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Entrepreneur Michael Melio to speak at 2015 General Studies Commencement Ceremony

  • APRIL 20, 2015

Entrepreneur Michael Melio has been selected by the University of Connecticut to speak at the 2015 General Studies commencement ceremony. He will be delivering his commencement address on May 9 at the Jorgensen.

“Commencement speakers are nominated from all walks of life due to their accomplishments in particular fields or the compelling personal experiences they can share with our graduates,” UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said.

Melio is one of nine commencement speakers that were selected this year. Each of UConn’s colleges will have their own commencement speaker.

“Michael Melio is a Waterbury, Connecticut native who built two North Carolina-based companies, Western Piedmont Metal and United American Steel Company,” Reitz said.

Currently, Melio serves as the president and CEO of Western Piedmont Metal Incorporated, and he has had considerable success building his own business despite setbacks due to the turbulences of the 2008 market crisis. The focus of Melio’s two companies is recycling asset management systems for industries dealing with scrap metal. Combined, his businesses report estimated revenue of $50 million.

His personal experiences, which ultimately led to his business success as well as his friendship with esteemed life coach Tony Robbins, have been the subject of a segment on the CNN talk show program Piers Morgan Tonight.

“Life is fragile. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Forgiveness-Compassion-Mercy. That is the Critical Lesson,” Melio said via twitter.

Aside from his professional career, Melio has been an avid fan of UConn athletics, and has been particularly enthusiastic about its basketball program.

“At eight years old, I was listening to UConn on AM radio. At eight, my son’s been to two Final Fours,” Melio said.

For the last 20 years he has been a committed donor to the university’s athletics programs, and has been especially generous in providing scholarships for student athletes. He currently serves as a member of the UConn Athletics Campaign Steering Committee and has pledged $500,000 to developing the UConn Basketball Champions Center.

In thanks for his support, UConn has named one of their athletic development fund scholarships in honor of Melio’s son, Enzo Anthony Melio.

UConn Names 2015 Honorary Degree Recipients

  • May 1, 2015

A Nobel Prize winner, National Education Association Foundation leader, and infant development expert are among UConn’s honorary degree recipients this year. Each year, the University bestows honorary degrees in recognition of extraordinary and lasting distinction that represents the highest intellectual and moral values.

This year, honorary degrees are awarded to Timothy Scott Case, doctor of science (engineering); Helen Hays, doctor of science (biology); Barbara Medoff-Cooper, doctor of science (nursing); Michael A. Melio, doctor of humane letters; Harriet Sanford, doctor of humane letters (education); Robert J. Shiller, doctor of science (business); Anne C.R. Tanner, doctor of science (medicine); Leslie Uggams, doctor of fine arts,; and Peter J. Werth Jr., doctor of science.

Michael A. Melio, Doctor of Humane Letters, Humanities, General Studies
Michael Melio is a Waterbury, Conn., native who grew up with modest means, but built two prosperous companies that provide jobs for people, and wealth that enables him to give back philanthropically to the institutions and communities he is connected to.

The two North Carolina-based companies, Western Piedmont Metal and United American Steel Company, were successful until, in 2008, the nation’s metal market dried up during the recession. In light of the circumstances, Melio reeducated himself, retooled his businesses, and then rebuilt their combined coffers to $50 million. Melio’s ambition wasn’t to accumulate wealth but to triumph over adversity, to ensure that was the experience his young son would witness, and to protect the livelihoods of the men and women who work for him.

When he had his first small business, Melio noticed a staff member struggling with drug addiction. Most small business owners would have fired her, but Melio’s instinct was to help. He connected her with a program run by his longtime mentor and friend, Tony Robbins, the internationally known motivational speaker. He didn’t know that this act of kindness would lead to another mentor and a new career in metal recycling. With awe and gratitude for helping his daughter find the strength and courage she needed to enter recovery, the woman’s father offered to take Melio under his wing to teach him the metal recycling business and offer financing for Melio to go out on his own.

C'mon.... A Scrap Metal Guy getting an Honorary PhD from a top 20 research university??

  

Inc. Business Owners Council is a peer-to-peer network of top entrepreneurs brought to you by Inc. Magazine

Meeting Mike Melio – A Conversation With Lewis Schiff

March 23, 2015

Not long ago, several Members took a trip together to “Unleash The Power Within” – a Tony Robbins event designed to teach people to unlock their full potential. While there, the Members were treated to a surprise visit by Tony’s associate, Mike Melio.

