Perceived scrap, hidden fortune

SERVICES: Meet Charlie Wilson: where people see waste, he sees value... where have we heard this?

Charlie Wilson is a man who has redefined the phrase "get the best out of waste". Wilson's company Comex International has been in the business of what he calls "salvage services" for about 16 years. But it has got going only in the last decade or so.

Comex operates just like e-Bay, which operates as an online market with buyers and sellers participating in auctions of odd objects with no clear price (second hand bean bags and the like). The difference is that the bidding here is for scrap products.

Says Wilson, CEO, Comex International, "We offer space for companies to sell off their surplus items or scrapped goods." For example, if an oil company's ship catches fire, then Comex would rework some of the equipment on board and invite bids for purchase on its website.

The business works in partnership with existing businesses that deal with insurance claims, bankruptcies, mishandled cargo and asset recovery agents.

They all work together to salvage as much value as possible from damaged goods and the like. In a world where even minor defects can turn something into "scrap" in snooty perception, this is a lucrative business if you know how little it takes to get something up and running; Lakshmi Mittal, remember, made a fortune tuning up creaky old steel mills others feared to touch.

The story has got around, and while prejudice against this humble start persists in some ill-informed quarters, Mittal is now seen for what he is: a smart businessman who delivers more bang for the buck.

Most of the products that Comex handles are from sectors like oil, textile, machinery equipment "" all sectors littered with hidden gems.

The company claims unique ways to match buyers and sellers through sophisticated database categorisation, which pairs appropriate products for sale with the best potential buyers.

Says Wilson, "This entire 'exercise' is recycling at its optimum level, reaching all corners of the world."

Comex charges 10 per cent from the total sale value, and Wilson claims that the website gets about 10,000 visits per month (Shell and Lloyds are clients). It's time India llogged on too, he says, having got a few local buyers and sellers already.

He must reach out to a whole lot more. "We are looking at agents for setting up our Mumbai office." The potential, he adds, is huge. Now, if only the land of Lakshmi Mittal yields.