Thomas MacMillan Photo
Sal Brancati makes the pitch Wednesday night.
In a sign of the recession-era times, old cars that once would have been simply scrapped are now being stripped to the bone first, to supply an increased demand for cheap replacement auto parts. One New Haven company is looking to cash in on the trend.
The company, Sims Metal Management, Wednesday evening won approval to add auto recycling to its existing scrap metal operation at 808 Washington Ave. in the Hill. The City Plan Commission voted unanimously to OK the plan, following a presentation by Sal Brancati, agent for the company.
He explained how the operation will work. Each day, a couple of trucks will show up with 12 to 15 cars headed out to pasture. They’ll be unloaded into a 22,000 square-foot warehouse on the premises, where workers will strip them of all usable parts, like starters, alternators, and catalytic convertors. Then the shells will be hauled off to North Haven to be shredded.
“The used parts business has become very large in this economy,” Brancati said. Ordinarily, the cars would just be shredded whole, but these days it’s more lucrative to pull off all usable parts first, he said.
Brancati said the operation will have no negative environmental impact. The cars will have been drained of all fluids before they arrive and if they haven’t, fluids will be removed by a licensed environmental consultant. No vehicles will be stored on site, Brancati said.
No public testimony was offered on the proposal. Alderman Justin Elicker, a commissioner, praised the recycling of auto parts.
The plan was approved unanimously.