welcome to bets on the future where we highlight the various career paths and the electrifying Metals World from the vehicle you ride in to the bridge holding it up metals are everywhere why not in your career too I’m Jennifer Betts a Metals industry veteran with almost 20 years experience here to highlight these incredible career paths As Told by the women who are living them today we have a true Metals industry leader joining us please give a warm welcome to needy tarakia partner at Allied Alloys in Houston Texas needy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Metals Recycling table with a background in Metals Recycling she has achieved remarkable success in the stainless and alloy worlds get ready for an incredible conversation about jumping into the metals industry and finding your passion within the recycling Community if you cannot tell by our voices this is day four of the Israeli 2023 convention here in Nashville I love guitar in the background so it’s um uh there hasn’t been a lot of um sleep Happening Here it’s been all day every day four days straight Nudy’s been here longer than I have so thank

you so much for for hopping on here and taking a few minutes before we all go back out for another reception this evening no you’re very welcome I’m like I said I’m happy to be here I always find it interesting how people get into the industry recycling is everywhere we all know the green logo we see the blue bin but we don’t necessarily see from the metals perspective it as a career so how did this even come across your radar oh so I’m second generation um so I was pretty much raised in this industry um and growing up in it I during High School I would intern at my father’s scrap yard and work the Summers there just to make a little bit of money started off learning export import documentation um and you know obviously a little bit of the basic admin stuff but at that time I really wasn’t interested in joining the industry full-time my plan was after college to sit for the else dads and hopefully apply to law school I mean at the time I was reading a lot of John Grisham books so I thought it’d be

you know a very exciting criminal lawyer career um just to find out that it’s not it’s a lot of people working in pushing documentation and that just was not for me so oddly enough uh the Friday I graduated college from UT Austin um my dad bribed me and said come work for me moved back to Houston come work for me that following Monday and if you don’t like it I’ll pay for your law school just give me six months you know and give it a try um so did that never look back didn’t go to law school actually changed that path completely and ended up getting my MBA instead um so that was my introduction to the industry that’s incredible and not to put you on the spot but that six months turned into how many years at this point oh it’s been so 2003 so it’s been 20 years now officially it’ll be 20 years this December congratulations thank you that is a really really impressive backstory and you know in the metals world it’s it’s everywhere right it’s part of our everyday life and you don’t really think about the careers that

come out of recycling to help support the manufacturing on the metal side of things so it’s it’s really fascinating although I do have to say there is probably still some paperwork uh that definitely your current role that is uh and probably a few lawyers as well I don’t know if I like either one so for those that are not familiar with Allied Alloys are really about the recycling industry at all as in terms of the metal space what would you do tell them about Allied Alloys and how it fits into the whole supply chain well no great question um so we are a stainless steel and nickel alloy Processing Company and what that means is we process the metal whether it’s solids or turnings um in every single type of way except for shredding and you do not have a Melting Furnace um so we fail we cheer cut we Crush you know and we’re also backing quality certified um so um it just means that our items once we’re done processing them they could go into Industries like the Aerospace Industries get recycled into you know new airplane engines um because we make

a really good finished product in a in essence um even though it comes in coming from recycled Metals you know they still consider that good enough to put back in whether it’s you know like I said airplane engines or Appliance industry um oil and gas obviously being in Houston we buy a lot from the oil and gas sector um and so our footprint is is huge I mean everything you see everything you touch you know there’s it’s somehow either recycled from stainless steel or there’s some sort of nickel Chrome Molly content in it and so I it’s also a very niche market within our industry there’s not many people that actually specialize in just stainless and nickels so I’m fortunate to be here and I love it it’s really incredible what you do at your operation for those that are not familiar with it the way that I tend to explain it is essentially we make the cake ingredients and depending on what type of cake you want to make you’re going to need different ingredients you’re going to angel food cake is going to be different than German chocolate which is going to

