Oscar Winski

Turning the World’s Trash into Treasure

Since 1907, the Oscar Winski Company has been “saving the earth by the ton” by salvaging all types of metals and processing them for resale. In their 111-year history, Oscar Winski has grown from a one-man, one-truck scrap metal business into a complete metals company with steel and aluminum servicing centers in Chicago, Indianapolis and Lafayette, IN.

In 2011, OWC approached idc to research whether they could viably extend their capabilities to include the emerging field of electronics recycling.

After greenlighting the venture based on competitive analysis and industry forecasting, idc then charted out a three-pronged approach to help OWC launch this new service-segment successfully: 1) establish industry-credibility ASAP via relevant certifications; 2) diffuse consumer reluctance by making e-recycling as convenient as possible; and 3) identify and advertise to the lowest-hanging fruit among b2b customers.

Since its launch seven years, OWCe—Oscar Winski’s e-recycling division—has already doubled in size, requiring it to move locations in order to serve a growing customer base.