On Target

Chris Ockenfels

DDRS was started as a separate business unit of City Carton Recycling in 1996, and Chris was initially designated as the leader of the subsidiary because of his interest in designing and setting up facilities. "My career at City Carton had been to get new operations up and running," says Chris of his work experience before heading up DDRS.

He notes that he helped design and start up recycling facilities in Muscatine, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa, before taking the helm of DDRS. "I would get bored with day-to-day operations and go to a new start-up," Chris says of his 1990s career path.

But upon accepting the role at DDRS, Chris not only started attending annual conferences of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), but became involved with the organization to the extent that the has served in several officer roles with NAID, leading up to his current position as president of the organization.

At the 2005 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show, which took place in Atlanta this June, Chris offered a presentation that detailed the ways operating a confidential shredding company is different from operating a paper recycling business.

While City Carton’s traditional recycling business was "commodity based," DDRS is security oriented and service based. For City Carton Recycling a focus on efficiency is crucial. For DDRS, security is the top priority. "The physical process of shredding is the easy part; keeping everyone committed to security is the key," he remarked.

Through his management of DDRS and his involvement with NAID, Chris has helped not only City Carton but also other recycling companies understand the different priorities and procedures that a document destruction firm must have vs. a materials recycler.

He remarks, "At DDRS, we set the culture that shredding it properly is the first priority, then you worry about the value of the material."

Because of City Carton’s recycling knowledge and roots, DDRS is still able to "get the most benefit we can out of the fiber," says Chris.

While some recyclers and mill consumers lament the scrap paper grading and classification changes that increased document destruction has brought (including increased contamination), Chris notes that there is a positive side to it as well. "Overall, the document destruction industry has brought more fiber into the stream. It cost-justifies the placement of one or two bins in a smaller office."

The Ockenfels family has boosted the fortunes of City Carton Recycling over the past several decades by branching out to provide service coverage to much of the state of Iowa.

In addition to its Iowa City headquarters and facility, City Carton now operates recycling facilities in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Creston, Davenport, Mount Pleasant and Muscatine, Iowa.

Similarly, the DDRS subsidiary has extended its reach within Iowa by operating not only from its original Cedar Rapids location, but now from two additional branches in Davenport and in Altoona (near Des Moines).

"We started out performing plant-based shredding only, although in 2002 we purchased a mobile shredding truck," says Chris.

The majority of the company’s business involves plant-based shredding, however. "Our customers are comfortable with the plant-based model, and we have NAID AAA certification for in-plant shredding," says Chris.

A 100-hp shredder from Allegheny Paper Shredders, Delmont, Pa., resides at the Cedar Rapids facility, while a smaller Allegheny unit and the mobile shredding truck combine to serve customers in Davenport.

The DDRS facility in Altoona serves as the home of a newly-purchased RG 52U "Shorty" cross-cut shredder made by Vecoplan, Archdale, N.C. Balers made by several different manufacturers help convert shredded material into marketable recovered fiber.

The Ockenfels brothers and other DDRS personnel take the equipment shopping task seriously. According to Chris, the company has made a point of emphasis to "work with equipment manufacturers to help them improve their products throughout the years."

Chris’ training and experience has included pertinent college coursework as well as being self-taught in areas such as AutoCAD design when setting up new plants.

He says he believes the productivity and thorough shredding capabilities of the new Vecoplan unit "gives us a marketing edge." Chris adds, "Vecoplan is producing the equipment that I see the market turning to."

The shredding equipment is destroying confidential documents belonging to a wide variety of companies and government agencies, according to Chris. "Everybody has material to be shredded," he comments.

Chris’ involvement with NAID has helped DDRS both in the equipment procurement and marketing of services aspects, he says. Networking contacts made through NAID have proven valuable for studying the track records of equipment.

As current president of NAID, Chris is also one of the organization’s foremost boosters. He says NAID’s ability to determine the shredding responsibilities associated with government regulations such as HIPAA, FACTA and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act have helped, as have related marketing brochures produced by the association.