Long-time nonferrous scrap industry trader Manfred Sondheimer has died at age 91. Sondheimer retired from Hugo Neu Corp. in late 2001 after working for more than 50 years for the Neu organization.
Sondheimer, born in Frankfurt, Germany, was a Manhattan resident whose position at retirement was vice president-nonferrous. He worked from the Hugo Neu-Schnitzer East office in Jersey City, N.J., prior to retiring.
He started with the company during its earliest years in the late 1940s. Sondheimer could speak several languages and studied overseas markets in growing scrap destinations, particularly in India. He helped Hugo Neu Corp. secure its reputation as a leading scrap exporter and importer.
Hugo Neu Corp. CEO John Neu described Sondheimer as a stickler for details, once remarking, "Everyone around the world knows him as one of the most tenacious negotiators around." Neu also said Sondheimer "would spend an enormous amount of time and detail on customers," making sure global transactions went smoothly.
Sondheimer was also a contributor to the definitions of the nonferrous scrap specifications formulated by the predecessor organizations of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) and now circulated by ISRI.Latest from Recycling Today
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