Service Highlight: Collections and Logistics
At Quincy Recycle, we strive to be a one-stop-shop solution to our customers and vendors. Our Collections and Logistics services help us achieve that goal and ensures we are providing the best service levels to our partners throughout each step of the recycling process.
What is Collections and Logistics?
In the recycling industry and particularly here at Quincy Recycle, we often “spot trailers” at our vendor’s facilities. That simply means we park an empty trailer at our partner’s loading dock for them to fill with their scrap material, such as plastics and metals. Once the trailer is full, a driver comes and hooks up to the trailer and hauls it away to one of our locations to be sorted and processed. Pretty simple, right? It may seem that way, but managing collections and logistics can present certain challenges.
In the past, we’ve primarily outsourced the collections process to local carriers. But, back in 2015, we started to ask ourselves if there was a better way to handle this part of our business. While we have many great relationships with local carrier partners, we would often find ourselves lacking control over certain aspects of the process. Things like scheduling, vehicle maintenance, and customer service standards were out of our hands. Those are all factors that can make or break the customer service experience for our partners.
Ultimately, we decided that to deliver consistent and reliable service that we’d need to take control of collections and logistics. So, five years ago in our St. Louis, MO location, QRP Logistics was born.
Why is controlling the collections process so important?
It’s easy to forget that the most frequent interactions our partners have with Quincy Recycle are with the drivers who pick up the trailers from their facilities. Those drivers are an extension of our business. They represent Quincy Recycle and who better to represent us than our own employees.
Our drivers are full-time employees at Quincy Recycle. They are part of our team and understand our business and are aligned with our vision and core values. When they show up to a vendor facility, they are in a branded Quincy Recycle truck cab, wearing a Quincy Recycle uniform, and provide a service experience consistent with the rest of our organization.
By taking back control of the process, we’ve been able to make the collections process more efficient and more reliable for our partners. Some key benefits include:
- Flexible pickup scheduling with the ability to offer 24-hour turnaround vendor pickup requests.
- Our drivers are part of the team and they know our business. They can often help solve problems on the spot, should they arise.
- Keeping the process in-house allows us to maintain competitive freight and material pricing.
- Consistent and reliable service experiences every time our driver is at your facility.
QRP Logistics – Past, Present, and Future
We already touched on how our in-house collections and logistics service began in St. Louis, MO back in 2015. Since then it has expanded into additional locations including West Bend, WI and Alsip, IL. Most recently we launched QRP Logistics at our Cedar Rapids, IA location. The results have been extremely positive so far and they’re already looking to add additional trucks and drivers to the mix to help keep up with the workload demands.
“It’s allowed us to provide great customer service. Our drivers interact with contacts at vendor facilities regularly and having them be Quincy Recycle employees is invaluable.” – Chad Crawford (General Manager – Cedar Rapids, IA)
QRP Logistics has allowed us to achieve greater alignment across our organization and our services offerings. In the end, it’s simple. We want to provide the absolute highest level of customer service possible. QRP Logistics helps us to achieve that goal and is something we’ll continue to invest in and grow. It’s an important component of our service offering and one that allows us to be the one-stop-shop solution our partners are looking for.
Are you interested in learning more about Quincy Recycle?
Quincy Recycle solves complex waste stream problems for manufacturers and other industrial supplies. We have an expansive service network spanning from coast-to-coast. Contact us today if you’re ready to take the first step towards achieving your sustainability goals.
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And, check out our About Us page for company background and our Careers page for information on how to join our team.
Employee Spotlight: Kam Bailey
Like many, Kam Bailey loves sports. He channels that competitive spirit into his role with Quincy Recycle and is consistently pushing himself to do more and find new solutions to help our vendors.
When did you start with Quincy recycle? Was your job title the same as it is now?
I started with Quincy Recycle in April of 2017 in Sales/Procurement and that is still my current role.
If you had to pick one, which Core Value is your favorite?
Commit, Be Tenacious and Compete to Win is my favorite Core Value because it represents what my life has been about growing up and also throughout my career. I’ve always been involved in sports from the time that I was a kid and I was always driven to be the best at everything I’ve done. I always wanted to be one of the hardest workers whether it be in track, football, basketball. So it was no surprise that when I was looking at Quincy I was drawn to this company because they had a healthy competition between the sales team. Each plant and sales team member wanted what was best for the company but they all had personal goals of growing their own book of business. I loved the idea that I could carry over a lot of the same ideas and hard work that made me successful throughout my sports career and bring that over to my professional working career too.
