Troy Hess, a second-generation officer of Mahantango Enterprises Inc., Liverpool, Pa., is the new president of the Scrap Tire Processors Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI). Hess will serve a two-year term.
Among the projects the Chapter is working on in cooperation with ISRI staff members is a best practices paper that can be presented to members and that members can use when dealing with state regulatory agencies.
“This is kind of a young industry, and we have fought a lot of battles with our state agencies,” Hess notes. “A paper like this is certainly going to benefit the whole industry.”
Hess also looks forward to working along with ISRI director of safety John Gilstrap to help communicate the importance of safety on the job. “We certainly want to improve the safety of the industry, and John Gilstrap along with our Safety Committee chaired by Dave Quarters of Liberty Tire is doing a really nice job,” says Hess.
Regarding specifications, Hess says a task force led by Jana Naron of California’s Golden Byproducts has introduced 15 new specifications that can “certainly make it a lot easier for a customer to understand what they need” from tire recyclers.
Other committees include a membership committee headed by James Bly of J&M Enterprises in Artesia, N.M., and a Legislative and Regulatory Committee headed by Jerry Woosley of State Rubber and Environmental Solutions of Denver City, Texas.
Hess says the ISRI chapter has helped improve the understanding of the tire recycling industry during the past four or five years. “The industry has become a lot more professional, and I think ISRI has a lot to do with that. When you have a professional voice like ISRI’s to stand beside you, it makes all the difference in the world.”
The ISRI Scrap Tire Processors Chapter will again convene for its Tire Summit in September of this year at the Hyatt O’Hare near Chicago.