It was the sight of large printer cartridges landing in the garbage that started Tony Perrotta on a path that led to Greentec International, a major recycler of electronic and computer waste.
After graduating from university in 1995, Perrotta worked at a car dealership, but had his eye out for business opportunities. That’s when he noticed office staff throwing bulky ink and toner cartridges into the garbage. He said to himself: “There’s got to be a better way.”
Soon after, he started Greentec in the basement of his home in Cambridge, Ontario. At the beginning, the company focused on collecting empty printer cartridges and selling them to re-manufacturers in North America and overseas. 15 years later, Greentec has grown to 75 employees and recently expanded its 55,000 square-foot plant in Cambridge with a 26,000 square-foot addition.
There is no shortage of demand for Greentec’s services. Besides being a major print cartridge broker, the company now collects, refurbishes and recycles computers, mobile phones, monitors and other electronic gadgets.
E-waste has become the fastest growing source of garbage worldwide and a major environmental problem. Greentec has collection programs with national retailers such as Future Shop and The Source. It also has agreements to collect and process e-waste with several Ontario municipalities.
“With technology changing so fast, the newest gadget today becomes an old gadget tomorrow,” Perrotta says. “We collect the unwanted electronics and try to give them a second life.”
Greentec refurbishes for resale 10 to 20% of the waste it collects and processes the rest for parts and scrap. The business brings together Perrotta’s entrepreneurial drive with his long-time interest in protecting the environment.
“I’ve always had a passion for the environment. I felt we were all connected that way and we all have to do the right thing for the planet.”
He says the firm had to act quickly when the recession depressed prices for the commodities it sells. Greentec moved to take advantage of company downsizing, increasing its business in recovering and reselling electronic assets.
The company also built on gains made just before the recession during a project to boost operational efficiency, undertaken with the help of BDC Consulting. BDC also financed Greentec’s plant expansion and a major purchase of new processing equipment.
“The operational efficiency exercise instilled in us the philosophy that waste has to be eliminated,” Perrotta says. “We looked at where the waste and bottlenecks were and came up with strategies to change our processes. It was very helpful.”
Perrotta said employees are key source of new ideas for making the company more competitive.
“They know things and can see things that I can’t see at the level I’m at,” he says. “I challenge the employees to come up with ideas, strategies, solutions no matter what position they’re in. That sets up the organization to be innovative.”
Perrotta’s partner in the business and in life is his wife Betty Pereira, who was the first employee he hired at Greentec and is now the company’s finance manager.
“For me, she’s been a rock,” Perrotta says of Pereira with whom he has two young children. “She’s been what grounds me in business and she’s been what grounds me as an individual.”
With a strong growth plan and solid markets, the future looks healthy for Greentec.
“Just the fact that I know: this is my vision; this is where I’m going; this is where I want to take this organization—that’s the best feeling in the world for me.”
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