January/February 2019
Los Angeles is legendary for reinvention. With hard work, talent, and a little bit of luck, unknown performers named Norma Jean Baker, Eric Bishop, and Peter Hernandez turned themselves into Marilyn Monroe, Jamie Foxx, and Bruno Mars. The city has been the site of business reinvention as well, such as the Walt Disney Co.’s evolution from a small animation studio to one of the world’s largest media conglomerates. As the scrap recycling industry looks for ways to reinvent itself in the wake of massive shifts in trade, ReMA is bringing the brightest minds in the business to Los Angeles April 8–11 for its annual convention and exposition. ISRI2019 is “a culmination of everything,” says Convention Com-mittee Chairman Andy Golding, vice president of sales and marketing for Kripke Enterprises (Toledo, Ohio). It’s the “people, equipment, and knowledge” you need “to guide you on your business decisions for the upcoming year—all in one place.”
Creating New Opportunities
The trade disruptions coming from China—and the trade war that has followed the U.S. decision to place tariffs on steel and aluminum imports—have compelled scrap recyclers, traders, and consumers to seek new international relation-ships. Thus, ReMA has put a “huge focus on attracting international companies” to ISRI2019, Golding says. Planners are working with at least a dozen trade associations in other countries to offer discounts for their delegations to attend, and ReMA will provide simultaneous translation in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese for all general sessions, major commodity spotlight sessions, and selected workshops. “We need new markets,” Golding says, and increased international par-ticipation at the convention could help “give [recyclers] new homes for placing their scrap.” The convention also will feature numerous education sessions on international trade and international markets.
A variety of sessions will address technologies and management techniques to improve scrap quality, which is one way to reach new markets both domestically and abroad. And the convention will continue the popular commodity spotlight sessions, which provide up-to-date information on markets and trends for major scrap materials. Com-modity-specific networking receptions after the spotlights on Tuesday, April 9 (ferrous and stainless), and Wednesday, April 10 (nonferrous, paper, plastics, tire/rubber, electronics, and residential recycling), will allow you to continue the conversation and seek new connections among those with common interests.
Postconsumer plastics and paper recyclers are finding the current business environment requires them to work closely with those managing the residential recycling system and its inputs—household recyclables. To facilitate conversations among brand owners, municipalities, recyclers, haulers, and other key stakeholders, ReMA is hosting its first-ever Residential Recycling Summit at the convention April 10-11. The summit will have its own keynote speaker as well as breakout sessions for focused discussions of the issues affecting this part of the industry.
Building a better scrap recycling workforce is another theme of ISRI2019. The April 10 general session speaker is Ian Siegel, CEO and co-founder of ZipRecruiter, an app-based marketplace that uses artificial intelligence tech-nology to match millions of businesses with job seekers. Immediately after the general session, a town-hall-style meeting will give you the chance to share your workforce recruitment and retention challenges with ReMA leaders and staff to guide the association’s efforts in this area. The track will culminate with a three-hour sales training program April 11. This type of intensive training has “never been done before” at an ReMA convention, Golding notes. “It’s a ‘must-do’ for [any] sales force attending” the convention, he says.
Featured speakers bring insight and Inspiration
The other general session speakers at ISRI2019 will offer ideas for growth in both business and life. Robert Herjavec, perhaps best known as one of the “sharks” (investors) evaluating the ideas aspiring entrepreneurs pitch on ABC’s Shark Tank, is the opening general session speaker April 9. He is founder and CEO of Herjavec Group, which provides cy-bersecurity products and services. Herjavec has bought and sold several IT companies specializing in information security and has leveraged this knowledge into such best-selling books as Driven, The Will to Win, and You Don’t Have to Be a Shark: Creating Your Own Success.
The closing general session speaker, John O’Leary, will share his inspiring story of overcoming overwhelming chal-lenges. As a young child, he was severely burned on his entire body, requiring the amputation of all his fingers. Following multiple surgeries and extensive therapy, he became empowered when he realized he had choices in his life, including the choice to “live boldly to impact others.” O’Leary went on to write On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life, which became a best-seller.
Things to do, people to see
ISRI2019 will offer more networking opportunities than ever, Golding says. “Go to everything!” he advises. “Don’t miss any opportunity to meet new people.”
Explore the floor. ReMA expects the expo hall to sell out, with more booths and as much equipment display space as 2018. An interactive floor map will ensure you can easily find the vendors you want to meet from among an estimated 300 equipment manufacturers, recyclers, brokers, service providers, consultants, and more across the 250,000 square feet of the expo floor. To give even more space to exhibitors, the ReMA Member Services booth and the Recycling Research Foundation’s silent auction will be outside the exhibit hall, near the registration area.
