united precious metal refining inc., alden, new york13 important to those customers as product...
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MJS
A Jo
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Editor’s note: Earlier this year, MJSA
announced the formation of the MJSA
Sustaining Membership, a special mem-
bership level recognizing those companies
that, through their enduring fi nancial sup-
port, help MJSA to continue in its mission
of advancing professional excellence and
furthering the industry. As part of our on-
going series of Sustainer profi les, this month
we introduce you to United Precious Metal
Refi ning Inc. in Alden, New York.
United Precious Metal Refining(UPMR) celebrates its 30th anniversary
this year. A major refi ner as well as a man-
ufacturer of fabricated gold, silver, plati-
num, and palladium products, UPMR
serves more than 25,000 customers world-
wide. It provides them with a range of
refi ning services (including stone removal)
and employs some of the industry’s most
advanced analytical methods. And it offers
an array of grains, master alloys, solder,
wire, tube, and sheet in all precious met-
als, including some formulations patented
by and exclusive to UPMR.
How has UPMR been able to accom-
plish so much? David Siminski, vice pres-
ident of sales and marketing, sums up
the answer in two words: happy workers.
“United’s management team focuses
a great deal on ensuring our employees
are content,” Siminski says. That’s been a
major focus ever since the company was
founded in 1988 by employees of the for-
MJSA BULLETIN
MJSA Sustaining MembersUnited Precious Metal Refining Inc., Alden, New York
mer P.M. Refi ning Co. in Buffalo, New
York. Those employees left “because they
had a different vision of what the company
could do,” he explains. They knew that,
for UPMR to succeed, they had to be
fl exible and adapt to change. And the key
to that was listening to every employee,
making sure every voice was heard.
“The owners of United don’t see a com-
pany with 90-plus employees,” Siminski
says. “They see 90-plus families that are
counting on the company to provide for
them. The rest really takes care of itself.”
Those 90-plus employees include its
refi ning and manufacturing staff at
UPMR’s Alden, New York, factory, along
with a sales force that operates worldwide,
including Canada, Europe, Asia, Mexico,
Latin America, and the Caribbean. Its
“road warriors” traverse the U.S. and Can-
ada, picking up large refi ning lots, clean-
ing out sink traps, and collecting blower
dust lots. That personal touch makes all
the difference, Siminski says.
The company strives to offer its world-
wide customers quick settlement turn-
around times, reliable service, and acces-
sibility. Understanding that effi ciency is as
“United’s management team focuses a great deal on ensuring our
employees are content.”—David Siminski, vice president of sales and marketing
United Precious Metal Refining Inc.
Oct
ober
2018
13
important to those customers as product
quality, UPMR introduced a user-friendly
mobile app and customer account por-
tal this year. Both allow users to schedule
refining lot pickups, check on live pre-
cious metal prices, calculate scrap gold
value, and find products for casting, fab-
rication, and soldering.
“Though we still take hundreds of calls
a week, technologically savvy customers
like the convenience of accessing their
information at any given moment from
their desktop or handheld device,” Sim-
inski says.
Siminski admits that UPMR has faced
its share of difficulties throughout the
years, but says that it was able to weather
the storms due to its flexibility. “Shifting
markets and ever-changing trends posed
challenges to our business, undoubtedly,”
he says. He credits the company’s busi-
ness model—one that combines three
distinct divisions, refining, products, and
metals analysis—with enabling UPMR
to transform with the times.
“When gold prices rose, our focus was
on refining,” he says, and when prices
began decreasing, “our focus shifted to
sales [of fabricated products] as manufac-
turers once again saw an increase in de-
mand for new jewelry.” Siminski believes
that this ability to adapt is one of the main
reasons the company has succeeded.
Another way UPMR has been able to
grow is through innovation, which has
always been at the forefront of its busi-
ness. The company was the first to com-
mercialize silicon deoxidized gold 25 years
ago, and that emphasis on research and
development continues today. It came
into play several years ago, when gold
envisioned a company that would work
exclusively for the jewelry industry, pro-
viding refining services and putting out
100 percent recycled gold and silver. Our
company has never taken in mining mate-
rial or industrial scrap containing impurities
that would contaminate our jewelry stock.”
Obtaining its metal from verified
pawnshops, jewelers, and manufacturers,
UPMR processes and refines everything
in-house. Siminski states, “Our compli-
ance department is among the most strin-
gent in the industry, and is one of the
reasons United turns away a good number
of potential customers each year.” More-
over, UPMR was among the first to elim-
inate harmful materials from its products.
“Our cadmium-free solders were intro-
duced long before the material was con-
firmed to be a carcinogen,” says Siminski.
It’s just one more example of how the com-
pany’s dedication to research and develop-
ment—not to mention to its customers, its
employees, and the environment—remains a
continuing part of UPMR’s legacy. u
prices began climbing (at one point near-
ing $1,900 oz.), and UPMR needed to
seek alternatives for its customers.
“It became more expensive to create
jewelry lines using gold, and consumers
weren’t used to paying the elevated cost,
which was passed on to retail prices,”
Siminski recalls. The company knew its
clients and was confident that they weren’t
looking to silver as a substitute, consid-
ering it an unsuitable alternative. Since
UPMR sought to create a middle ground,
its metallurgists developed it, creating a
new premium silver line. That line, Sim-
inski says, included “different formulas
that mix sterling silver with platinum,
sterling silver with palladium, and even
a sterling-silver-with-gold formulation.”
Those alloys created an entirely new mar-
ket, he says.
In addition to valuing employees and
innovation, UPMR distinguishes itself by
focusing on sustainability. Siminski em-
phasizes, “Our commitment to the envi-
ronment stems from our founders, who