Mike is an inspirational figure in his own right, and he related his own personal story to our Members over an early breakfast on the Saturday of the event. Lewis Schiff recounted his own experience of the talk.

“Mike is a true fan of Tony Robbins,” Lewis explained in an interview. “He met him at a program years earlier, when he didn’t have much of a career going. He’d been homeless, but found his way into sales and working in scrap metal because of something nice he did for someone. He found his way to Tony Robbins by volunteering for years for security, one of the guys who watches the stage and the entrances, and one day Tony took a liking to him and started giving him business advice. Ever since then, Tony has been his mentor.”

“He built up a great business over the years, right up until 2008. In one of their sessions, Tony let him know that he thought that the economy was in big trouble in 2008, but Mike didn’t react fast enough –  and his businesses were demolished by the recession. But now he’s back and running with very successful businesses.”

“He uses some unique techniques from Tony, including being especially focused on net cash rather than on topline sales – so the money you take home at the end of the month. So he works to be very creative in incentivizing sales forces to sell by tapping into that net cash.”

“He described some mechanisms for doing that which Tony had been using in his own businesses, and which Mike was starting to implement. So he sees Tony as this thoughtful business operator, and on top of that Tony’s network is made up of so many sophisticated business people, so he feels that Tony is a conduit for some of the best business advice in the world.”

“The thing Mike is known for is building this very successful business enterprise, but he also considers his life to be very balanced, he has a great family and he’s very proud of how it all came together.”

“We all thought his story was really interesting – he’s such a passionate guy – but it got especially interesting when he started to describe the value of net cash, and we were reminded that  top line revenue isn’t the full story and doesn’t mean that much if you’re not taking home any money at the end of the day – an important lesson we all need to be reminded about sometimes. Then he brought up some very creative business ideas for incentivizing sales forces and that’s when people really started taking notes.”


UConn Athletics Celebrates Endowed Scholarship Donors

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

Nearly 250 donors, student-athletes, coaches and administrators gathered inside Rome Ballroom in October for the UConn Athletics Annual Endowed Scholarship Dinner. Throughout the evening, which featured a social hour, dinner and speaking program, those in attendance heard about the importance of endowed scholarships on the lives of UConn’s student-athletes and the success of its programs.

“The Endowed Scholarship Dinner is a special night for UConn Athletics,” said Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. “Each year I really look forward to this event because it’s a great opportunity for our student-athletes to come face-to-face with and get to know the individuals who support their education. By endowing a scholarship, our donors are providing our student-athletes with a great education, which is a gift that will benefit them for a lifetime. ”

For over 20 years, Mike Melio has been a loyal donor to UConn Athletics. During that time, he has supported numerous initiatives, but for him, there is something special about making a gift to support the education of student-athletes.

“It’s all about education, without it we would be nothing,” Melio said. “We have so many wonderful student-athletes representing UConn. Personally, it’s very fulfilling to support these young people academically. I strongly believe we have student-athletes here at the University of Connecticut who will one day go on to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems.”


Mike Melio on Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN

 

Business owner Mike Melio overcame the 2008 market crash to run 2 businesses with revenues of $50 million annually; learn how Tony help find Mike a path to recovery. Learn how to take your business to the next level with Business Mastery: http://www.tonyrobbins.com/events/business-mastery

 

My first venture onto a National Stage taught me a valuable lesson- DRAMA SELLS! As all of our loyal customers know, we did not go out of business, nor did we loose everything in the 2008 Market Collapse. As Piers makes this statement, watch my eyes shift back and forth in disbelief!

We were put into the same position as most businesses in this country- the difference is, we made a decision to push forward by SERVING HUMANITY. The results have been amazing.

I would like to personally thank Anthony Robbins for his amazing guidance and education throughout the past 20 years of our relationship... Mike

Things happen fast... 

Industry News

Information increase profit!!

SCRAP CONTINUES FREE FALL WITH $50 A TON DROP IN OCTOBER

POSTED OCTOBER 12, 2015

Ferrous Scrap Prices fell by $50 a gross ton in an October Market that has left the Industry reeling. The lack of Mill demand, coupled with a strong US Dollar, has caused prices to drop to levels not seen since the 2008 Financial Crisis.

3 major factors are contributing to this price collapse, and based upon these fundamental issues, there is no indication that prices will rise anytime in the near future.

FACTOR #1 - WEAK MILL DEMAND. Domestic demand for finished Steel is weak due to the country being flooded with Imported Steel from China, Turkey and India. A strong US Dollar gives these countries an upper hand in selling product to US Manufacturers. Even worse is Chinese Steel that is being subsidized by the Chinese Government, giving China the ability to sell Steel directly to US Manufacturers below the cost of US Steel Mills ability to make it.

