This month’s URG member spotlight takes us to Jenison, Michigan, on a visit to Pete’s Auto Parts, PRP, with Amber Kendrick, who told us how it all started back in the mid-1950s!
“My grandpa Pete started the business in the fifties. He was a struggling farmer trying to make ends meet. So, he put together a tow truck to tow vehicles on the side. He’d farm all day and then tow vehicles at night, ending up with a motley collection of old cars from his towing business,” she explained. “Eventually, the township came to him and said, ‘Hey, we need you to do something about all these cars that are sitting here.’ Back in the fifties, a lot of times the vehicles wouldn’t even be worth the money to pay the tow and get them out of the lot. So, he decided to get a salvage permit in the early fifties, and Pete’s Auto Parts was born. It was 1956!”
Amber reminisced about her youth on the grounds of the yard as she was growing up. “I was stuck doing all the worst jobs on the lot, like a lot of owners’ kids are when they are young. When I was in high school, I would be auditing a rack in the warehouse in August, on the third floor, and it’s, you know, 100 degrees up there. I’m going through door mirrors, auditing a rack, and they’d say, ‘Oh, Amber, we have a delivery for you.’ ‘Oh, we need you to go do this.’ ‘Oh, we need you to go do that.’ And they kind of pulled me off whatever I was doing to take care of what needed to be done. So, it wasn’t a huge surprise that I really wasn’t that interested in the business!” she stated.
She went off to college, thinking she would never come back and work for Pete’s again. “It’s hot, it’s dirty, and it’s not fun for me. I ran screaming from the family business and went to college at Alma in Central Michigan. I got a degree in English with a minor in American Studies, which, you know, there’s not a lot of jobs that qualifies you for. But I did learn so much in college that I still use, especially the communication skills I gained from my English degree!”
We asked her what advice she would give to individuals who are trying to break into the recycling industry. “Don’t be afraid to ask other recyclers how they do things and ask for invitations to their yard! There are so many open people who are willing to share. I know many URG members will open their doors for other recyclers, and ARA has a mentor program to pair new recyclers with more experienced recyclers. There are just a ton of resources out there, and it’s amazing how much you learn just from being around other recyclers.”
“Whenever I would take a vacation, I would look up and see where the nearest recyclers were and I’d drop in, just stop by, and say, ‘Hey, I own a yard in Michigan! Will you show me around?’ Invariably, they always do. People are always so excited to show you their hard work, just like you would be to show off yours,” she continued.
Amber also made it clear that she likes to learn from members all over the country, especially when she attends the URG conference as well as others. “I love the conferences so much, and I do learn so much. I love going to the sessions, and one thing I try to do is go to the sessions that aren’t videotaped because I know I can watch the videotaped sessions later on my computer, and I do that. I’ll pull up and look for the old URG speaker tapes and go through those occasionally. It’s such a great resource!”
“But, you know, I often learn just as much in the bar as I do in the boardroom!” Amber continued. “It’s amazing the conversations that I’ve had, and I would encourage anyone going to the URG conference not to skip the social hours and to set aside some time just to chat with people! You never know who you’re gonna run into and what they’re gonna share, or how it’s gonna change your business when you’re open to it.”
For more on our interview with Amber Kendrick of Pete’s Auto Parts, be sure to tune in to the URG On The Go Podcast on all your favorite podcasting platforms!
