### Podcast Transcript

**Host:**
I met Shawn Dudy at the last REMA conference in Vegas, not really knowing much about the history of his business, ScrapRight. It didn’t take long before I knew I had to get him and his family on this podcast to talk family, talk scrap, talk about the courage it takes to run a family business when so many family members are involved. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Thank you for tuning in to another Scrap Life episode of Generational Courage. Welcome to a scrap life.

**Host:**
All right, I’m back. Another episode of Scrap Life podcast. These are probably one of my favorite ones. No offense Chad and the guys that do the copper trade and the ferris trade. I mean, I love talking scrap, but I probably more than I love talking scrap, I love talking family business. And just the ins and outs of what it takes to operate run a family business. And I ran into Shawn Dudy at um I Isery Rema, whatever you want to call it down in Las Vegas this year and we were talking about it.

**Shawn Dudy:**
It depends on how long you’ve been going, right?

**Host:**
Yeah, exactly. From my research, you’ve been going since about ‘06 at least with ScrapRight.

**Shawn Dudy:**
That was my first one.

**Host:**
Yeah. So I did a little homework on you, Shawn. But so long story short, I was talking to Shawn. And he’s like, “Yeah, this is like who’s in the business.” Now I have my daughters now, and they’re kind of trying to, they’re taking it and running with it, going to the next level. And I just loved that. And I was like, “Okay, man. We’re going to get a podcast set up. We’re going to get it done.” And that was in March, April. And here we are, damn near August, and we’re going to get it done. So, I’m super excited. Looking forward to talking to Shawn Dudy, Montana Dudy, Kayla Burquette, and we’re gonna fire this thing up. So, thank you guys for coming out and talking scrap, talking family business.

**Shawn Dudy:**
Thank you for having us.

**Kayla Burquette:**
Excited.

**Host:**
So, in my research, it sounds like in ’06 is kind of when you guys kicked off ScrapRight. Is that correct, Shawn?

**Shawn Dudy:**
New Orleans was the convention in ’06. I started a little bit before that in getting into the scrap business and learning about the scrap business and talking to scrapyard owners. But very little bit ahead of that, like maybe two, three, four months before the convention and really got exposed in New Orleans.

**Host:**
Okay. So, in ’06, the scrap market, I started full-time. I’ve been in the business my entire life, but in ‘04 is when I started full-time when I got done with my undergraduate. From 04 to ‘06, the market was just starting to be okay. It was starting to climb and get better. Obviously, from ’06 to ’08 was like the run of all runs, right?

**Shawn Dudy:**
Yeah.

**Host:**
But even those early years, like ’04 to ’05 weren’t like great scrap years. ’06 was an okay year. What made you decide to get into this business? I mean, from my looking at looks like you were in the military police.

**Shawn Dudy:**
Yeah.

**Host:**
Um that was kind of your background a little bit. Um so

**Shawn Dudy:**
And that was my whole goal by the way when I went in the military police. My whole goal was like do that, get out, use my GI bill to go to school and then after going to school, I wanted, you know, FBI, DEA, something like that. That’s what my path was.

**Host:**
And um got in the military, met my wife, who I think uh Kayla put in her notes so aptly that she’s the glue that holds all of this together. um met my wife when I was in the military and um we kind of came back home well back to her home in Pennsylvania when I got out and um never made it to school. I ended up in the car business uniquely. I ended up spending 10 years in retail and did really really well. Got recruited out of the car business by Zurich, an insurance company for the car business. And then after Zurich, I’ve been basically still at the end of the life of the car business in the scrap business. So that’s kind of my path right there.

**Host:**
Yeah. So if you go from insurance business to scrap software, at some point in that stop, was there ever you ever own a yard? Do you ever buy sell scrap? What’s that story?

**Shawn Dudy:**
Yeah, we did. We had Redemption Recycling in Westboro, Pennsylvania, around ’14, ’15, ’16. We already had ScrapRight. I wanted a demo facility where we could let customers come in and see the software in action. And then also all of the hardware. We had unique hardware that we built for the industry, specific kiosks that we build and the ATMs, and all of the other hardware, the cameras and the signature pads and fingerprint, all of that stuff that’s needed in the scrap business. So we had a legitimate business that didn’t need to do a ton, but it needed to support itself.

**Host:**
Um 14 15 were tough years in the business. I mean, I don’t have to explain that to you because you got to live it, but man. Those are years that I remember pretty vividly. The good years are easy for me to forget, but you don’t ever forget those tough ones, right?

**Shawn Dudy:**
Yeah.

**Host:**
Because you’re just trying to like when people say, “Hey Brett, how you doing?” I say, man, I’m just trying to keep the lights on. Like literally, like there’s a lot of years like there you’re just literally trying to keep the lights on. And I feel like those 15, end of 14, 15, 16, they were trying to keep the light trying to keep the lights on years.

**Shawn Dudy:**
That’s the kind of years though that that mold you, you know? Um, you literally learn who you are and what those tough times are going to how you’re going to operate. Um, the good times, those are easy. Anybody can make money when the scrap price is high, right? I mean, unless you’re just a terrible operator, but you know, it’s it’s doable. If I can make money, like I’m not no rocket scientist. If I can figure it out, I’m sure most people can figure it out.

**Host:**
Your daughters, they appear young. So, I’m trying to figure out like, what at what point now? So, we kind of went through like your history. At what point do Kayla and Montana come into the picture?

**Shawn Dudy:**
I can remember when we before we even opened up the scrapyard, Kayla and Montana came into our office space. We had our very first office space, right? because I built the company out of my basement. And, literally I worked three days in the car business at the time. So there were times when Kayla, Montana came into our company office, and their involvement just grew from there. Fast forward, and Kayla’s husband Brandon is part of it and other family members are as well now.

**Kayla Burquette:**
Yes, we all four of them have roles in the company and leadership.

**Montana Dudy:**
Yes, we’re taking active roles in the operation now.

**Shawn Dudy:**
Exactly, and each of them in their own unique roles that they’re very talented to be able to be in because in a family business, if my- I grew up in a very like a small family business, and I saw my dad, my uncles, my aunts, everybody contributed something really unique based on their skills.

**Host:**
Yeah, it’s definitely not easy, especially when there is so much family involved. It’s quite a battlefield of emotions sometimes.

**Kayla Burquette:**
Absolutely. We have to kind of create lanes for each person to operate within and being family doesn’t change that.

**Host:**
True. Kayla, what did you do before coming back into the business?

**Kayla Burquette:**
I came back a few months before my husband. I had dealt with chronic illness before, worked at a cannabis dispensary, ran my own photography business. It kind of all brought us together where we needed to be.

**Host:**
So, what does your day-to-day role look like now?

**Kayla Burquette:**
I run marketing. Managing all our social media content, videos, and events. Along with handling shipping and inventory too. It’s ever evolving and I kind of like the chaos.

**Montana Dudy:**
We have our clear lane. I stayed with Scrap Right, so my journey evolving with the company leads me to customer success. We always turn to customer’s feedback for our developing decisions.

**Host:**
That’s the kind of mutual connection in a family endeavor which makes it unique. You guys value using personal experiences and situations to spearhead the company and it shows true family strength.