FACTOR #2 - A STRONG US DOLLAR. The strength of the US Dollar when compared to currencies from the European Union, South America and Asia, has eliminated the Export of US Scrap Metal to these Nations- they cannot afford to purchase US Scrap. China's recent devaluation of their Yuan has further wreaked havoc in the Scrap Market. When there is no opportunity to export Scrap overseas, the US is flooded with Scrap putting further downward pressure on Scrap prices domestically.

FACTOR #3 - PLUNGING OIL PRICES. With Oil dropping from $120 per barrel to $45, the freight cost to ship Finished Steel to the US has plummeted, giving foreign nations cheap shipping costs.

Plunging Oil prices have also wiped out the growth of the domestic oil and gas industry, which purchases significant amounts of finished steel product. With this industry on its back, demand for finished steel from US Mills is significantly reduced causing Scrap prices to tank.

WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN FOR SCRAP METAL PRICES

In October 2011, Shredded Scrap, an Industry Benchmark, sold for a average of $455 a gross ton. This October has seen an average price of $180 a gross ton, a monumental drop.

Busheling has dropped to between $190 and $180 a gross ton. Machine Shop Turnings have plummeted with reported prices between $50 and $75 a gross ton.

Unless The Federal Government issues new tariffs on the importing of foreign steel, domestic demand significantly increases due to true investment of our countries aging infrastructure, or the price of Oil moves upward due to OPEC price cuts, this trend of low Scrap prices will continue for the foreseeable future. 


Copper Dips Below $5,000 for First Time Since Financial Crisis

Fear of falling demand in China weighs on the metal

POSTED AUGUST 18, 2015

Copper futures fell below $5,000 a metric ton for the first time since the financial crisis, dropping under a key level in a market that has been hit hard by concerns over the Chinese economy and by uncertainty for a metal widely regarded as a barometer of global economic health.

Copper’s decline comes as all metal prices continue their steep falls from the boom peaks of 2011. As with other base metals, copper has suffered from the oversupply that followed the boom and from concern over future demand from China, which consumes about 45% of the metal.

While many analysts say faltering Chinese demand will continue to lead copper lower, others predict prices will rise by the fourth quarter because Chinese buying will pick up when global supply begins to fall.

“Psychologically, $5,000 is a big, big number,” said Stephen Briggs, a BNP Paribas metals analyst. “If it actually…stays below $5,000, then it’s sort of a point for further losses.”

The London Metal Exchange’s three-month copper contract fell 2.6% to $5,035 a metric ton. The contract had slipped below the psychologically important $5,000 level in London’s afternoon trading to hit a six-year low of $4,983 a ton.

In New York, the most actively traded contract, for September delivery, settled 1.5% lower at $2.2870 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, a fresh six-year low.

Tuesday’s decline comes amid a selloff on the Chinese stock market, which ended Tuesday down 6.1%. Commodities were also hit after the Chinese central bank last week devalued the yuan, making dollar-denominated metals and oil more expensive for the world’s second-biggest economy.


Scrap market takes another steep fall

POSTED AUGUST 13, 2015

Scrap prices dropped between $25 - $35 per gross ton in a sinking August Market. With the collapse of China's Stock Market along with weaker demand for commodities worldwide, scrap prices are not expected to recover anytime soon.

#1 Busheling along with #1 and #2 Heavy Melt was down $30 per gross ton in the Southeast. Steel Turnings were down $25 per gross ton.


COPPER DROPS ON WEAK CHINA DEMAND

POSTED JULY 13, 2015

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Friday and was set for a weekly fall of about 3 percent as concerns persisted over top consumer China's demand for the metal even as stock markets there recovered and in Europe hopes grew for a deal between Greece and its creditors.

Chinese stocks bounced sharply for a second day on Friday, regaining a degree of composure after a barrage of government support measures to halt panic selling earlier this week.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appealed to his party's lawmakers to back tough reforms after offering last-minute concessions to try to save the country from financial meltdown.

But in copper, worries about Chinese usage persist.

"Fundamentals right now are clearly not good; there's no doubt about that. Chinese demand looks bad this year because the State Reserves Bureau is not buying in the same way as last year," said Nic Brown, head of commodities research at Natixis.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was last bid down 0.9 percent in official midday rings at $5,579 a ton. Prices dropped to six-year lows of $5,240 on Wednesday.

