Business in the 21st century often means cutthroat competition and doing whatever it takes to make a buck. The Kramer Group—comprised of Kramer Metals, Inc., Spectrum Alloys, Inc.,

Jos. Levin & Son, Inc., and Continental Truck & Towing, LLC—has made it their goal to be “committed to ensuring that our scrap metal processing and recycling activities and our service and support activities are conducted under the highest moral and ethical codes,” according to the company’s mission statement.

Kramer Metals was founded in the late 1930’s by Morton Kramer. Morton Kramer hauled scrap in the back of the family car

and in 1955 Kramer Metals bought its first small yard. Second-generation owner Stanley Kramer, current Chairman of Kramer Metals, and his brother Howard Kramer began to build the company along with their father. Stanley and Howard set the ethos of the company and Doug Kramer, Stanley’s son and president of all four companies, has chosen to continue in the tradition his father started.

The Kramer Group’s 50 employees operate three scrap-processing yards in the heart of the City of Los Angeles in areas that are zoned heavy industrial. Kramer Metals, Inc. processes all grades of ferrous scrap metal and non-ferrous scrap metal. Spectrum Alloys, Inc. processes alloys and specialty metal scrap. Kramer Metals acquired Jos. Levin & Sons, the oldest operating scrap metal processing and recycling company in the region, in October 2005.

Kramer Metals’ “Mega Machine”, the 954 Liebherr, in precise action.

Levin & Sons serves industrial scrap generators as well as other scrap metal dealers. Continental Truck & Towing is one of the oldest and most respected heavy duty towing, wrecking and transportation companies in Southern California.

Better than 95% of the scrap that Kramer Metals processes is recycled. The company buys scrap and processes it to fit a specific grade. Most of the scrap Kramer Metals handles comes from commercial and industrial generators like fabricators, re-bar suppliers, ironworkers, machine shops and construction and demolition job sites. “We provide all of the necessary roll-off containers, end dumps and specialized trucking to our suppliers,” said Adam Sinasky, Vice President and Steel Yard Manager. “But don’t forget that a lot of scrap comes from the public delivering everything from water heaters and appliances to the old wrought iron fences they replaced around their yards,” said Adam. The processed metal is then shipped direct to steel mills or foundries across the country, or loaded into containers for export through the Los Angeles and Long Beach shipyards to be shipped to foreign steel and/or metal consumers.

Although Kramer Metals has maintained measured growth for nearly 70 years, Doug says that he has initiated a more aggressive stance in the industry in the past three to four years. This has meant the acquisition of competitors, as well as investment in new equipment.

Kramer Metals recently purchased a Liebherr 954C Heavy Duty Material Handler from Chuck Berg at Coastline Equipment that is replacing a Liebherr 932 as the company’s primary machine. According to the Liebherr website, the 954 is “perfectly designed for heavy-duty goods handling in the scrap and timber industries. The computer-optimized steel structure allows the Liebherr crawler excavator to achieve increased lifting capacities and maximum digging forces. Rapid travel speeds, extensive reaches and high lifting capacities are the predominant merits of this powerful and comfortable hydraulic excavator.”

The “C” series Liebherr has a tier 3 engine, meaning it complies with the new emissions regulations for diesel engines.

“Our business has grown over the past few years and the new Liebherr 954 allows us to move a lot more scrap, as well as giving us more flexibility,” Doug explains. “It does 2 1/2 times more work in the same amount of time as the 932.

“We want to be a more substantial player, so we’ve selectively looked not only at adding new equipment to our operations, but also at acquiring competitors that fit our business goals and objectives for the future,” he adds.

(Top Row, L to R) Stanley Kramer, Chairman; Doug Kramer, President; Chuck Berg, Coastline Equipment Industrial Sales Rep.; Chuck Thoroughman, Dispatch and Legistics; Kramer Metals. (Above L to R) Adam Sinasky, Vice President and Operations Manager for the steel yard; Gladys Farias, Deputy Weighmaster and Cashier; Susana Farias, Administrative Assistant; and Hilda Tovar, General Office Manager, Kramer Metals.

When Kramer Metals acquired Jos. Levin & Sons, it provided them with rail service by Union Pacific, which has provided a greater ability to ship scrap to the interior of the country.

As far as Doug is concerned, it was a foregone conclusion that he would go into the company business. “I fell in love with this business when I was five years old,” he says. “The nights before I was going into work with my dad I’d get dressed and sleep in my work clothes so there would be no reason for him not to take me with him.”

Doug earned degrees in political science and sociology from Whittier College before assuming a management position with the company.

The biggest challenge The Kramer Group faces is staying competitive, according to Doug. “In addition to the volatile market conditions that we are currently experiencing and the fierce competition for scrap, there are just a litany of safety and compliance issues in our industry, which impacts the bottom line. 

“For us, there are no shortcuts when it comes to safety and compliance,” he continues. “As someone I have tremendous respect for said to me, ‘If it’s not OK for me to tell your family you’re not coming home again, it’s not OK for you to tell my family that I’m not coming home again.’

 “If I have to loose a percentage of scrap because I spend more on safety and compliance than my competitors, thus decreasing the amount of money I can pay for scrap, than so be it,” Doug adds. “My employees and my family are too important to compromise.”

Doug is thankful for the way his father, uncle and grandfather ran their business and for the values they passed to him. “They gave me a tremendous platform to launch the business to the next phase of growth,” he says. “It would be very difficult to duplicate that in this day due to the current business environment. 

“My dad, who made all his deals on a handshake taught me that at the end of the day your word is your bond,” Doug adds. “I learned that if you can’t do business with honor and dignity, then you shouldn’t be in business.

“We want the people and companies that sell scrap to us to feel they are appreciated and to know how grateful we are for their business,” he continues.

The company’s mission statement summarizes how the Kramer family and its employees feel about what they do:

(Above) The 954 Liehberr loading an end dump within 5 minutes time.

“We are committed to treating our world and our environment with respect and we will not be a contributor to the pollution of our world or of our environment….By our nature, we are committed to reducing waste, reusing where appropriate, and recycling. Our employees and our customers are our success.”

In addition to Stanley and Doug, rounding out The Kramer Group’s management team are: David Cohen, General Manager of Kramer Metals; Adam Sinasky, Vice President & Operations Manager of Kramer Metals Iron & Steel Yard; Stu Brydges, Vice President & General Manager of Jos. Levin & Sons, and Tony Howard, General Manager of Continental Truck & Towing.

For more information look online at www.kramermetals.com or call (323) 587-2277. Cc