ASAP Scrap Recycling, LLC has proposed a new metal scrap recycling business as a part of HeadzUp, Inc., an existing metal shelving business in the Town of Montgomery.

Located at 2780 State Route 208, the project will use a portion of the 27-acre Headzup Inc. property for a one-stop metal recycling business, where all kinds of metal will be sorted and processed for resale, according to the Town of Montgomery site plan planning board application and application for a special exception use permit.

Headzup CEO and Founder Edward Alicea said ASAP will aid in the extension of the existing business with Headzup, which designs and installs warehouse shelving systems. Headzup specializes in relocation services for small and large companies by supplying new equipment to an expanding company and then giving them credit to take down and remove their old equipment, which they bring into their inventory.

At its 27-acre property, Headzup recycles old shelving by cutting off the damaged sections, which are immediately discarded. Currently, to discard its metal, Headzup uses third-party scrap companies to collect steel cut-offs.

Alicea said Headzup will be one of ASAP’s largest customers because Headzup will be able to process its cut-offs on-site.

“I wanted to maximize the value of our cut-offs,” Alicea said. “We can cut it down to smaller pieces, we can sort it, and we can process it here so that we can cut out the middleman and sell directly to the end user, which is the port mill.”

The location also prepares orders for shipping, cuts shelving to size and preassembles shelving.

The type of metal recycling Headzup is currently doing will be the majority of the business for ASAP, however there will also be car recycling, Alicea said.

Headzup purchased an Enviro Rack to process cars. ASAP Scrap Managing Partner George Sanchez said cars will be loaded onto the rack, drained of all fluids, crushed and loaded into a container. The rack includes a catch basin, a 249-gallon pan and a 360-gallon tank to catch any spills. The rack is air operated to avoid sparks and accidents.

Sanchez said the cars will never touch the ground, and the Enviro Rack will stop any spills from leaching into the ground.

Alicea said ASAP is committed to complying with all New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regulations.

“We’re taking great care to do everything up to code and to the DEC standard,” Alicea said. “We’re paying special attention to the car part of the business and going above to make sure of that we run a clean operation that is environmentally safe.”

Once each truckload of scrap and crushed cars are full, it will be immediately shipped out. Sanchez said cars will not be sitting on the ground for long periods of time.

“The cars that are coming in, they’re not sitting here because that’s not going to make us any money,” Sanchez said.

The expansion of the business will turn the property into a one-stop shop for all metal recycling needs, an attractive feature for many of Headzup’s customers.

“If you have a metal recycling place and you don’t do cars, to me it’s a big disadvantage because you’ll deter a lot of people from using you,” Alicea said.

Sanchez said the new business will be a service to the town because ASAP will also be open to members of the public, and residents will have a place to go to recycle their used cars, metal appliances and more.

The new use will not require any clearing, as it would take place on a current gravel lot.

Headzup has been at its current location for five years and has been in business for 11 years. Alicea said Sanchez, Vice President of Wholesale and Logistics Al Esposito and he himself are residents of Orange County, so there are invested in this community.

“I have a vested interest in the ecology of the town and I’m just like everybody else here; I don’t want to drink contaminated water,” Alicea said. “I don’t want my kids to drink contaminated water.”

Estimated increase in traffic is 12 smaller deliveries—pickup trucks—and two larger trucks per day, according to the planning board application.

Hours of operations will be 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Headzup currently employs 10 employees, and Alicea estimates ASAP will hire an additional five or six employees.

While ASAP owns the Enviro Rack and has it on-site, the site is not operational. The site plan application and application for a special exception use permit is currently pending before the Town of Montgomery planning board.