Upstate Shredding-Ben Weitsman Adds to Staff

Upstate Shredding-Ben Weitsman & Son, headquartered in Owego, N.Y., has added two scrap industry veterans to its staff. Norb Klebanski, who worked for Liberty Iron & Metal for nearly 24 years as a senior buyer, has been named commercial manager for Ben Weitsman of Scranton, Pa. and Ben Weitsman of Liberty. In his previous position Klebanski was charged with finding material to supply Liberty Iron’s shredders. He will have similar duties at Ben Weitsman of Scranton as well as Ben Weitsman of Liberty, which will open in late 2011.

“Norb is perfectly positioned to strengthen our industrial accounts division and build upon our existing relationships,” Adam Weitsman, Upstate Shredding president, says.

The company also announced that it has hired E.J. Watson as operations manager to oversee the company’s Riverside Engineering 10,000 HP mega shredder in Owego, N.Y., as well as the company’s new Riverside Engineering mega shredder being installed at Ben Weitsman of Rochester, N.Y. and nine feeder yards. Watson has more than 30 years’ experience in the scrap industry.

“E.J. is an expert in ramping up scrap operations and operating and maintaining our shredder,” Weitsman says. “His skill set is invaluable to us as we open new facilities and bring additional mega-shredders online.”

For the past 20 years Watson was chief of operations for Tube City and Tube City IMS where he oversaw operations at new and existing facilities, along with all projects, repairs, upgrades and new installations of processing equipment.
“Norb and E.J. both bring extensive knowledge of the scrap industry to our company, and that knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to grow,” Weitsman says. “They are perfectly suited to our team as we grow in current and new markets.”

Upstate Shredding-Ben Weitsman & Son has shredding facilities in Owego and Rochester, N.Y., and operates scrap processing facilities in Owego, Rochester, Binghamton, Jamestown, Ithaca, Liberty and Syracuse, N.Y., and Scranton, Pa. According to Upstate, the company is expected to process more than 800,000 tons of ferrous scrap and 150 million pounds of non-ferrous scrap in 2011.