David Sheppard's first experience with EMR came in childhood, spending Sundays at his family's scrap yard.
“I spent many of my weekends on site during my childhood, staring at the different materials and huge machines from the office window as Dad worked away.”
Three decades on, David is now Commercial Director Ferrous at EMR. He is based in Hong Kong but deals with customers from East Asia to Egypt, Europe to the USA.
“More recently, I have also taken over responsibility for the commercial function of the UK ferrous scrap business, making sure we’re buying plenty of material at the right price,” he explains.
For David, there is one market that has the biggest influence over what happens in the global steel markets and thus will ultimately influence the ferrous scrap market - that is China.
“Given that China is such a large producer and consumer of steel, any significant changes in the Chinese steel market have a big influence on the rest of the World and one of the biggest changes recently has been the drive for steelmaking to be more environmentally friendly and less carbon intensive. The good news is that this will push a greater consumption of recycled metals.”
The push for more environmentally friendly steelmaking is not limited to China of course. Rapidly changing policies on decarbonisation and trade in countries world-wide means David must ensure he is aware of every policy trend and shift in the market.
Unsurprisingly, David’s first job every morning is to study the news and latest trade publications to stay up to date with these market changes. While David has been helping EMR navigate the transformation of the ferrous sector’s most influential market, he has also been faced with the challenges presented by COVID-19.
“During 2020 the pandemic initially created a tug of war in the ferrous scrap market. Our initial concern was a significant reduction in demand as everything shut down. If you can’t sell your materials, you don’t have any cash coming into the business.
“It then became clear that there was also going to be a significant reduction in supply of ferrous metals as construction sites and manufacturers also shut down.”
David adjusted EMR’s sales strategy as prices dropped, settled and then picked up rapidly.
Having an international presence is proving particularly useful as EMR looks to reach net-zero by 2040 as part of its sustainability strategy.
“We’re working to leverage some of our big investments – the best example is our shredders – where we are looking to improve the quantity and quality of our shredded steel. This will allow us to reach a range of new markets for this product.
"Our US business supplies much of its recycled steel to steelmakers within the USA. However, given that there is more recycled metal product arising in the UK and Europe than is required by the domestic steel producers at present, export markets will remain important for our UK and European business, as the rest of the World and particularly China start to focus on decarbonising steel making operations.”
While David’s role allows him to seek out opportunities for EMR on a global scale, his career began in the UK.
“After leaving university, I joined the EMR team and did everything from loading ships to operating the shears, balers and shredders and grading the metal. I slowly worked my way up the business, learning every job so I got a better understanding of the business.”
David has now been with EMR for 23 years but says his process of building experience across the business continues.
“I’m learning all the time, particularly from people who’ve been in the business longer than me. I really value the experience and expertise that we have at EMR.”
