Wildcat Struck by Metal/Steel Thieves

[thetrailboss]

According to WCAX, over $19,000 worth of chair lift components were stolen recently.

The article.

 

[Trekchick]

Something similar happened at one of the Northern Michigan resorts last year. The thieves in this case stole the copper wiring. Copper was huge $$$ last year at this time.

Also, we had all the copper wiring stolen from our gravel pit conveyors, screens and crushers last year at this time. It cost us far more than the value of the copper.

 

[Johnskiismore]

There are despearate people out there, but, I hope they're caught and serve time or do a bunch of community service!

 

[drjeff]

While not as directly ski area related as the wildcat one. I came across this "incident" in the greater Mount Snow area as I was reading the latest issue of the local paper from up there.

If you've ever seen the windfarm off to the South of Route 9 not too far to the West of Wilmington, check this article out

http://www.dvalnews.com/news.php?news/news2.html

 

[Greg]

Really how lucrative is scrap metal anyway? Sounds about as worth the effort as collecting cans from the side of the road. I hear about metal thievery all the time though so I guess there's money in it...

 

[kingslug]

Really how lucrative is scrap metal anyway? Sounds about as worth the effort as collecting cans from the side of the road. I hear about metal thievery all the time though so I guess there's money in it...

Copper was almost $4.00 a pound, now its down to $2.00. It adds up.

 

[WJenness]

It's HIGHLY variable based on the type of metal you're trying to sell (and to whom you're trying to sell it).

Some stainless can go for as little as $.15/lb, some goes for over $5/lb depending on Ni content, Cr content, Ti content and others.

The company I work for exists partially because of the variability in alloy grades.

-w

 

[Mildcat]

I thought the price of scrap had gone back down enough so this shit wouldn't happen. I remember last year when the prices rocketed some people stole the aluminum guard rails from a California highway.

 

[bvibert]

Damn rat bastards. I hope they get caught.

 

[billski]

Really how lucrative is scrap metal anyway? Sounds about as worth the effort as collecting cans from the side of the road. I hear about metal thievery all the time though so I guess there's money in it...

Funny you should ask. Good story in today's paper.

Collecting cans has been lucrative as of late. In our town, they've been stealing the copper downspouts off historic homes and copper pipes.wires from construction sites.

While prices are down, the number of unemployed is skyrocketing. Desperate measures for desperate times...

 

[Mildcat]

Funny you should ask. Good story in today's paper.

Collecting cans has been lucrative as of late. In our town, they've been stealing the copper downspouts off historic homes and copper pipes.wires from construction sites.

While prices are down, the number of unemployed is skyrocketing. Desperate measures for desperate times...

I would think the people stealing the metal don't realize that the price of scrap has dropped. The risk is way too high considering every time metal is stolen the local scrap yards are notified and the reward is way too low because of the price. I was going to just junk my Bonneville because it wasn't worth stripping and selling the parts on Ebay vs getting $400 in scrap last year. Now I'm thinking strip it and have it towed to a junk yard or seeing what I can get from Craigslist.

 

[billski]

I would think the people stealing the metal don't realize that the price of scrap has dropped. The risk is way too high considering every time metal is stolen the local scrap yards are notified and the reward is way too low because of the price. I was going to just junk my Bonneville because it wasn't worth stripping and selling the parts on Ebay vs getting $400 in scrap last year. Now I'm thinking strip it and have it towed to a junk yard or seeing what I can get from Craigslist.

Just this summer two idiots who worked for the state were arrested for stealing plates removed while Boston's Longfellow bridge while it was rehab'd. They were lost to a recycler and never recovered. It will cost huge amount more to reproduce them than the money they received from the recycler. There was a big investigation about recyclers who turn a blind eye to this sort of thing because there was so much money to be made.

 

[Johnskiismore]

At the dump where in the town where I live, almost everyday there's someone there waiting for hot water heaters and other appliances of the like to be dropped off. There's a lot of copper pipe, and usually five to fifty appliances a week!

 

[Angus]

further discussion today in the WSJ about the consequences of falling scrap prices...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122480823113965077.html

 

[Warp Daddy]

Damn rat bastards. I hope they get caught.

+1 ------------------------- simply 2 many a$$holes out there

 

[bigbog]

..copper...or anything else that registers $$$

Greg,
The economy for industrial workers and a lot of high-tech workers(that I've known), for the last 8yrs..has been a one-way ticket--> overseas, with no real concern of anyone in business management or in government. With this climate between the haves and have-nots...and with season passes at the prices they are at(with Boyne's lowest weekend pass = $700)...with the economic circumstances......it's not rocket science...
But there are lots of potential suspect parties out there....and not all are strangers to the site.
$.01

 

[Mildcat]

Just this summer two idiots who worked for the state were arrested for stealing plates removed while Boston's Longfellow bridge while it was rehab'd. They were lost to a recycler and never recovered. It will cost huge amount more to reproduce them than the money they received from the recycler. There was a big investigation about recyclers who turn a blind eye to this sort of thing because there was so much money to be made.

I'm far from an expert but I would think most of the scrap yards would cooperate with the investigations. The people stealing the scrap are small potatos to the scrap yards but the people they're stealing from are usually big clients. There's also the fear of being charged criminally for receiving stolen goods. Add to that the fact that shops that produce scrap will often put their logo on it and often times the authorities can tell where the metals came from just from the properties of the metal.

 

[Angus]

I have no direct experience but believe the scrap business is frequently transacted in cash...I will let you draw your own conclusions.

 

[Grassi21]

Really how lucrative is scrap metal anyway? Sounds about as worth the effort as collecting cans from the side of the road. I hear about metal thievery all the time though so I guess there's money in it...

there is some type of metal in catalytic converters that is highly sought after. i saw a piece on some news show talking about the phenomenon. they had surveillance footage of a guy going from car to car in the dealership lot and sawzallng off as many cat. converters as possible.

 

[bvibert]

there is some type of metal in catalytic converters that is highly sought after. i saw a piece on some news show talking about the phenomenon. they had surveillance footage of a guy going from car to car in the dealership lot and sawzallng off as many cat. converters as possible.

Rhodium, I think.