be different than red velvet and yours is probably you know made out of gold flakes um it’s it’s simply the more expensive uh higher value material because there are some very strict standards in fact that go into the Aerospace industry and you cannot afford to have a quality issue because obviously that is a huge safety concern I really trust the engineers and such that are creating those airplanes we both use those airplanes to get here to Nashville and so it’s really incredible seeing what you’re you’re doing at your your company and what you’re a part of well thank you Jennifer and actually you kind of uh touched on something that um I use in my operations probably on like a weekly basis because a lot of people ask me like what is it to create a 304 or a 316 you know blend a stainless blend whether it’s a solid splint or turnings plan and I always tell them it’s like baking a cake like I have to have the exact amount of sugar which is nickel you know the exact amount of chrome which is flour and the exact amount of Molly if

it’s 316 so you hit on something that I use all the time so what are some of the high moments for you in this industry is there something that you always look forward to what you’re proud of within the industry I mean I always look forward to these conferences um I always look forward to Israel it’s just once a year we get to get together in see thousands of people that I have not seen maybe in 12 months and um the sessions that they put on the safety trainings that they do I mean the networking opportunities are just huge and this year has been a big year because Nashville has been a record breaker um apparently we’ve had more attendees than we ever have in the past so it’s a big you know this this year has been really special for me and I think it’s been the highlight so far so I’m really glad that you brought up Israel because you are very active in it and obviously we’re here at the Israel conference in Nashville Tennessee in April 2023 how did you get involved in it what what are your roles there

what what made you get active and involved oh so I started off at the local level you know for me which which is Gulf Coast region um so I started off just kind of like looking around the room and being like there’s not a lot of people that look like me in this room and if I’m going to speak up about it then I might as well try and do something about it to change it you know to help um so I started raising my hand to just be like hey you know can we get more exposure for this industry and they’re like where do you think we start and I was like let’s create a social media PR um chair uh within our chapter and I’ll help like build out websites and email blasts and you know back then we didn’t do many videos um but you know I’ll just help kind of build that out so we could use you know the exposure and be able to kind of market and sell our industry um so that turned into presidential appointee so history okay I have to say this Israel is one

of those associations where when you raise your hand you better be ready because they’re gonna rope you in and this is not like a one or two year deal like I’ve been working through my ways through all the office or positions for now 12 years so I actually just kind of um what would be now 36 hours ago as a president of Gulf Coast region so I’m officially done with that congratulations thank you for 12 years that’s all so but what’s next I I we had dinner last night and I wanted to follow up you’ve done this for 12 years right you’re you’re very active in it what does that mean for you now are you still going to be involved is there a different role like going National level what’s happening no absolutely um so I the same day I rolled off my term as president the uh our story as the president um I actually was elected as a directors at large so I just signed up for another two years Jamie um but it was essentially for me it was able to stay involved and I figured if I’m going to

stay involved I might as well keep a vote on the board um so I still do actively now have a vote on the national level from here I don’t know I don’t know if I I don’t know I’m on the fence like do I want to throw my my name in the ring for you know secretary treasurer which by the way officially I did um a few weeks ago but um that is me I’m gonna be nominated so let’s see what happens hey you have to put it out there yeah but that’s another eight years um so yeah you have to work with those too I am learning so much about it this week in terms of the the the the commitment and it’s really impressive in in its showing this week especially and maybe it’s just because Nashville is really alive yeah even on a Tuesday yeah at noon yeah um it’s just been it shows that Israel and the folks that are involved in Israel and all the volunteers like yourself are really passionate about this industry and and really brought it yeah this year well thank you thank you I agree

