Connelly Recycling in North Perry Village will mark 10th anniversary later this year –

It was around 2010 when Joe Connelly had sold the last of his three automobile salvage and parts yards in Northeast Ohio and was getting ready to retire.

But his son, Michael Connelly, convinced him to launch a new business venture. Joe agreed to join with Michael in pursuing an idea that led to the opening of Connelly Recycling Center at 4119 North Ridge Road in North Perry Village.

“I kind of talked him into doing this, strictly scrap metal,” Michael said.

Connelly Recycling, a licensed scrap-metal dealer in the state of Ohio, buys junk vehicles and materials that include steel, copper, brass, aluminum and stainless steel.

Joe and Michael, co-owners of Connelly Recycling Center, built the business from the ground up. They had been prospecting for a place to locate the recycling center and concluded their search in North Perry, where they bought a 6-acre undeveloped parcel on the north side of North Ridge Road.

“We cleared the land, graded everything and put the building up ourselves, so we were basically able to customize it the way we wanted,” Michael said.

Site preparation and construction started in 2011 and took about a year to complete, Michael noted.

“So we officially opened in May of 2012,” he said. “We’re actually going on our 10th anniversary.”

But the history of Michael and Joseph working together dates back even further.

Joseph bought his first auto salvage and parts yard, located in Kirtland, in 1994.

“I had that for about seven years, and I sold it,” said Joseph, who also has a background as an auto mechanic.

He then went on to buy an auto salvage and parts yard in Ashtabula and a similar business in Painesville.

Michael worked for his father off and on through junior high, high school and college.

Joseph said he noticed that Michael had an interest in one specific aspect of those three businesses.

“He was never really much into the auto wrecking, he was into the metal recycling,” Joseph recalled.

Today, in his leadership position at Connelly Recycling Center, Michael can immerse himself in the buying and selling of scrap metal.

“When I arrive at work in the morning, I see where the (commodities) market is at,” he said. “And making sure that I’m buying at the right rate, so when I go to sell, I’m not taking a loss. Because we work on pretty small margins here. This business is a volume business.”

Vehicles, sheet steel and aluminum cans are probably the top commodities that Connelly Recycling Center purchases, Michael said.

“We also buy a lot of copper and brass, and just a lot of regular aluminum siding,” he said.

When customers arrive at Connelly Recycling Center in vehicles filled with recyclable materials, they drive onto a 60-foot scale to get weighed. The scale is outfitted with a scoreboard-like sign that displays the vehicle’s weight upon arrival.

“A lot of scrapyards don’t have that (scoreboard),” Michael said. “So you’re kind of going by the honor system with a lot of these yards and you don’t know what your stuff weighs. So that’s kind of the nice thing we have about our yard is that you can see what you weigh full. So there’s no playing with the scales or anything.”

Vehicles then proceed toward the rear of the property, where Connelly’s steelyard is based. That’s also where the center’s staff sorts commodities and puts them into different containers. Junk cars also are dismantled in this area for recycling.

The commodities purchased by Connelly Recycling Center are then sold to metal-processing companies, which take additional steps in preparing the commodities to be used in new products.

Michael said some people don’t realize that if they take appliances or other types of scrap metal to a landfill, they have to pay a disposal charge.

“As long as something is metal, you can actually bring it here and get compensated for it and not have to pay to get rid of it, so that’s kind of a nice benefit,” Michael said. “And what you bring is going to get recycled. It’s good for the environment, it’s not getting thrown in the landfill, and you’ve got a few bucks in your pocket. So it’s kind of a win-win.”

Recently, he and Joe cleared another 2 acres in the northern section of Connelly Recycling Center’s property to expand its steelyard and create more space for drive-through customers as they drop off scrap metal.

“In the summertime we do quite a big business,” Michael said. “There’s times that we’ll do 125 to 150 customers a day and it gets congested at times. We just want to make sure traffic flow is efficient and that everyone gets in and out safely. ”

While Joe said he is getting ready to make another attempt at retirement, he believes Connelly Recycling Center is in good hands under Michael’s guidance.

Michael said that he follows his father’s advice on the best way to achieve long-term business success.

“Dad has taught me that if you’re fair and honest, that does the business for you and people come back,” Michael said. “If you can’t do business that way in this industry, you’re not going to make it.”