Business Sunday

June 13, 2004

Trash to Treasure: Local Company gives used plastic new life

Mountain Valley Recycling Co., which began reprocessing refuse in Morristown in February, plans to increase production more than six-fold and quadruple employment to. 100 within two years, according to company president Danny Shrager. Mountain Valley, located on Jeffrey Lane, specializes in reprocessing bags, carpet and other plastic material, and also recycles paper, metal, textiles and electronics, according to Shrager.

The company transforms waste plastic into a clean resin that can be used to manufacture a wide range of products. The plant currently is recycling material at the rate of 15 million pounds per year. In six months, Shrager says he expects to reach a rate of 50 million pounds per year, and double that output in the following 18 months. The company president says much of Mountain Vall~y's growth will come as a result of a production shift from its sister company, Sun Valley Worldwide, in Delray Beach, Fla. Shrager says the companies have existing combined contracts to reprocess 200 million pounds of refuse a year, but they're seeking to further expand the business.

"We're certainly looking for all companies that generate plastic waste to contact us," Shrager said. "We're looking for all the plastic we can get." Geography played a key role in Sun Valley's qecision to located the 75,000- square-foot Mountain facility in Morristown, according to Shrager, who added Mountain Valley will pick up plastics and other waste anywhere in the eastern United States.

"Our company's theme is 'one call, one company, 100-percent commitment,'" Shrager said. "We can handle anything they have with one call." The amount of money Mountain Valley pays companies for their recyclables depends on the cleanliness of the materials and the way they're packaged. Logically, Shrager says, Mountain Valley pays a higher per-pound rate for clean plastics already compressed into bales than it does for loose plastic in a crate or other container.

Mountain Valley also sells balers and other equipment necessary to compress plastic waste into more manageableloads. Shrager says the company's current customers include waste-disposal companies, which collect large amounts of
plastic waste, as well as individual industries.

Mountain Valley's sister company, Sun Valley Worldwide, was established in 1994. It began principally as a-plastics-brokering company, but maintained the plastic-grinding operation in Florida. Shrager says he expects Sun Valley to reach agreements with companies soon to significantly boost its recycling of plastic grocery bags. Mountain Valley employs about 25 workers in Morristown, but. that number will rise rapidly as the company "ramps up," according to Shrager. "We're always looking for good-quality.

These clean, plastic granules, reprocessed by MountainValley,are used to manufacture a variety of products. ty people," he said. "We're especially looking for anyone with paper or plastics recycling from a sales standpoint." Other jobs expected to be available soon include materials handling, equipment operators and quality-control personnel.

For more information about Mountain Valley, log on the company's Web site, www.sunvalleyworldwide.com.