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 On
October 16, 1991 Phoenix Recycling Inc was born, with nothing but a Ford,
F-150 half ton truck and an unstoppable attitude. In the beginning there
was just one of us, Kristjan Backman, our president did it all. In the
mornings he serviced our 26 initial customers and in the afternoon he
put a suit and tie on to sell recycling programs.
It wasn't long before Kristjan realized he was a
terrible truck driver, but not a bad sales person. By the end of 1992
we were servicing 350 business. Phoenix Recycling had grown to 3
people and had purchased an old Hino truck. Small businesses that did
not fit in most recycling programs at that time found a home with
Phoenix Recycling.
"We pioneered sustainable recycling programs,"
says Kristjan Backman, "Not just in Manitoba but in North America."
Phoenix Recycling made it easy and economical for small business and
schools to recycle.
A commitment to customer service, and a fresh look
at recycling proved successful for Phoenix Recycling as larger customers
started calling on us to provide services. In October of 1994 one of
those large customers asked us to go into the waste removal business.
"They had been unable to negotiate a reasonable deal for their waste
services with their current supplier," notes Kristjan. "We had no
experience with waste removal but we had lots of experience with
customer service." That experience proved all that was necessary as
Phoenix Recycling's waste removal service has been a remarkable
success. 1994 also marked the year that Phoenix Recycling grew in to
what is now our current home. This facility with over 13,000 square
feet of warehouse gave us some much needed capacity. Municipalities
around Manitoba had stared to catch the recycling bug. Our increase in
capacity allowed us to accept and process material from these
municipalities.
 The
end of 1995 also brought the collapse in recycling markets, cardboard
prices dropped from $360 per metric ton to $55 in 5 months. Phoenix
Recycling's sustainable recycling programs insured that we could weather
the storm and that our customers could expect the same level of service.
By 1996 Phoenix Recycling was a leader in
recycling in Manitoba. "We were providing paper shredding, waste
removal, office recycling, supplying equipment, and brokering loads from
municipalities." said Kristjan "From that moment on we have relentlessly
pursued excellence in all of these areas."
Phoenix Recycling has come a long ways from that
little red Ford truck to where we are today. We focus on doing our job
better and servicing you, our customer, better. We think that will
lead to a long and successful company story.
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