycler. (Ferrous metals make up about 70 per cent of a typical car.) One unusual aspect of AADCO's hulks is that only the metal is left - every other foreign component, the stuff known in the industry as "fluff," has been carefully removed, in most cases stored intact for later reuse. "These hulks are a recycler's dream," says Ron Ledbrook, director of sales. "They're not contaminated with bits of plastic, glass, cloth or rubber, as they are from some other operations that crush the hulks after removing only a few of the nonmetallic components." They can go straight into the furnaces. AADCO's pilot plant is the first step in a planned national system for dismantling vehicles and distributing used parts, says Philip Bookalam, AADCO's chairman and chief executive officer. VIN plates are removed and destroyed during the dismantling process and the vehicle is recorded as wrecked with licensing authorities. Vehicle records and parts information are stored in the company's database for at least five years. Any resalable vehicles that AADCO processes are remarketed to dealers through auction, or are offered through an online store and auction on the company's web site (www.aadco-industries.com). Vehicles destined to be recycled are dismantled piece by piece. Bookalam calls it "'reverse assembly." "The process is different from the dismantling processes used at most traditional wrecking and salvage lots that usually recycle only those parts which can be easily removed for reconditioning, sale as-is, or for scrap," Ledbrook says. This part of the business is low-tech, Bookalam notes. "It takes just 18 hand tools to disassemble a Neon." According to Ross Poyntz, who has been president and chief operating officer since June 1, the company has developed a sophisticated information technology system that tracks every vehicle and every part that goes through the dismantling process. This allows for state-of-the-art inventory control, valuable information gathering for use by the auto manufacturing and insurance industries, as well as a host of other data gathering, accounting and delivery functions. Software was adapted from a parts manufacturing system to meet AADCO's needs. All parts in the inventory are marked with a quality code. The inventory system is linked to the Web site so customers - the industry and consumers - can search for components and body parts. A toll-free telephone and fax service also are offered. Parts are delivered by AADCO's staff or by courier. According to Poyntz, the company works with all sectors of the automobile industry - manufacturers, dealers, remarketers, and the insurance industry, providing services and data. Information on recycled vehicles can be shared with manufacturers, and they can know that their product has been responsibly recycled. They also can be provided with benchmark information on the recyclability of OEM parts and materials. Dealers benefit from access to quality used OEM parts. Advance orders can be placed via the Internet that will in turn set priorities for the company's dismantling process. AADCO also offers the insurance industry an efficient way to dispose salvage vehicles, providing vehicle reports at any time in the process. Many others support this evolution of the vehicle recycling process. Environment Canada deputy minister Alan Nymark says AADCO's approach "will support the evolving changes in the automobile industry that are increasingly focusing on environmental design and life-cycle management." This is an example of how life-cycle management can be profitable, he adds. Ford of Canada president and CEO Bobby Gaunt recently said that vehicle recycling presents "a strong business opportunity within the automotive value chain." Several months ago, Ford of Canada acquired two Ontario auto recyclers, in Hamilton and Ottawa. "It's another step in our goal of connecting with customers throughout the life cycle of the vehicle," Gaunt said. Ford also plans to provide an environmentally safe method of vehicle disposal and will expand its business to include recycled parts. In another development last spring, ADESA Canada acquired Impact Auto Auctions, Canada's largest salvage auction chain with 11 sites in six provinces. Impact provides insurance companies with remarketing services for their total-loss vehicles. The marriage allows each business to offer improved technology solutions to the customer, says ADESA president Brian Warner. Meanwhile AADCO has been building its own stable of partners. In July 2000, the company established a strategic alliance with The Boyd Group Inc., a large Canadian operator of collision repair shops. AADCO will provide used parts from its dismantling operation, and the companies plan to share information technology. AADCO also has a strategic alliance with Volvo Trucks of Toronto - a dealership with three locations in the Greater Toronto Area - for the development of dismantling and used parts facilities for large- and medium-size trucks. In addition, AADCO has developed affiliations with several organizations, most recently with the Canadian Diabetes Association, and has administered a Charity Program that has seen, in the past five years, over 17,500 end-of-life vehicles donated by consumers to Canadian charities. Looking to the future, AADCO's pilot plant is the first step in a plan to implement a national system for dismantling vehicles and distributing used parts in facilities in major centres right across Canada, says Bookalam.
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