I think um another thing I love the people I mean this organization has some amazing people that you just end up being friends you know like you and I developed a friendship and yep you know I love that and now it’s like let’s go have dinner as long as you know we get to sit down and talk and and hang out I’m totally okay with that so it’s been really exciting for me coming from the recycled materials side of the business and throughout my career I’ve more or less completed the full supply chain watching all of the women in the industry that I have come across grow over the years and then also see them helping other individuals either through mentorship or um you know helping them connect with a different company for for business or for employment it’s it’s really shows in our women in recycling reception last night was really well attended probably the the largest that I’ve personally seen no I think you’re right and it’s it’s great to see those individuals of all ages absolutely I mean as I mentioned earlier you know it’s the networking opportunities which is endless

absolutely for somebody that is interested in the metals world and wants to get into that space and specifically on more on the sustainability and recycling side of things what would you recommend them to do to get involved or to really get into this industry there’s there’s some things that we’re working on uh through the Education and Training committee um and um Workforce Development is if you don’t know about this industry which many people don’t actually if you don’t know about this industry how are you going to find out right like you’re just not going to randomly come to a conference no so although it is pretty fun it is it is so I think um we’re trying to work on how to make sure our local high schools and colleges and whatever City you’re in and trade schools you know to make sure that you understand what it is that we do and what our industry is about so how do we get the word out right and they’re doing it through Jason’s learning now um I just found out that Israel has partnered with historical uh black colleges and universities you know and

I personally have sponsored a high school in Houston um for their stem research and development programming to make sure that goes further um so I it’s just you have to start within your local community and aside from that you know I don’t know how else well this is one of my dreams I’m hoping that every Educational Center has some sort of course on Recycling and whether they want to call it sustainability that’s fine um but have some sort of course on it and I think we’re slowly starting to see that now it really is surprising to me but also not surprising when I run into individuals that are outside this industry like many of my family and friends are not in in this industry that the public is so unaware of how much recycling actually does happen and I’m not necessarily talking about the blue bet and I’m talking about how 70 of the steel mills in the United States use recycled materials so we make 70 of our seal from recycled materials that’s not coming from you know some of it is coming from your Appliance uh that you ensure you know recycle

but a lot of it is in uh industry it’s industrial Recycling and that it’s a career choice and that the United States is actually doing a really great job about recycling what it has and worst rap work Nation we are recycled materials Rich nation that we export more than we consume yeah and so we are helping other countries with their recycling programs as well and you hit on something very spot on local communities with Metals with recycling because metals are everywhere if you get any experience in this industry you can go and work anywhere in the world because there is Metals there are recycling facilities all around the world and so it’s a really great opportunity for you from a career choice long term I agree I mean it’s just to expand on that a little bit further I mean even within the recycling companies like the amount of different positions that you could work through I mean you could learn everything and anything from I.T to HR to accounting you know and what other industry do you get that sort of um breadth of experience and go ahead it’s something that I

was talking about with uh someone from the reception last night about how the Next Generation gen Z gen Alpha they’re very passionate about the planet about the environment about the climate and Recycling and a lot do not know that this is the career choice so maybe they go to school for finance maybe they become a lawyer right they’re able to take those skills and match it up with their personal passions yeah for a career not many people get to do that that’s incredible what are you looking forward to in the next five ten years what do you see coming down the pipeline for our industry for recycling for metals so I think we’re already seeing a number of issues when it comes to the EJ and ESG space um so I think that unfortunately that’s not positive news you know it’s definitely something that we all need to be looking out for and just be aware um again stays that’s on your local level your state level you know just that’s something that we’re always trying to keep our finger on the pulse um about so that’s one thing um and then the second

thing is I mean I I really think that our future in the recycling industry is really bright I mean we’re working on a Brands Council to pull in like you know Nestle and Eminem and um Coca-Cola I mean that’s those are big big names right and so if we if we could just change the perception which I think we’re doing you know now is it fast enough maybe not okay yes I I would like to see it a little quicker yeah you’re you’re talking about these major brands that use metal right yeah or plastic exactly yeah there are recycled materials already being used by those Brands and yet the everyday Couture is not aware of that right I even look at a Hershey Kiss And I look at the aluminum foil yeah that it uses yeah you the average uh what’s the what’s the injury fact of how long a aluminum can goes from the recycling bin through the system all the way back out re-melted into a new can something like 60 days right right yeah right yeah right so think about that the can that you’re drinking out of right