Buyers of copper and aluminum in China reduced spot purchases in domestic and international markets this week after the country's equities rout reduced liquidity for buying.

Also, inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 3.7 percent from last Friday to 105,276 tons, reversing 13 straight weeks of falls.

On the plus side however, premiums for bonded copper in Shanghai climbed $5 to $70, the highest in a month, reflecting bargain hunting after copper's price plunge.

Added to this, China traders could buy more copper from global markets in coming months as the sharp falls in LME copper have opened up a profitable import arbitrage.

Aluminum traded down 0.2 percent at $1,695 a ton in rings.

"China has been exporting large quantities of aluminum recently. If aluminum prices were to remain low for any length of time, however, output would doubtless be cut in China after all -- this at least is the consensus among local smelters, traders and refiners," Commerzbank said in a note.

It added that production cuts could begin as soon as the end of July or early August if the aluminum price in Shanghai does not settle above 12,000 yuan per ton in the next few weeks.


SCRAP PRICES DROP IN JULY

POSTED JULY 12, 2015

As you know, Scrap prices collapsed in FEBRUARY.

They went sideways for MARCH APRIL MAY.

They came up by approx. $25 per gross ton for JUNE

They just dropped approximately the same for JULY.

So we are back to February Levels and it looks dimmer for August.

 So what is causing this?

What will signal an increase?

How long could this last?


WHAT IS CAUSING THIS COLLAPSE IN SCRAP PRICING?

Scrap Prices are based upon Supply and Demand, like everything else.

Our DEMAND comes from 2 places:

#1 US MILL DEMAND

#2 DEMAND FOR SCRAP EXPORT TO OTHER COUNTRIES

 US MILL demand is down significantly- why??

 BECAUSE THE US DOLLAR IS SO STRONG

-this gives manufacturers bigger buying power to purchase NEW STEEL from FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

 -the dollar really isn’t strong-our economy stinks- it’s just strong because China, and THE EUROPEAN UNION are WEAKER than we are!!

Look at what’s happened with Greece and China- both are in big trouble economically!!!

 

THE PRICE OF OIL HAS TANKED

-last summer, Oil was at $120 per barrel- it is now hovering at $52

-this makes it even cheaper for US MANUFACTURERS to purchase foreign steel instead of buying US- the shipping costs have been cut in half!!

 

FOREIGN COUNTRIES ARE NOT BUYING OUR SCRAP

-the rise in Scrap prices over the past decade have been a result of us EXPORTING SCRAP to China, Turkey, India and Japan.

-the US is now EXPORTING NO SCRAP!!

-so the US STEEL MILLS are saying, "HERE IS OUR PRICE-TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!!"

 

WHAT WILL SIGNAL AN INCREASE?

The only way Scrap goes back up in the future will be when other countries start buying US Scrap and/or US demand for New Steel Increases.

 

What will trigger an increase??

-if somebody goes after ISIS and disrupts the flow of Oil, causing Oil to increase to $70 a barrel of higher, this would make it more expensive to ship new steel to the US, causing US Manufacturers to purchase US STEEL, making the demand for Scrap increase!

-if China's economy starts to grow again. This is highly unlikely from an organic standpoint. China has spent hundreds of Billions of Dollars in the past 7 years to prop up their economy- it isn't reality. There are entire new cities that have been built that are empty.

-if the US Demand for new steel grows, increasing the need for scrap- this is also unlikely in the near term.

-if/when foreign countries economies pick up and start purchasing our scrap. If the IMF can cut a deal with GREECE to stabilize the country and things start to turn around in the European Union, the demand for scrap will grow pressuring US Steel makers to increase their prices for Scrap.

 

HOW LONG COULD THIS LAST?

Every indicator/expert I have spoken to, says this carnage could last another 12 months before we start to see a turnaround. It isn’t pretty and could get much worse!


HOW ARE WE DOING?

We are doing great! We have added several new customers during this period of strife, as we continue to provide the same benefits to our customers as we did during good times! We have plenty of financial resources and can endure this period of uncertainty while still growing our business.

June 2105

Despite June bump, scrap prices still well behind 2014

For most of the first half of the year there has been a good news-bad news aspect to ferrous scrap exports. The good news is that export tonnages have been over 1 million tonnes for most months from January through April. The bad news is that year-over-year tonnages are running about 7 percent behind last year, and about 33 percent behind 2013 levels.

At the same time, domestic raw steel output also has been relatively stagnant, running about 7 percent behind 2014’s year-to-date numbers through the first nearly six months of the year, keeping a cap on mill demand.

