PADNOS Brings Recycling Innovation to the Michigan International Auto Show
Longtime show sponsor will host family-friendly activities, share information on automotive recycling
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jan. 30, 2024 – PADNOS, the largest industrial recycler in Michigan, will showcase its innovation and leadership in automotive recycling at the Michigan International Auto Show, February 1-4 at DeVos Place. Representatives from the company will be on site to share information and answer questions about how businesses and individuals can work with PADNOS to make Michigan a cleaner and greener place to live.
As one of the show’s sponsors, PADNOS will host the Kids Ride & Drive on a track bordered by tires recovered from its recycling facilities across Michigan. Attendees can also participate in the annual PADNOS Crushed Car Contest, a fan-favorite Auto Show activity featuring a $1,000 prize for the person who can correctly guess the make, model and year of a car that has been compressed into a cube.
“We are thrilled to return to the Michigan International Auto Show and highlight our recycling expertise,” said Karlin Linhardt, Chief Strategy Officer at PADNOS. “We hope attendees perusing new and classic cars will also take a moment to reflect on how far the industry has progressed over the past 75 years. Until the 1960s, junk cars were burned or simply abandoned by the side of the road; today, the recycling technologies used by PADNOS enable automakers to take fewer materials out of the earth and put less into landfills. As automakers adapt to a new era of electric and alternative-fuel vehicles, PADNOS will continue to innovate, enabling a healthier future for our planet.”
New cars cannot be built without materials retrieved and recycled from end-of-life vehicles by companies like PADNOS. Mining metals directly from the earth and creating new plastics from petroleum are expensive processes that generate high levels of carbon emissions, whereas 98 percent of the metals in a vehicle – and a significant portion of plastics – can be recycled. PADNOS purchases end-of-life vehicles from individuals, charitable organizations and businesses such as towing companies and dealerships. These vehicles are shredded and sorted, leveraging the latest technologies to maximize the amount of recoverable material, and refined into raw materials that are sold to automakers and Tier 1 suppliers around the world.
Junked cars are not the only source of metals and other materials used in new cars. When the James De Young Power Plant in Holland was demolished in August 2023, PADNOS processed the scrap steel from the building. That recycled steel can now be found in high-performance aftermarket brakes.
Recycling efforts will take center stage in Michigan this decade. The legislature voted in 2022 to pass an eight-bill package to reform the state’s waste system, divert recyclable materials away from landfills and increase overall recycling rates from 19 percent to 30 percent by 2029. PADNOS stands ready to help lead this transition and continue partnering with government entities and corporations to develop new solutions as the state moves toward a more sustainable future.
About PADNOS
Founded in 1905, PADNOS is a fourth-generation, family-owned company with diverse processing capabilities to create real recycling solutions for ferrous and nonferrous metals, end-of-life vehicles, paper, plastics and electronics. PADNOS operates 28 locations with over 1,000 team members.
Media Contact:
Alli Cooke
Lambert
acooke@lambert.com
616.258.5769