## Welcome to A Scrap Life

A podcast solely focused on the hustlers, grinders, operators, and business owners who live and breathe the scrap metal industry every day. Here is your host, **Brett Eart**. [Applause]

### Q&A with Brett

**Brett:**
Well, another Q&A round with Brett. How are you doing today, Brett?

**Brett:**
I’m good, man. I’m good. It was an interesting weekend of just all kinds of things. So, I’m happy it’s Monday. Happy to be back at work. Still moving forward, huh? Back to the grind. Still showing up.

**Nick:**
So, we got a question from Will Clark. Thank you, Will. He commented on a post that you put out there about another Lamborghini you bought.

**Brett:**
Correct. It was a weird-looking Lamborghini. It said CAT on it. Um, he says, “Interesting to know how you came up with the decision to choose a CAT.” I think you get this question more than anyone, at least in our group, on like how do you know when to get equipment? What equipment? What’s the next piece of equipment to get? But let’s just attack Will’s question. Let’s address Will’s question first and then we can kind of go from there.

### Buying Equipment Decisions

**Brett:**
If anybody’s been to our yards, I mean, I’ve never owned any other material handler than a Sennebogen, right? We bought our first Sennebogen maybe seven, eight years ago, something like that. It was an 825 and it was a good machine at that time. We had a dealer that was selling those machines and that we bought other equipment from, so they were a good dealer to work with.

Long story short, they kind of talked us into, you know, we used to be excavators only into our first material handler. To Sennebogen’s credit, that machine and the 825 line have been great to us. Since then, we’ve bought six more 825s. They’ve all been good. So, we kind of knew we needed to order a couple more material handlers.

**Brett:**
In recent years, Sennebogen has moved away from the dealership model in our area and transitioned to where you can buy directly from them with third-party service providers. I felt the customer service component had declined. So, we decided to explore all our options, as customer service and pricing play huge roles in equipment decisions.

We’ve never bought CAT equipment before, but we did purchase a CAT excavator for a new yard with BNK. We were very happy with it and the dealer, Western States, in our area. We put CAT machines side by side with Sennebogens, compared quotes, specs, and services, which influenced our decision.

### The Decision Process

**Brett:**
It was a combination of price, service, and an opportunity to try another line where we felt we’d get support from a dealer that’s big in our area. We made a deal for two CAT material handlers to see how it goes. If the 825 ends up better, we might switch back, or we might continue with CAT if they prove satisfactory.

**Nick:**
So where are these CAT machines now?

**Brett:**
We have two now, one in Cwell and one in our Haburn yard, along with the excavator in Pendleton. Three CAT machines, two material handlers. I hope that helps you, Will. The big thing about equipment is that it will do the job, but who supports it is crucial.

### Choosing Wisely

**Brett:**
Equipment decisions aren’t just about saving money upfront; it’s also about minimizing downtime. Support, maintenance, and having parts ready are critical. Year four or six will show you if that equipment was a good buy.

**Nick:**
You also frequently get questions about identifying when to buy additional equipment like a BOR or wire chopper. Any insights on that?

**Brett:**
Yes, our decisions are based on production needs. If we start accumulating inventory or feel we can upgrade a product, like steel skeletons, we consider if new equipment can help. With the Zato, we looked to improve production capacity by 30-40% not on price but on production, leading to growth potential without adding pressure on existing bailers.

### Conclusion

**Brett:**
In volatile markets, managing inventory and production capacity is key. Selling in the same month you buy ensures clear margins and good cash flow. When production lags, you risk setbacks in cash flow and inventory management.

**Nick:**
Thank you, Brett. Everyone, if you have more questions, fire away. Send them to us, comment, and we’ll do our best to answer them. Have a great day!

[Music]