Upstate Shredding Wins Tioga County Business of Year Award

Online, June 19, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Owego, NY, June 20, 2010 - Upstate Shredding LLC has been presented with the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce award as Business of the Year. The award was presented to Adam Weitsman, President of Upstate Shredding. The awards committee consisted of Rick Annunziata of M&T Bank, Jim Von Esch, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tioga Chamber, Assemblyman Gary Finch, and Assemblyman Tom O'Mara.

"We were honored to be recognized by Tioga County, not only for our economic contribution our company made to the area last year, but also for the environmental leadership we demonstrated to the county's industrial community," said Weitsman.

2009 was an outstanding year for Upstate. The company is the largest privately owned metal processing and recycling operation on the East Coast and headquartered in Tioga County in Owego, New York. During the year, the company made a $25 million dollar equipment and facility investment in its Owego scrap metal processing plant to make it one of the most technologically advanced of its type in the world.

Upgrades included housing new equipment in a 200,000 square-foot complex, a major landscaping and beautification program, installing a storm sewer system and an on-site water treatment plant. In doing so, Upstate exceeded the high standards of the U.S. EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and was the first "green" plant of its type in the State. "This expansion is part of our strategic five-year plan to reach a billion dollars in debt free sales annually," said Weitsman.

At the Owego plant, Upstate expanded its Mega Shredder operation capable of reducing whole vehicles, motor blocks and all types of scrap metals into component streams of ferrous and nonferrous metals, glass, plastics and other recyclables. This added capability brought a significant number of new jobs to the area.
In December, Upstate, acquired the Matlow Company, Inc. of Solvay, New York, a suburb of Syracuse to add to its feeder yards in Owego, Binghamton, Ithaca. The new facility will undergo a comprehensive renovation to meet Upstate's high environmental and operational standards. This includes new equipment and buildings, yard pavement, installation of a storm water treatment plant and landscaping for beautification and noise abatement.

"Treating our customers right and environmental leadership go hand in hand. Both are important to growing our business, which in turn allows us to create jobs and make a positive contribution to our communities, said Weitsman. "In the past scrap metal yards were frowned upon by some communities, but our operations meet the highest 21st Century quality standards and we are welcomed, and now even honored with awards."