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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2016)
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3 FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016 Business & Ag B&K Recycling opens in Baker City on 17th BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com B&K Recycling And Pipe Supply in Baker City held its official grand opening last Friday, May 13, 2016, treating a larger than anticipated crowd of between 150 and 175 to hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cold beverages, and raffles, in order to intro- duce the community to the company, whose presence here was established earlier this year. This business, at 3370 17th Street, is actually a component of B&K Auto Salvage, Inc., whose large salvage yard is located along Highway 203, in La Grande. During a post-grand opening interview, B&K Manager/Salesman Bow Boston, who’s been with the company for four years (and in the general business for ten years), dis- played a video which was taken using B&K’s aerial drone with a mounted Go- Pro camera, of the lot on 17th Street on the day of the event, including a shot of a unique B&K barbecue, in the shape of a pistol. Boston said the barbecue was a major hit at the event, with the huge barrel emitting smoke, while the hamburgers and hot dogs cooked. There was also a B&K and United Metals semi truck display during the grand opening, includ- ing B&K’s Breast Cancer Awareness model, the company assembled, four or five years ago, Boston said. B&K is partnered with United Metals, with about 40 trucks on the road in full force, includ- ing seven or eight in-house B&K trucks, he said. Cleanup and organiza- tion of the property on 17th took about a month, Boston said, after B&K acquired it from former owner Sam Haines in January (County records indicate that Charles and Marcella Haines own the property and have a lease contract with B&K Auto Salvage, Inc.). “Baker was a place we were looking to expand to,” Boston said, explaining that there was a gap in the company’s large salvage coverage area, between La Grande and Caldwell, Idaho, and Baker City filled that gap. Changes for the property included remodeling of the office, and updating of the restrooms, and a safe, tidy lot. He said that, with Ladd’s Auto, traditionally the larg- est auto salvage yard in the local area on David Eccles Road, in an unclear state of limbo, B&K’s presence here seemed like a good fit. Friday, May 13, 2016 — Eastern Oregon Not enough of any one class reported last week for accurate price trends. A softer undertone was noted on Press hay. Trade remains slow to moderate with light to moderate demand. Tons Price Range Wtd Avg Alfalfa — Mid Square Good 150 190.00-190.00 190.00 Alfalfa — Small Square Premium 23 170.00-170.00 170.00 USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov — Cattle Market Report — Wednesday, May 11, 2016 Vale, Oregon Cattle sold through the auction: 558 Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press Bow Boston poses with trusted customer service assistant, Ott. BC Auto Salvage, located on H Street, is another lo- cal auto salvage yard. “We figured, if we were here, even if we don’t do auto salvage pick-and-pull here (a service available at the La Grande B&K location), we at least service Baker.” He said that the location serves as a hub for auto parts orders, including providing significant com- mercial business to local auto repair shops. Manning the Baker City B&K location are Boston, Joe Ashby (customer ser- vice/labor), Cody McCue (truck driver/manager), and Boston’s three-year-old canine “right-hand man,” Ott (he said Ott was so named, because it was the first word he said to the dog, as a pup). Boston moved to Baker City, to manage the location here, and Ashby and McCue are local residents, as well. Between the La Grande and Baker City locations, there are approximately 22 employees, he said. Boston said he noticed that people don’t seem to be hanging onto their older vehicles as much nowa- days, in part due to, for example, the program Cash for Clunkers, and less strict criteria for purchasing newer vehicles, so, there’s been a decline in the de- mand for used auto parts. The upside is that more used parts can be kept in stock, but, the downside is that fewer used parts are being purchased, he said. The scrap metal market— the other component of B&K Recycling’s busi- ness—has seen a decline within the last couple of years, Boston said. If fuel prices rise, he said, the cost of steel goes up with that. He motioned toward a stack of salvaged 46” diameter, 1/4” thick, steel pressure pipe in the lot, which he said had been used previously to pump water out of the Columbia River onto a farm, at the rate of 14,000 gallons per second. B&K’s pipe and scrap metal hauling service reaches out to cover areas such as Ontario, Burns, Pendleton, Boardman, Richland, Oxbow, and Halfway. He said that the company has hauled as far as Troutdale, but that’s an exception, and the coverage area depends on the specific job, and fuel prices, when it comes to hauling scrap metal, for example. B&K’s hauling service includes equip- ment, when required, to dismantle, and process the metal. One of the larger dis- mantling and hauling jobs B&K has been involved with was the Grant West- ern saw mill, in John Day, last year, Boston said. That was a three-month, two-man project, which in- cluded a shearer, a scissor- type piece of equipment, used to cut metal down to manageable pieces. Another large job, one just completed, was for Plymouth Farm, in Plym- outh, Washington, which included the dismantling, and baling