We are proud to announce that the creator of the iScrap App, Tom Buechel, has been spotlighted as the Cover Story in the December 2011 issue of Recycling Today.
Recycling Today saw how Tom handled his scrap yard different from so many others and how he is incorporating technology into the scrap metal business unlike it has been done before. See an excerpt below:
The recession hit Rockaway Recycling, Rockaway, N.J., hard. To remain in business, owner Thomas Buechel had to lay off all seven of his full-time employees. This episode also made it clear to Buechel that he needed to do things differently, he says.
Getting Tech-y
In response to the recession, Buechel heavily invested in technology to run and to promote Rockaway Recycling.
“When the market crashed in 2008, we changed our business model to connect with the customer more than before,” Buechel says. “We have created an easy-to-use website that lists our prices.
He continues, “So many people think that this industry is going to avoid technology and that peddlers won’t find out the prices of scrap; but, whether or not they call around to scrap yards or try different scrap yards out, they do find out the prices.”
In addition to the website, Buechel also developed iScrap App, an application for iPhone and Android phones as well as a website that connects users with local scrap yards and provides access to their pricing information. “”I was originally going to only use it at my scrap yard until I realized that so many scrap yards across the country would be able to benefit from connecting with their customers even more,” Buechel says. (For more on iScrap App, scroll down to see “Mobile Connection”) Continue Reading…