In part because of those two trends, which normally tend to suppress scrap value, prices today stand at $100-$150 less than they did exactly one year ago. Heavy melting, dealer bundles and busheling are about 30 and 35 percent respectively behind last June’s figures, while shredded scrap is about 24 below last year.

The difficult winter, which greatly slowed down scrap generation and transportation, is credited with helping to keep supplies low, which kept pricing up to begin 2015. But since February’s massive decreases, prices have risen across the board significantly in only one of the past four months–June.

Ferrous scrap markets endured a bear market through much of 2013 and 2014, and so far 2015 is worse than anyone expected just six months ago, and is not promising a healthy recovery from current pricing levels.


February 2015

Scrap Metal Prices Collapse

SCRAP METAL PRICES DROP MORE THAN $100 PER GROSS TON

February scrap prices reaching lowest levels since 2009

If one wants to look for a culprit for the precipitous plunge in ferrous scrap prices this winter, then one need look no further than the continuing strength of the U.S. dollar. A stagnant economy in the European Union, a pullback in Chinese growth, and a virtual collapse of global commodity prices have sent investors and importers on a mad scramble for U.S. dollars.

The result is a U.S. dollar that is soaring in dollar against just about every currency out there, including the Chinese Renminbi, the Euro, the South Korean Won and the Japanese Yen. That has created a veritable triple whammy for the U.S. ferrous scrap industry. Scrap exports have dropped more than 40 percent since 2011, creating a surplus of 9 million tons last year that sought homes at domestic mills. The strength of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar has unleashed a flood of Canadian scrap into the U.S. Midwest and Ohio Valley. And a growing surge of import finished steel is creating a competitive challenge for the domestic steel industry, which reduces demand for domestic ferrous scrap.

The precipitous drop in ferrous scrap exports is perhaps the biggest problem faced by scrap dealers and brokers nationwide. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, ferrous scrap exports totaled 15.3 million tons in 2014, a drop of 3 million tons from the 18.3 million tons reported in 2013. Scrap exports from the U.S. have now dropped 9 million tons from the 24 million tons reported in 2011 and are at their lowest annual levels since before the Great Recession. And those are 9 million tons that now have to be absorbed by domestic steel consumers.

The slowdown of growth in China has been particularly calamitous for U.S. ferrous scrap exports. In 2011, China consumed 4.2 million tons of U.S. scrap. That dropped to 1.9 million tons in 2012 and slid further to 1.8 million tons in 2013. In 2014, China consumed 785,000 tons of U.S. scrap, lower than the amount of U.S. ferrous scrap consumed in Canada. In 2011, Egyptian consumption of U.S. scrap was less than a quarter of that consumed by China; last year, Egypt surpassed China as a consumer of U.S. scrap.

The strength of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar is creating a second import-export problem for U.S. ferrous scrap processors. The U.S. dollar in mid-February was approaching $1.27 against the Canadian dollar, up from $1.21 at the beginning of the year. What that in essence means is that Canadian scrap processors have about a 25 percent incentive to ship their scrap to U.S. mills and foundries. That's about $75 on $300 ton scrap, which easily offsets the $30 a ton or so that Canadian processors pay in freight fees to ship their scrap south of the border. As a result, scrap dealers in much of the Midwest and Ohio Valley are competing with a flood of cheaper Canadian scrap.

A number of factors converged in recent weeks to bring the market down more than had been seen in over five years. Much of it has to do with factors that have an impact on mill production, although some also is related to supply levels, which mill buyers found to be more than adequate this month.

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WESTERN PIEDMONT
METAL, INC.

BBB Accredited since 2005

BBB Accredited Business since 04/07/2005

BBB has determined that Western Piedmont Metal, Inc. meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB Accredited Businesses pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.BBB accreditation does not mean that the business' products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business' product quality or competency in performing services.

Western Piedmont Metal, Inc. affirms that it meets and will abide by the following standards.

 

Standards of BBB Accreditation


Build Trust

Establish and maintain a positive track record in the marketplace.

Advertise Honestly

Adhere to established standards of advertising and selling.

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Honestly represent products and services, including clear and adequate disclosures of all material terms.

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Openly identify the nature, location, and ownership of the business, and clearly disclose all policies, guarantees and procedures that bear on a customer's decision to buy.

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Abide by all written agreements and verbal representations.

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Address marketplace disputes quickly, professionally, and in good faith.

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Protect any data collected against mishandling and fraud, collect personal information only as needed, and respect the preferences of customers regarding the use of their information.

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Approach all business dealings, marketplace transactions and commitments with integrity.