Salvage yard hires employees to help with surplus.
By Jeni Jewell
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 12:15 p.m.
Read more: Local
NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP -- The "Cash for Clunkers" program means greener cars on the road and more green for salvage and scrap yards across the country.
Superior Auto Parts on US-41 in Negaunee Township will take apart a total of 240 cars through the program. They'll salvage the used parts, then crush the rest for scrap metal.
"It should be a record year for us," said owner, William Grill. "We've added two employees actually because of this program, and they should be here for a year."
Grill says they salvage 30 percent to 80 percent of the car before scrapping it for iron.
Right now they can get $120 a ton for the scrap iron, which Reliable Recycling in Green Bay will process, then send to steel mills. Next month the price will drop to $100 a ton.
The additional cars total 70 percent of the salvage yard's annual business.
Superior Auto Parts buys around 350 used cars a year, getting one million dollars in parts revenue from those vehicles.
"The thing that will help is it just gave us a terrific shot on inventory," Grill said. "I mean we got a year's worth of inventory inside of two months."
Nearly half the cars Superior Auto Parts picked up through the program have 60,000 miles on them. So, people looking for a used transmission or any other car part will find it easier now that these clunkers have been scrapped.
