This month, United Recyclers Group is excited to interview Kelly Roepke, CEO of the Y-Yard! Set on a sprawling 60 acres in Effingham, Illinois, the Y-Yard has been in business since 1970 and continues to make great strides in the automotive salvage industry!
“I know it sounds kind of cliché as I was born into it, but reality-wise, we were. My parents purchased the business here. Neither of them were from Effingham, Illinois, but had an opportunity to purchase this campus. 60 acres of ground, a couple of really old buildings at the time on July 1, 1970, they weren’t married, but engaged, got married that September,” Kelly recounted. “From a really early age, we were always here, present, running around. I tell everybody that my dad and my mom used to load us up in the car, and on weekends or evenings, we would drive around the countryside to bid on vehicles.”
“Before we turned 16 and got our license, my dad made us learn how to change our own wheel in case we got stranded on the side of the road and we needed to know how to change our spare over if needed. So each of us girls spent a little time in the dismantling plant. And I will tell you that that was one that I failed at. Not only are wheels with tires on them heavy, but they also bounce. And so after a little injury to the chin, I decided, I’m not made for dismantling!”
Kelly graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Elementary Education and moved back to Effingham to teach in the local public school system.
“I went to teach school for three years. Shortly after that, it was just…I constantly felt there was more I wanted to do in life, and teaching wasn’t necessarily filling that void. My dad was getting ready to have another major back surgery, and so I told him I was going to take a year’s leave and see if I could help out in the business. I spent most of that time training with him as a buyer and did a lot of the buying in the business. As I got a little bit older, then or about a year later, I decided to resign from teaching and came on full-time. Now been here full-time over 25 years!”
When asked about the partnerships and collaborations that have been most beneficial to the success of the business, Kelly told the following story about her first trip to Profit Team Consulting.
“Being involved in the Profit Team Consulting, that has really helped us grow a lot. I remember when I got on my first airplane and flew out to Texas. I didn’t tell my father I was going until almost the last minute because I didn’t feel he’d buy into it. And he didn’t. I think he thought I was the devil child at the time because, you know, he said, ‘I’ve taught you everything you need to know about this business. I don’t understand why you’re going to go, why you need to go and listen to all of this!’”
She went on to explain that her desire to know more about the processes of business in general was what she was really seeking out. Explaining that in the 60s and 70s, you basically had to go with your gut. “He (her father) would tell me that my budget has always been my stomach, and that’s how I know whether I’m going to buy more cars or not buy cars, and if I’m going to have enough payroll or not.”
“We finally got him to attend a (Profit Team) meeting with us, and that was a big breaking point. He said, ‘You know what? I think I’ve been the one maybe holding you guys back a little bit.’ He started to understand the numbers and we’re going to be going to our next Profit Team meeting Monday and Tuesday, and he will listen in on all of them and participate! It’s just awesome to start to understand how to drive results and the profits and how many cars you need to buy. But you also have to get them inventoried and dismantled. So that’s been a really big part of it. We are (also) a member of Team PRP. That’s been a big growth for our business and another opportunity for us to get involved, to learn from a lot of the big dogs.”
“You know, the automotive industry has the big five and so does our industry out there. So whether it’s five or ten, it’s just nice to get together and meet people who are willing to share, whether that’s with Team PRP, ARA, URG or your state associations, I’m just a people person. I’m a social person. So I enjoy going. It’s sometimes hard to fit it in your schedule, but our company vision statement is that we are the team customers prefer and competitors respect. That is sometimes hard for people to understand. That you want your competitors to respect you. But in our industry, competitors are viewed so differently because we do work together and we share data and we want to help each other. We’ve built some amazing friendships over the years by getting involved!”