Meet people morning, noon, and night. Your first big opportunity to meet everyone, attendees and exhibitors alike, will be the opening reception in the exhibit hall, Monday, April 8, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Lunch on Tuesday, April 9, and Wednesday, April 10, also will be in the exhibit hall, and planners say the food will rival the offerings of any previous ReMA convention. “The food will be incredible,” Golding concurs.
Fitness fanatics can participate in an early morning fun run, while other early risers can chat over coffee in the ReMA Café. (Stay tuned for more details in the March/April Scrap or visit isri2019.org.)
ISRI’s Young Executives group will have an event after the nonferrous and nonmetallics networking reception Wednesday at the InterContinental hotel. Golding encourages companies to bring their younger employees to ISRI2019 precisely because of such networking opportunities. Other ReMA groups planning events during the con-vention include the Century Club and the Women’s Council.
Night owls will enjoy the planned ReMA After Hours events on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, April 9 and 10. The convention planners are firming up the details with a couple of buzz-worthy hot spots in downtown LA, so stay tuned for more information.
As the curtain falls on ISRI2019, you’ll head to Universal Studios Hollywood for a spectacular closing night party and farewell networking event, where contestants from NBC’s popular musical competition show The Voice will en-tertain you.
Honor the industry’s achievers. ReMA will honor achievement in the scrap recycling industry on several measures.
• Each year, ReMA recognizes one or more individuals who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to excellence in the scrap recycling industry, as well as to serving ReMA and/or their own community, with its Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year, ReMA solicited nominations for its highest honor to open the program to a wider array of potential honorees.
• ReMA presents the Transportation Safety Awards, sponsored by the RecycleGuard Insurance Program, to ReMA member companies and employees with the top safety records in four areas: Best Fleet, for the ReMA member companies with the year’s lowest vehicle accident rate and Department of Transportation severity rate in four size classes; Pacesetter Awards, for the members with the best 36-month accident record in four size classes; Driver of the Year, for the commercial vehicle driver with the best 20-year driving record; and the Golden Wrench Award, for the best heavy vehicle maintenance technician or manager.
• The annual Youth Video and Poster Contest that ReMA co-sponsors with JASON Learning encourages K-12 students in the United States to learn more about scrap recycling while teaching others through their creativity. ReMA and JASON will select winning posters and videos in three grade bands—K–4, 5–8, and 9–12—with up to two grand prize winners earning a trip to the convention.
• Manufacturers and brand owners are key partners in the effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials. ISRI’s Design for Recycling® Award is the association’s highest honor for companies not primarily involved in scrap processing but that contribute to recycling up front, in the design stage of product development.
LA living
Downtown LA itself is undergoing a rebirth, with Rolling Stone recently calling the neighborhood “revitalized as a thriving cultural center with a booming food and nightlife scene.” The area surrounding the Los Angeles Convention Center, dubbed LA Live, features new hotels, restaurants, and shops built where once there were parking lots, Golding says.
ISRI has secured special convention room rates for conference participants at six downtown LA hotels:
• The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, the city’s newest convention hotel, is the site of the ReMA board and governance meetings April 6–8, preceding the convention. A shuttle on Francisco Street will take guests to and from the convention center. The rate is $299 per night, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.
• The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, the largest hotel in downtown LA, is two blocks from the InterContinental. The shuttle will stop at the Figueroa Street entrance. The rate is $275 per night, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.
• The Sheraton Grand Los Angeles has undergone a complete renovation since ISRI’s last LA convention in 2011. It’s two blocks from the InterContinental, and the shuttle will stop at the Hope Street entrance. The rate is $265 per night, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.
• The LA Grand Hotel Downtown, across the street from the Westin Bonaventure (where you’ll pick up the shuttle), features a lobby bar that’s ideal for networking. The rate is $239 per night, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.
• The Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles is full of historic glamour with its Beaux-Arts styling. The shuttle pickup is across Grand Street in front of the Hilton Checkers hotel. The rate is $249 per night, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.
• The JW Marriott Los Angeles LA Live, the closest hotel to the LA Convention Center, is within easy walking dis-tance. The rate is $309 per night, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees.
Book your hotel room by March 8 through the official convention website, isri2019.org/hotel-travel/hotel, to ensure you receive the negotiated rates—and avoid scams.
ISRI discounts members’ registration
ISRI2019 offers an array of registration options, and members receive a significant discount on all of them.
