By David Fleet
Editor
Brandon Twp. — A decade old family business that kept tons metals out of landfills has a new owner.
Sumthing Green, 103 Wolfe Lane, which opened in February 2012, and served as the collection point for materials including ferrous metals such as washers and dryers to water tanks to lawn equipment was recently sold.
“We’ve done fundraisers for school robotics, churches, baseball teams over the past years,” said Jon Dahlin, who along with his father Robert and brother David founded the company. “Business was great, it turned out to be a great living for us. I’m going to miss all the customers we’ve come to know in the community. We appreciate all the business and thank all for counting on us to take the materials. Trying to keep materials out of the landfill was our goal. We’ve definitely grown over the years.”
Dahlin said 5,648 customers have dropped off materials over the past 12 years.
“It’s a new chapter of our life,” he said.
James Bailey, a Davison resident, is the new owner, renaming the company Rearden Metal Recycling. The name was derived from a 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, written by Ayn Rand. In the book, Hank Rearden is a self-made steel magnate who develops Rearden Metal, an alloy lighter and stronger than conventional steel.
“Rearden was going to save the world by providing a different alloy,” said Bailey, who has been in the metal industry for about 15 years. “Relationships, that’s what drives me. I’m looking for life-long partners at every exchange. The Dahlin’s have been a part of the community for many years and I plan on continuing.”