One of the most valuable aspects of Ford Motor Co.'s assembly plants today is the millions of dollars of scrap metal that can be salvaged from their empty carcasses.

Scott Condra, senior vice president of Jacoby Development Inc. in Atlanta, said the main reason that his company purchased Ford's assembly plant in Hapeville, Ga., is its proximity to the airport and a new highway exchange.

But Condra also said that the rising prices of steel helped to make demolition and redevelopment of the plant economically feasible.

Wixom City Manager Mike Dornan also said the value of scrap steel is contributing to interest in the Wixom assembly plant. Dornan said a buyer could make millions from the sale of scrap from the plant.

 

it's amazing how much you can make when mixed steel is (or was anyways) $200-250 a ton, sort it out a little to cast, copper wiring etc etc, and you're golden

 

yeah... it's amazing how much raw materials are worth these days... I think some telecommunication companies are in trouble because people started ripping up lines looking for copper...

 

they've been stealing spools for years, but more now then ever, ppl are trying to cut high tension power lines (i think it was in the london or KW area) i know a load of copper is worth well over a million dollars now, my dad's company used to truck 40 ton at a time, but had 2 loads stolen right out of the yard, they don't haul it anymore

i can't remember what the price of cast or straight steel was last time i was in, but it was significant, plus if you paid someone minimum wage to cut open all that heavy gauge wire, someone could retire many times over with the amount of copper in that stuff

 

i think it's going to get a lot worse, before it gets better... I don't see prices declining anytime soon...