Full registration for an ReMA member attendee, exhibitor, or spouse/partner is $875 each through Jan. 15, $980 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $1,095 from March 9 to April 5, or $1,120 on site. For a nonmember attendee, exhibitor, or spouse/partner, full registration is $1,490 each through Jan. 15, $1,590 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $1,690 from March 9 to April 5, or $1,715 on site.
Trade show only registration (which provides access to the exhibit hall on April 9 and 10 only) for an ReMA member is $515 each through Jan. 15, $565 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $615 from March 9 to April 5, or $640 on site. For non-members, trade-show-only badges are $795 each through Jan. 15, $845 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $875 from March 9 to April 5, or $900 on site.
Full conference registration for children (ages 2 to 16) accompanying ReMA member adults is $280 each through Jan. 15, $290 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $300 from March 9 to April 5, or $310 on site. For children accompanying non-member adults, full conference registration is $475 each through Jan. 15, $495 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $515 from March 9 to April 5, or $540 on site.
Closing night party tickets for an adult guest of an ReMA member with full registration are $200 each through Jan. 15, $225 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $250 from March 9 to April 5, or $275 on site. Closing night party tickets for an adult guest of a nonmember with full registration are $225 each through Jan. 15, $250 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $275 from March 9 to April 5, or $300
on site.
Closing night party tickets for children (ages 2 to 16) of an ReMA member with full registration are $100 each through Jan. 15, $125 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $150 from March 9 to April 5, or $175 on site. For a child guest of a nonmember with full registration, closing night party tickets are $125 each through Jan. 15, $150 from Jan. 16 to March 8, $175 from March 9 to April 5, or $200 on site.
Go to isri2019.org to register online or print out a registration form, which you can complete and return with full payment (check or credit card information) to ReMA Convention, P.O. Box 75245, Baltimore, MD 21275-5245. Ques-tions? Contact ReMA at 202/662-8500 or convention@isri.org.
(SIDEBARS)
Silent action aims to set new record
Last year, participants in the Recycling Research Foundation’s annual silent auction raised $38,000. Organizers hope the 2019 fundraising event will reach $50,000, says ReMA RRF liaison Natasha Grant. In addition to the traditional in-person bidding on the items on display, this year’s auction will have a mobile option so participants can continue to track their bids on all the items they have their eye on—be it recycling equipment, scrap-related art and jewelry, advertising space in industry publications, or other valuable products and services—throughout the bidding period.
RRF, a nonprofit closely associated with ISRI, uses proceeds from the silent auction and other fundraising activities throughout the year to support scholarships and research that help strengthen the recycling industry. Contact Grant, 202/662-8524 or ngrant@isri.org.
Extend your brand’s reach through sponsorships
ISRI2019 will offer numerous opportunities for your company to get its brands in front of an influential scrap recycling industry audience. Whether supporting a reception or workshop or branding the items distributed to convention at-tendees, sponsoring companies can attract business by demonstrating their value.
The sponsorship opportunities at ISRI2019 include an international reception, first timers’ orientation, commodity spotlights and receptions, the closing night party at Universal Studios Hollywood, tote bags and inserts, lanyards, luggage tags, hotel key cards, the convention program and pocket schedule, the pocket exhibit hall map, and a “headshot lounge” for obtaining professional portraits. Contact Janesha Russell, jrussell@meetinginsites.com or 502/409-2615.
Membership matters
If you are not already a member, now is the time for your company to join ISRI, “the voice of the recycling industry.” Membership offers you the opportunity to get involved in the scrap recycling industry’s future and to attend the ReMA board and governance meetings April 6–8, prior to the start of the convention, at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. ReMA members also receive discounted registration rates for the convention and exposition. And ISRI2019 will feature several members-only events, programs, and receptions you won’t want to miss. Visit isri.org/membership.
Lights, camera, and action in LA
ISRI2019 promises a week of nonstop activity, but you’ll want to come early or stay late for a range of other adventures in Los Angeles. Conference Committee Chairman Andy Golding says he’s particularly thrilled to be in LA when the city’s famed professional basketball team, the LA Lakers—and superstar LeBron James—will be playing at home April 7 and 9 in the nearby Staples Center. Visit www.nba.com/lakers/tickets.
Foodies should check out Foodie Con April 6–7. The event will take place downtown at The Reef, featuring food and beverage vendors, cooking demonstrations, tastings, and more. Visit www.foodiecon.org.
For movie aficionados, Hollywood is a natural attraction. The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival, April 11–14 at four venues along Hollywood Boulevard, will feature a 30th anniversary tribute to When Harry Met Sally with special guests Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, and Meg Ryan. Visit filmfestival.tcm.com.