of 600 irrigation pivot spans (the individual sections in a pivot system). He displayed a map of the farm’s pivots, which showed 804 pivot systems. These were examples of larger jobs, with 800 to 1,000 tons of metal each, and B&K, as a whole, does around 1,000 tons worth of hauling a month, Boston said. Most of the scrap metal from B&K-- about 85%, he said--goes to steel mills in western Oregon, while around 15% is exported. Boston tries to keep the metal in the U.S., but he can’t control the whole market, and he understands some is neces- sarily exported, he said. Further explaining B&K’s scrap metal pro- cessing role, he said that the company just finished baling metal at the Baker City landfill, and that B&K is in the process of baling the metal at the landfill in John Day. These con- tracts also include B&K’s purchasing of plastics, cardboard, and other mate- rial, and he said that many items assumed to be buried in the landfills are actually recycled. “It’s amazing what’s recovered,” he said. B&K Recycling also sells new, steel culverts, stacks of which were pres- ent in the lot. “I can get as big as you want, to as small as you want,” Boston said. The culverts are U.S.-made, from Ohio- based Contech (he said his are delivered from a Utah satellite location). Other suppliers in the area also source their pipe from Contech, he said. He said that B&K Recy- cling averages around five customers a day, usually selling scrap metal, and around two customers a day, purchasing pipe, used and new. Advertising has been via social media, radio, newspapers, word of mouth, and even billboard signs. He said B&K was also in the process of becoming a member of the Baker County Chamber of Commerce, noting that the company is a member of the La Grande Chamber. Boston, 24, at a younger age, was frequently around his grandfather, John Bos- ton, a long-time salvage hauler in the Boise, Idaho area for many years. The experience attracted Bow to the business, he said. “We’re new to the com- munity, and we’d like to have people know that we’re here, and comfort- able with what we are, and what we have going. We’re a small business, family-owned and oper- ated, and we want to be an asset to the community,” Boston said. Marvin Wood Products announces several new initiatives Marvin Wood Products is continuing to expand its operations and capabilities with new machines and a plant expansion. Marvin Wood Products will add a 20,000 square foot addition to the facility over the next three years. They will also replace a rip and cut line with an optical rip scanner. The new scanner will allow — Weekly Hay Report — Marvin to increase its wood ripping capacity and supply wood at a far faster and more efficient rate. “We’re excited to con- tinue investing in Marvin Wood Products,” said Bak- er Plant Manager Everett Vassar. “This state-of-the- art machinery and factory expansion are crucial to supplying the wood needs for Marvin Windows and Doors and Integrity Windows and Doors in a timely manner. As those companies continue to expand and lead in the marketplace, it is vital that Marvin Wood Products be able to keep up with demand. We’re confident that our expansion and new machinery will set the company up for new heights of success.” A subsidiary of The Marvin Companies, Marvin Wood Products supplies the wood used in Marvin® Windows and Doors and Integrity® Windows and Doors. Based in Baker City, Ore., Marvin Wood Products has 30 years of experience providing cut stock, clear finger-jointed cut stock, etc. Steer Calves 300-400# Bulk 136.00 - 153.00 Top 155.00 400-500# Bulk 155.00 - 170.00 Top 177.00 500-600# Bulk 146.00 - 172.00 Top 177.00 Heifer Calves 300-400# Bulk 159.00 - 176.00 Top 178.00 400-500# Bulk 139.00 - 162.00 Top 164.00 500-600# Bulk 136.00 - 152.00 Top 156.00 Yearling Steers 600-700# Bulk 141.00 - 156.00 Top 157.00 700-800# Bulk N/A Top N/A 800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A 900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A Yearling Heifers 600-700# Bulk 129.00 - 137.00 Top 138.00 700-800# Bulk N/A Top N/A 800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A 900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A Thin Shelly Cows 51.00 - 63.00 Butcher Cows 67.00 - 74.00 Butcher Bulls 74.00 - 92.00 Pairs Yng. N/A Hfretts. 82.00 - 99.00 Pairs Older. - N/A ProducersLivestock.com 541-473-3136 — Log Price Report — Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon Currently the local log market is flooded with fire salvage logs. The log buyer for Malheur Lumber Co. stated they have all the logs they need under contract and are not accepting any new purchases. BCC/LLC of La Grande has receive so many burned fire salvage logs they are no longer accepting logs at the La Grande log yard. Any additional pine logs have to be delivered to the Elgin Log yard cut in plywood lengths and to a 8 inch top. For these pine logs cut in plywood lengths, BCC is offering $280.00/mbf. They are also paying $410.00/ mbf for Doug Fir & Western Larch. For White Fir they are offing $310.00/mbf. At the Pilot Rock Saw Mill BCC is offing $360.00/mbf for a 12 to 15 inch top, for 16 to 19 inch top $400.00/ mbf & offing $425.00/mbf for 20 inch plus top Courtesy of Arvid Andersen, Andersen Forestry Consulting — Precious Metals Report — Price per ounce, USD Gold: $1,274.20 Silver: $17.14 Platinum: $1,041.58 Palladium: $579.95 Bloomberg.com — Ag Commodities — Corn: $399.95/bu/USD Wheat: $481.75/bu/USD Soybeans: $1076.25/bu/USD Oats: $193.25 bu/USD Rough Rice: $1,077.00/cwt/USD Canola: $518.60 CAD/mwt Live Cattle: $119.50/lb./USD Feeder Cattle: $149.03/lb./USD Lean Hogs: $81.63/lb./USD Bloomberg.com
