Our History
Don’s Scrap Iron & Metals, Inc. was formed in 1943 by Dewey Brewer as Hemingway Scrap Metals. In 1973, Dewey’s son, Donald R. Brewer, took over the company as the 2nd generation owner and the name was changed to its present one, Don’s Car Crushing, Inc., also referred to as DCC. In 1984, Don’s son, Donald R. Brewer Jr., joined the company and is presently the 3rd generation owner, President and Chief Executive Officer. The company now operates under the name of DCC Metal Recycling and has enjoyed a rich history of providing quality products to steel and aluminum producers, as well as being a present day environmentally friendly “green company” recycler.
In 1994, DCC installed a metal shredder vertically integrating the company from being exclusively a purchaser of used cars and recyclable metals to becoming a producer of No. 1 grade steel and aluminum ready for steel and aluminum producers. That first metal shredder was located in Hemingway, South Carolina, but as it turned out, due to an expanding demand for ferrous and non-ferrous metals, was limited in its shredding capacity to meet the needs of the company’s customers and the expanding marketplace. The company had enjoyed a tremendous amount of success over decades through 2008, however, the market once again dictated that the company begin new and innovative changes for growth and success for its future. To remain competitive and positioned for growth, the company needed to relocate its operation to a site to expand its shredding capacity and contemporaneously being less intrusive to a population center. The Hemingway site was too limiting as it was bordered on all sides by barriers not allowing for physical expansion of its facilities. In addition, the site was only accessible by one road with no turning lanes, a situation that was extremely dangerous given the volume of large trucks entering and leaving the facility. Finally, the Hemingway facility located in the center of town was limited to daylight operating hours only, thus restricting shredder output in an environment that required constant maintenance and production.
The future needs of DCC required that shredding operations be changed to allow it to operate in a less populated area and at the company’s option during off-peak energy hours resulting in reducing the company’s energy costs. Power companies need to sell power throughout the off-peak hours and reduce the peak demand times that require their further investment in energy producing assets to keep up with increasing demands. In May of 2006, Dons Car Crushing, Inc. was formed and spearheaded the 2008 construction of a completely new shredder operation in Holly Hill, South Carolina. The Holly Hill location is strategically located in close proximity to Interstate 26, Interstate 95, and the deep water ports of Charleston, South Carolina. The new shredder has an operating capacity of shredding 300 tons per hour (predominately crushed cars) yielding about 200 tons of saleable steel and 15 tons of saleable aluminum. Currently, the shredder operates at a monthly utilization of approximately 20% and is well-positioned to ramp up to meet the steel and aluminum needs of its present customers as well as expanding its customer base.
With the company’s main operating facility in Holly Hill, South Carolina, DCC also operates five “feeder locations” in other strategically positioned South Carolina locations; Hemingway, Ladson, St. Matthews, Conway, and Sellers. The corporate headquarters are also located at the Hemingway location. The company has engaged a commercial real estate firm to search for other locations within the region to start feeder yards.
At the various locations, the company directly purchases from metal scrap dealers and the general public ferrous and non-ferrous metals for shredding or recycling. Non-ferrous metals include copper, aluminum, brass, lead, and others. The company provides much needed and desired metal products that save environmental resources in the recycling process. As most people are aware, the cost and impact of recycled products for business and the environment is nearly half the cost of extraction and manufacture from raw materials to a finished product.
The company has certain attributes to insure that it can continue to remain competitive and grow into the future. In Holly Hill, the company has a railroad siding that affords the company the opportunity to expand its customer base beyond local purchasers only. The market and industry in general are moving to larger and more centralized steel mill and aluminum producing sites. The huge capital investment for steel and aluminum producers requires that more production capacity be obtained through fewer plants. Rail is the medium that opens all markets for our industry.
The second attribute that is crucial to the company’s success is the access to energy. Energy availability and cost are critical elements in insuring profitability for the long term goals of DCC. The company has achieved this with the Holly Hill facility.
The third attribute is land site availability and location. Back in 2008, the company needed a site for operations that had adequate size to store and process the large amounts of raw materials and finished products that are on site. The company also needed the space that would allow the company to create work areas for large equipment overhauls and adequate trucking lanes. The company also needed a buffer zone to insure that the operation was sufficiently isolated from any populated areas. The Holly Hill site met this criteria and more.
The fourth attribute for success is a readily available labor market. All of the current locations have adequate labor resources with qualified people to meet the needs of the company.
The fourth attribute for success is a readily available labor market. All of the current locations have adequate labor resources with qualified people to meet the needs of the company.