Buying scrap metal for one of the biggest dealers in the West Midlands has become second nature to Lisa Simons.
Mrs Simons runs Pinnacle Telesales from her home in Solihull and numbers among her clients All Metal Recovery based in Smethwick.
It is from there that managing director Steve Dunn buys and sells scrap to countries all over the world, and it's Lisa's telemarketing expertise which helps to open the doors to new clients and customers.
All Metal Recovery was founded by Mr Dunn in the 1980s after he left the family business and spent a year working in Germany. He built the firm up with a partner who left in 2000.
The main core of the business had been general machinery scrap and the smelting of aluminium into ingots for the automotive industry.
In 1994 the company bought its Anne Road site in Smethwick which allowed it to branch out into the ferrous metal side of the business, starting to export through Liverpool and South Wales.
The non-ferrous side expanded too as the markets in China and India opened up.
Now, All Metal Recovery has a workforce of 32, a turnover of £30 million, new equipment including shears that allow the company to process general grades of steel and it has acquired another site nearby.
It has a dock at Goole which allows it to ship cargoes of 4,000 tonnes to mainland Europe without having to bring scrap purchased on the east side of the UK back to the Midlands only to return it again
Mrs Simons' brief is to set up appointments with demolition companies and manufacturers that have scrap for sale for the three buyers.
"The world of scrap is very competitive and if you don't know what you're talking about, the likelihood is that the doors will not open for you."