What was the most challenging thing to learn in your roles?
The most challenging thing that I had to learn in this role was that it takes time. Recycling is a business that is built on relationships and trust. I was new to the industry and I had to learn that I had to prove myself to our suppliers and they needed to trust that I would provide the service that I was promising to them.
What was the most surprising/ fun thing to learn?
I enjoyed learning the commodities that we work with. There is so much more to recycling than what I ever knew and learning the different types of fiber and plastics was a challenge but was fun to learn. We have a great sales team here and if I ever had questions there was always someone that I could call for help.
What’s your favorite part about working at Quincy Recycle?
My favorite part of working with Quincy Recycle is that I’ve been given the opportunity for unlimited growth. In the sales role, we have the opportunity to create a book of business without any restrictions or limits to how much we can grow. That unlimited growth potential inspires me to get up every day and find something new to work on. I also love that I work for a company that rewards hard work and persistence.
What would you like curious prospective employees to know about Quincy Recycle?
Quincy Recycle has changed my life because they always believed in me and the work that I could do. When I started at Quincy, I had only been in sales for about two years and Quincy saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. From the first day, I was given all of the tools that I needed to be successful. I’d highly recommend working for a company that gives you the autonomy to create something for yourself and your family. This is the first company that I’ve worked for that I could see myself with until the end of my career. It’s been an amazing place to work!
What are some of your hobbies you like to do outside of work?
I love to spend time with my family when I’m not at work. I have a 7-year old daughter (Addison) and a 8-year old son (Cooper) and I get to coach in football and basketball. We also love to spend any extra free time that we have on the golf course.
Best piece of advice you’ve ever read or received?
The best advice that I’ve been given, that also applies to my sales career, was from my Mom. When I was a Freshman in high school I joined the high school track team. During the first practice, we trained harder and ran more than I ever had before. I actually ended up getting sick in front of the whole team. I went home and told my Mom that I won’t ever go back and that I was going to quit. I remember her telling me that she won’t allow me to quit and that if you quit once then you will find ways to quit the rest of your life. Because I didn’t quit, I ended up getting a Track & Field scholarship to Huntington University which is where I met my wife. That message still sticks with me because sales can be a roller-coaster. There are plenty of times when it would be easier to quit than to actually come up with a solution to the problems that we face every day. There’s always a solution but we have to be willing to put in the work to find it!
If you had to pick a song to portray the essence/ culture of Quincy Recycle, what would it be?
The song that most accurately portrays the culture at Quincy Recycle is I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty. We have an entire team of driven individuals that are constantly finding ways to help our vendors no matter what. I believe that not backing down is what has allowed Quincy Recycle to continue to grow into one of the largest recyclers in the Midwest.
Case Study: Food Manufacturer
This was an exciting project for us and one we wanted to share with you because it highlights how we can work with companies to find solutions to unique issues. While we cannot share the name of the organization, we did want to share the details.
Customer Challenge
Handling waste streams should not be a thorn in the side for food manufacturing companies. Rather, they should be focused on growing their business and providing shareholder value. So when we learn about a food manufacturing company struggling with their recycling program, we are eager to help!
A major international food manufacturer had a recycling program, but it was proving to be very cumbersome. They were using three different providers for three different kinds of material, each with their own trailer spotted. One of their challenges was limited dock space. Another challenge was managing the different relationships with the three different waste stream solution providers. Communication and coordination always seemed to take more time and effort than it should. They were ready to do something different.
This company wasn’t only dealing with logistics issues. They were also landfilling material and were ready to do something different. Quincy Recycle’s fresh approach to their recycling program turned out to be the answer.
Quincy Recycle Solution
Quincy Recycle immediately freed up dock space by eliminating the need for two spotted trailers. Because we specialize in handling mixed commodity trailer loads, we were able to take all their material on one trailer.
We also worked with the manufacturer to understand what they wanted in terms of logistics. It was important to them to have a spare trailer on site so if one quickly became full due to increased production, they could easily swap the trailer and keep production moving.
