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Attendance was at a record high for the annual ISRI Conference & Exposition. Around 5,700 attendees spent a good part of the week discussing markets, talking about trends, and looking at the latest and best new products from exhibitors during the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Annual Conference, held April 6-10 in Las Vegas. Of the record attendance, representation from several dozen different countries took the opportunity to network with scrap recyclers from North America.

Along with record attendance, the exhibit hall also was booked solid, also a record for the association, with more than 200 companies exhibiting in the hall.

The program during the four-day event touched on both the traditional commodity focuses (ferrous, copper, aluminum, nickel, paper, etc.), as well as sessions on some of the more topical areas of concern/interest (consolidation, scrap metal theft) to scrap recyclers.

During the opening Chair's Breakfast, Frank Cozzi, chair of ISRI, presented the Lifetime Achievement Awards to Bernard Goldstein, chairman and CEO of Alter Trading; and the family of the late Si Wakesberg, long-time editorial staff member of ISRI's Scrap Magazine, as well as predecessor magazines.

The speaker during the Chair's Breakfast, Malcolm Gladwell, focused his speech on the concept of "tipping points" in history, which often seem inconsequential at the time, but often have profound and lasting impacts on the culture.

In his opening remarks, Cozzi took the opportunity to highlight the history of ISRI, from its formation through the merger of two groups, through the accomplishments that have occurred during his stay as chair of the association, including the growth in membership for ISRI, the creation of a Congressional Recycling Caucus, which has grown significantly since being introduced, and a healthy association.

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