John Ross & Sons expands at new Truro location
Clean, spacious, and userfriendly.
That's how scrap dealer John Ross & Sons is finding its new location in the Truro Business Park.
“We're looking to grow and serve the community,” said operations manager Jim Muise.
The scrapyard operation moved uptown to 85 Glassey Ave. last August once concrete had set across the property, with the Enviro-Depot refundables drop-off joining more recently.
The new 10.4-acre lot at the Truro Business Park responds to a longtime need for more space. At Cummane Street, the business had 1.6 acres. That location opened in 1948, long before Truro grew to the size it is today.
Now, drop-offs for scraps and bottles are spaced out and more user-friendly than the congestion they faced downtown.
“Where you did your scraps and your bottles and your metal, everything was in one spot, but now they aren’t anywhere near one another, so you have lots of room,” said Ruth Olgivie, office manager.
Construction on the new building started in December of 2018. Muise said it was a bit of a challenge trying to move operations while still running the business and having employees at both locations.
He spent last winter setting up racking and preparing the yard.
While the family now manages out of Halifax, the business has its roots in Truro, having originally started on Esplanade and Forrester streets. There is still some cleaning to do, but the business continues to use its Cummane Street location for material requiring transport by rail.
“A lot of people are happy that the majority of the operations (are) out of downtown and now here in the industrial park,” said Muise. “The people that are using this up here can't compliment enough as to how clean and organized it is."
COVID-19 paused the bottle operation for a while, but it is up and running again. There have also been some new faces at the scrapyard.
“We have seen people here that we've never seen before ...” said Muise. “It's a source of income for somebody that has lost their job or is not working or trying to subsidize their income.”
John Ross & Sons Ltd. buys and sells new and used scrap metal, steel, and siding in several locations across Atlantic Canada.
About 45 employees filter in and out of the Truro location, with half of them trucking material across the Maritimes, including to a shredder in Halifax.