GSM Recycling expansion heats up hiring

BATAVIA TWP., Ohio - When Jim Strayer’s former employer downsized its work force in May of 2010, the Stonelick Township resident spent 18 months unemployed.

“I was busy with Grandpa day care,” he said Friday.  “It was good initially because six months of severance pay wasn’t too bad, but after that it got a little boring sitting at home.”

So Strayer started checking Ohio and Clermont County websites for job openings that matched his experience in safety and environmental affairs.

His life turned around when he contacted the employees of Pride Staff in Milford.  They knew of an opening at GSM Recycling in Batavia Township.

The aluminum recycling company was expanding into 100,000 square feet of space at the former Ford Transmission Plant in Batavia Township.

“It’s a good thing,” said Strayer.  “My wife is happy.  The kids are happy.  The grandkids are happy.  Life is good.”

Hamm was happy, too.

“Jim’s fantastic.  We were very fortunate,” he said.  “Here was a person that has the experience for our type of business and he’s eight miles from our plant.”

GSM added 20 new jobs in 2011 and plans to add another 20 more in 2012.  Sales for 2011 were $12 million, but Hamm expects they could reach $30 million in 2012.

That’s among the reasons the United States unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in December as companies added 200,000 jobs.  That’s the lowest level in three years.

Most of those positions were in smaller companies like GSM, which are hiring, five, 10, 15 or 20 workers as the economy continues to show signs of improvement.

Hamm said his company has been able to double in size every year for the past three years. 

GSM Recycling accepts scrap aluminum from manufacturers and other sources, melts it to a liquid in a furnace with a temperature of 1,800 degrees and then reforms the metal into pellets or ingots for resale.

“We’ve kind of found a nice niche for what we do,” said Hamm.  “The other thing is we’re very much tied to manufacturing with our recycling.”

“We see manufacturing, specifically automotive, really kind of growing since it hit bottom in 2008-2009,” he added.  “We’ve grown right along with that.”

GSM Recycling invested $2 million to set up shop in the former Ford plant and has an option to acquire 200,000 more square feet for future expansion.

Financing was provided through the Small Business Administration, the Ohio Department of Development and National Bank and Trust in Wilmington.

Hamm said Clermont County’s Department of Economic Development – Andy Kuchta and Adele Evans – was a valuable resource in helping to find capital and working through the maze of regulations for the expansion.

Strayer, 58, said the exciting part about his new job is being with a firm that is quickly growing.

“You start out small and hopefully in a few years this will be 50 to 100 jobs,” he said. “It’s a nice way to end my career.”