Racing enthusiasts will want to head to Long Beach, Calif., for the Grand Prix April 12-14. The featured event is the fourth round of the 2019 IndyCar Series, which is expected to include such drivers as Scott Dixon and defending Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi. Visit gplb.com.
ISRI2019 preliminary schedule of events
Saturday, April 6
2:30–6 p.m. Registration for ReMA members only* (InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Hotel)
3–5 p.m. ReMA Committee Meetings*
5–6 p.m.ISRI Board of Directors Meeting*
Sunday, April 7
7 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Registration for ReMA members only* (InterContinental)
7 a.m.–6 p.m. Registration for exhibitors and guests with full registration (Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall Lobby)
7:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. ReMA Committee Meetings*
Monday, April 8
7 a.m.–5 p.m. Registration for ReMA members only* (InterContinental)
7 a.m.–7:30 p.m. Registration for exhibitors and guests with full registration (Convention Center, South Hall Lobby
7:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. ReMA Committee Meetings* (InterContinental)
1:30–3:30 p.m. ReMA Board of Directors Meeting* (InterContinental)
4–5 p.m. Exhibit Hall Pregame—Music, Entertainment, and More! (Convention Center, South Hall Lobby)
5–7:30 p.m. ReMA Exhibit Hall Opening Reception (Convention Center)
Tuesday, April 9
All public events on this day are at the Los Angeles Convention Center unless otherwise noted.
7 a.m.–6 p.m. Registration
7–8 a.m. Breakfast in the ReMA Café (open to guests with full registration)
8–9:45 a.m. Opening General Session: State of the Association—Chair Brian Shine; Lifetime Achievement Award; Keynote Speaker Robert Herjavec
9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open
10 a.m.–5 p.m. Education sessions
12:30–2 p.m. Lunch in the Exhibit Hall
2–3:30 p.m. Spotlight on Nickel/Stainless
Spotlight on Tires
3:45–5:15 p.m. Spotlight on Ferrous
5:15–6:30 p.m. Ferrous/Stainless Recycling Networking Reception
6–7 p.m. Music Recycle Project Reception
9 p.m.–midnight ReMA After-Hours Party (open to guests with full registration)
(Location TBD)
Wednesday, April 10
All public events on this day are at the Los Angeles Convention Center unless otherwise noted.
7 a.m.–6 p.m. Registration
7 a.m.–7 p.m. Baggage check facilities available
7–8 a.m. Continental Breakfast in the ReMA Café (open to guests with full registration)
8–9:30 a.m. Industry General Session, Workforce Development—ZipRecruiter’s Ian Siegel (ISRI members only)*
9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open
9:45 a.m.–5 p.m. Education sessions
12:30–2 p.m. Lunch in the Exhibit Hall
2:15–3:45 p.m. Spotlight on Aluminum
4–5:30 p.m. Spotlight on Copper
5:30–6:30 p.m. Nonferrous Recycling Networking Reception
5:30–6:30 p.m. Residential Recycling Summit/Nonmetallics Recycling Networking Reception
8:30–10 p.m. Young Executives Event (InterContinental)
9:30 p.m.–midnight ReMA Members-Only
After-Hours Party (ISRI members with full registration only)* (Location TBD)
Thursday, April 11
All public events on this day are at the Los Angeles Convention Center unless otherwise noted.
7 a.m.–noon Registration
7 a.m.–6 p.m. Baggage check facilities available
7–8 a.m. Coffee, doughnuts, fruit in the ReMA Café (open to guests with full registration)
8–11 a.m. Sales Training Program—Hal Becker
8–10:45 a.m. Education sessions
8 a.m.–5 p.m. Residential Recycling Summit
11:15 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Closing General Session: State of the Industry—Chair-Elect Gary Champlin; Awards Presenta-tions; Keynote Speaker John O’Leary
1–2:15 p.m. Picnic lunch featuring food from In-N-Out Burger
6–7 p.m. Transportation to ISRI’s Closing Party (from hotels)
7–10 p.m. ReMA Closing Party (Universal Studios Hollywood)
Note: Meeting dates and times are subject to cha. Visit isri2019.org for up-to-date schedule information, or download the ReMA Connect app from the Apple App Store or Google Play store.
*Open only to members of the named group.
Los Angeles has put innumerable entrepreneurs and entertainers on their path to success. As recycling leaders gather there April 8-11 for ISRI2019, they’ll bring together the innovations, insights, and opportunities that could give your company its next big break.