Upstate Shredding
{{Orphan|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Upstate Shredding - Weitsman Recycling
| type = Private
| industry = Metal processing & recycling company
| founded = 1997
| founder = Adam Weitsman
| hq_location_city = Owego, New York
| hq_location_country = USA
| website = {{URL|www.upstateshredding.com/}}
| subsid = Ben Weitsman & Son, Inc.
}}
Upstate Shredding - Weitsman Recycling is an American scrap processing and recycling company headquartered in Owego, New York.{{Cite web|title=From scrap to Skaneateles: Adam Weitsman's lifetime mission to salvage a reputation|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/adam_weitsman_from_scrap_to_sk.html|access-date=2019-01-31|website=syracuse.com|date=21 November 2010 |language=en-US}}
History
Adam Weitsman, who founded Upstate Shredding in Owego, worked at the Manhattan Art Gallery. Later, he set up his own American Folk Art Gallery in Greenwich village in 1991.{{Cite news|last=Louie|first=Elaine|date=1995-03-16|title=HOUSE PROUD; A Studio Breathes, Idea by Idea by Idea|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/16/garden/house-proud-a-studio-breathes-idea-by-idea-by-idea.html|access-date=2019-01-31|issn=0362-4331}} Weitsman returned to his hometown of Owego, New York, after he lost his sister to cancer and joined his father in the family scrap metal business. He developed an interest in the processing side of scrap metal recycling, and began growing the third generation family business.{{Cite web|date=25 November 2020|title=Transforming A Personal Brand After Hardship: A Case Study With Adam Weitsman - NewsOpener|url=https://newsopener.com/entrepreneurs/transforming-a-personal-brand-after-hardship-a-case-study-with-adam-weitsman/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425095728/https://newsopener.com/entrepreneurs/transforming-a-personal-brand-after-hardship-a-case-study-with-adam-weitsman/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 25, 2021|access-date=2021-04-22|website=News Opener|language=en-US}}
In 1997, Weitsman opened Upstate Shredding on a 17-acre site at the Tioga County Industrial Park in Owego.{{Cite web|title=Scrap Company of the Year (Large) {{!}} American Metal Market {{!}} Fastmarkets AMM|url=https://www.amm.com/Article/3450799/Scrap-Company-of-the-Year-Large.html|access-date=2021-07-05|website=www.amm.com}}
After receiving $1 million from the state of New York’s Empire State Development (ESD) fund, the company announced plans to open a media plant in Owego.{{Cite web|title=Upstate Shredding to build heavy media plant|url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/upstate-heavy-media-zorba/|access-date=2021-07-05|website=Recycling Today|language=en}}
The company has two facilities in Owego, and operates in 12 locations across New York and Pennsylvania.{{Cite web|last=Hill|first=David|title=Upstate Shredding-Weitsman wins top industry honor|url=https://www.pressconnects.com/story/marketplace/2016/06/15/weitsman-wins-top-industry-honor/85918942/|access-date=2021-07-05|website=Press & Sun-Bulletin|language=en-US}}
Acquisitions
In 2005, Upstate Shredding purchased its sister company, Ben Weitsman & Son, Inc. Adam's father Fred announced his retirement in 2005,{{Cite web |title=Metal-shredding scrap company growing in region, across N.Y. {{!}} The Daily Gazette |url=https://dailygazette.com/article/2014/02/16/0214_OLshredding |access-date=2019-02-04 |website=dailygazette.com}} and Adam acquired a new scrapyard in Solvay, New York, in 2009.{{Cite web |last=syracuse.com |date=30 April 2018 |title=A beautiful scrapyard? Weitsman starts $5M makeover of Geddes 'eyesore' |url=http://www.syracuse.com/business-news/index.ssf/2018/04/a_beautiful_scrapyard_weitsman_starts_5m_makeover_of_geddes_eyesore_1.html |access-date=2019-02-04 |website=syracuse.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Upstate Shredding Wins Tioga County Business of Year Award |url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/upstate-shredding-business-of-the-year/ |access-date=2019-02-04 |website=Recycling Today |language=en}}
In 2014, the company acquired Murtagh Scrap Handling, a recycler based in Rome, New York.{{Cite web |date=2014-12-03 |title=Upstate Shredding Buys Recycling Firm Murtagh Scrap |url=https://www.waste360.com/metals/upstate-shredding-buys-recycling-firm-murtagh-scrap |access-date=2021-07-05 |website=Waste360 |language=en}}
In 2015, Upstate Shredding bought a 5.6 million stake in Metalico Inc., a Cranford, New Jersey–based scrap metal processing company.{{Cite web |title=Upstate Shredding CEO takes large stake in Metalico |url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/upstate-shredding-ceo-metalico-stock-purchase/ |access-date=2021-07-05 |website=Recycling Today |language=en}}
Various other acquisitions took place during 2012 to 2016, including acquisitions of a scrap yard in New Castle, Pennsylvania,{{Cite web |title=Recycler lands in New Castle, takes on nation's largest scrap processors |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2016/06/20/New-Castle-scrap-yard-operator-Adam-Weitsman-shows-his-mettle/stories/201606190033 |access-date=2019-02-04 |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |language=en}} a port facility in Albany, New York, and Empire Recycling in Watertown, which was later closed.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-07 |title=Owego company buys Pearl Street scrap metal facility |url=https://www.thedailynewsonline.com/article/20160430/news03/160439939/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020337/https://www.thedailynewsonline.com/article/20160430/news03/160439939/ |archive-date=2019-02-07 |access-date=2021-04-09 |publisher=The Daily News}}{{Cite web |title=Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling closes Watertown, New York, location |url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/upstate-shredding-weitsman-recycling-closes-watertown-ny-yard/ |access-date=2021-07-05 |website=Recycling Today |language=en}} By the end of 2016, these locations were collectively known as Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling.{{Cite web |last=syracuse.com |date=24 January 2015 |title=Scrap king Adam Weitsman buys stake in biggest competitor |url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/scrap_king_adam_weitsman_buys_stake_in_biggest_competitor_metalico.html |access-date=2019-02-04 |website=syracuse.com |language=en-US}}
Controversy
In May 2021, Sierra Club, an environmental organization based in Oakland, California, filed a suit against Weitsman alleging that the scrap recycler did not take adequate steps to protect against stormwater discharge from its facility in Albany, New York.{{Cite web|last=Borrelli|first=Anthony|title=Lawsuit accuses upstate New York scrap company of stormwater pollution. How Weitsman responds|url=https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2021/05/14/ben-weitsman-son-lawsuit-ny-sierra-club-environmental-violations-stormwater/5090402001/|access-date=2021-07-05|website=Press & Sun-Bulletin|language=en-US}}