“Our creative sales team and attention to detail customer service team asks lots of questions of our clients so we truly understand their goals, needs, and challenges…..this is a great example of our team doing that in a complete and thorough manner, ” said Kurt McLaughlin, VP of Sales for Quincy Recycle.
A consistent schedule was also important to our customer. They are serviced on the same days at the same times. This way, they know exactly what to expect and can plan accordingly. But as anyone in business knows, things can always change quickly. That is no problem for us! We work with our partners teams when special needs and requests arise. The best part is that they only have to make one phone call! We even provide weekend service if they need it. We have a network of local and over the road freight carriers that are always ready to pick up the next load.
For us, the icing on the cake is that we were also able to divert their ingredient bags and fiber drums out of the landfill. We not only made an environmental impact on their waste stream, but we also made their waste stream process more efficient.
Major Takeaways:
- Maximized dock space by spotting one mixed commodity trailer for all of their material
- Streamlined their recycling program and offered one point of contact for all their recycling streams
- Worked with our customer’s production team to come up with a schedule that works for them
- Diverted their material out of the landfill
Contact us about your food byproducts problems – let’s work on them together!
Baling Wire For Your Business
Baling wire is one of the most essential parts of the recycling industry. Bale ties are what is used to secure bales of recyclable material safely before continuing the recycling process. As we like to say around here at Quincy Recycle, baling wire is like toilet paper, it’s never top-of-mind but it’s the end of the world if you run out! A few different types and styles of baling wires are used in the industry today, which is where we come into play, ready and prepared to be your quick, one-stop-shop solution.
What types of baling wire are there?
Single loop bale ties are used for securing bales of recycled material after it has gone through the baler. The wire is twisted at the ends with a loop to secure for transport. Used with vertical or horizontal balers that require hand-tying. Quincy Recycle offers galvanized wire or black annealed wire. We carry 11-14 gauges which has breaking loads starting at 325 lbs. to 750 lbs.
Box wire is packaged as one continuous length and feeds into your auto-tie balers. Box wire keeps wire compact and neatly stored. Used for bundling compacted recycle materials such as cardboard, paper, plastic or other refuse. We stock the most commonly used box wire to keep shipping times low. All our box wire is USA made.
Stump wire, also known as spool wire, coil wire, or stem wire, is used with horizontal balers to bundle recycled materials after they have been baled. We carry galvanized, black annealed or hi-tensile galvanized stump wire.
Why do you need baling wire from Quincy Recycle?
Manufacturers and distributors produce a lot of recyclable scrap material such as cardboard, plastics, paper, or metals, so using recycling equipment like balers helps businesses efficiently organize, store, and prepare that scrap for recycling. That is where the baling wire steps up to the plate.
The baling wire is fed through a baler to tie-off the bale of scrap. Baling your recyclable scrap makes loading the scrap onto a trailer for transit much easier, and it helps keep your facility cleaner and more organized.
Choosing the correct bale wire products for you depends on numerous factors. These include what you’re baling, how large the bales will be, and the type of equipment you’ll be using. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations or check with our experts before you buy.
We know there are a lot of choices out there of where to purchase baling wire for your recycling equipment, but keep in mind, many of those options are not necessarily recycling companies. They may be able to sell you the baling wire, but that is where the road ends. Quincy Recycle on the other hand is a recycling company, meaning that in addition to baling wire, we offer recycling equipment sales and service, along with a wide range of recycling services.
At Quincy Recycle, we strive to be a one-stop-shop solution for our partners. Recycling isn’t a one-size-fits-all business, so we take a personal approach in everything we do, including baling wire sales. There is a lot that goes into the recycling process, from choosing equipment to how to offload your valuable scrap material. Hence why it’s so valuable to choose a partner who can provide customized solutions based on your specific goals and needs.
How can Quincy Recycle help your business?
In addition to supplying equipment and service, Quincy Recycle supplies industrial bale wire for commercial use. We stock a wide variety of American-made bale wire for sale and can ship them to you fast. We’re a top bale wire supplier thanks to our nationwide network, which means we can fulfill your order quickly no matter where you are, all over the country. We know that lead times are getting longer due to supply-chain disruptions, so we urge you to buy now, and buy in advance to ensure your business is set up for long-term success.
Whether you’re interested in purchasing baling wire, recycling equipment, or learning more about our recycling services, we’d love to talk. Contact us today and let’s take the first step towards a more sustainable future for your business.