now because if you’re enjoying a lovely beverage while you listen or watch this podcast that was somebody else’s can 60 days ago and it’s going to be somebody else’s can six years from now yep right so a little plug stop putting it in the trash can please because we still need more cans we do we have more micro breweries and Sparkling Waters coming out there right we need those aluminum cans for no you’re right so that that’s a great one please recycle yes yes I’m sure we’ll be using a few of those uh later this evening exactly is there anything that has been challenging for you within the the metals and recycling world I hate sounding like a broken record and having to continuously repeat myself but goes back to the perception again um I I think a huge challenge is something that actually my company and I dealt with personally um the last three years is um the perception that my local police department and um the D.A office had about our industry and I felt like we were specifically being targeted it was like covet hit oh they kept their doors

open oh wait their money’s still flowing let’s target them because the city at that time obvious all the cities weren’t already right all the governments were hurting yep so how do you make up for that let’s go after the people that actually are deemed critical and see if we could you know cite the issues and citations some tickets you know maybe even drag them into a lawsuit wow you know I mean so that’s something I saw it’s an ending Houston alone it happened in three different companies in the last three years and I was like that’s a that’s a that’s a struggle and that’s a challenge for me that hit home um so but I am really happy to announce that we came out of it completely on the other side um actually to the point where now they deemed us like the Pope the poster child and asked us to be a source um for other companies that may be you know going through some storm water issues um the air quality clean act you know just things of that nature that unfortunately is part of our day-to-day business absolutely you

are a manufacturer yeah at the core of it you are a manufacturer but you also take material and you recycle it yes you are part of the sustainability plan for large manufacturers they want to know X percentage of their material that they’re using to build products is from recycled sources yeah and if it becomes more challenging to operate those businesses you’re going to struggle to get that circular economy going in those areas no I mean I I think it was the podcast you did with John Sacco where it’s like where there’s not going to be a world without recycling there’s not a there’s not going to be a world or a planet without us no not at all it’s very energy intensive and it’s not a great carbon footprint to mine bauxite which is the building blocks for aluminum right but as we go down the path of continuing to lightweight vehicles and use more aluminum cans and essentially just have a higher demand for it and we really need to focus on recycling so that we don’t outweigh the benefits of using those products with the mining footprint that comes from bauxite absolutely

I mean you don’t want to deplete that resource at all so I no you’re absolutely right is there anything that before we wrap up and walk down the street is there anything else that you would want to put out there in in terms of metals in terms of recycling anything that you’re working on that you want people to know about or encourage them to get involved with so I would if I had to leave with one just Fitbit or a piece of advice um so the audience that’s watching this this is just please understand how important it is that you keep your yard your facility clean like please like be be good about the regulations and be compliant I mean that is a big deal because there are a few bad apples in our industry and because of them the rest of us get painted with the same brush and I think we need to change that um so my advice would be just do what you have to do to keep your doors open and do it legally absolutely there definitely is uh an incorrect perception yes about the recycling industry that because

of those few about apples it’s across the board and from my experience I’ve been to hundreds of scrap yards at this point and uh excuse me I’ve been to hundreds of recycled material facilities uh throughout my career and some of them are cleaner than some of the stores that we shop in yep it’s really impressive yeah and they want to follow and abide by the regulations and guidelines because they are a professional business yeah yep clean organized it’s healthier for you it’s healthier for your company yes absolutely well needy I really want to thank you for squeezing me in during this very busy week and I really appreciate it and it’s it’s always a pleasure chatting with you and I I love your your story what you’re doing with isri what you’re working on as a woman-owned business it’s really encouraging and motivating for for the rest of us in this industry well thank you Jennifer I truly appreciate it and I I know you know how much our friendship means to me so thank you for having me here thank you for squeezing me in and you know because we all have

a busy schedule this week yes so thank you it’s been fun yes absolutely all right let’s go use a couple aluminum cans let’s do that I’m ready