Spotlights: C-Suite
William, “Billy” Ainsworth recently retired from a career that began in 1978 with a scrap metal business. In 1983 he founded Steel Processing Services. A decade later, that company was bought by Florida Progress and Ainsworth became CEO of Progress Rail Services. Progress Rail was acquired by Caterpillar, Inc. in 2006, and Ainsworth was eventually appointed Group President, Energy & Transportation. He currently lives in Guntersville, AL and serves on the Auburn University Board of Trustees .
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tractors, anything metal eventually gets scraped, and there’s a whole network of scrap dealers throughout the United States. A mill may buy 100,000 tons a month. We know the scrap dealers and work with the mills and negotiate a price between the mills and the dealers. We would buy it from the dealers and sell it to the mills, and we would make a margin. HM: Early on, you worked for a few brokerage companies before starting your own. Ainsworth: I worked for three brokerage companies. the last one was Amex Steel out of Texas. I talked the owners of Amex into starting a small scrap processing operation in Albertville, Alabama close to Mueller Corporation. Mueller’s was the largest manufacturer of fire hydrants in the world and they purchased scrap steel. We had a machine called a rail breaker that would take railroad rails and break them into two-foot lengths for the mill. I owned a third of the Albertville operation. In late ’82, Amex was exporting scrap steel to Mexico. The peso devalued, and they were struggling financially. I went to the owners and said, “I’ve always wanted to have my own business, will you sell the business to me.” So, I bought them out for $15,000 and started Steel Processing Services. My first cousin, Steve Hayes, was working for Amex, and he purchased 49 percent. And what’s amazing, we didn’t have a bank line of credit. The first year we did $7 million in revenue, it was like the Wild West. I’d go out on the scrap yard and break rail or cut up rail cars. Then I’d go and take a shower and clean up and fly to visit the various railroads and tell them what a successful company we were going to be. I knew we would be one day, right?
Harbert Magazine: You stepped on the Auburn campus in the 70’s?
Ainsworth: Yes, my mom’s dream was for me to have a college education. I was accepted at Alabama and Auburn, and at the time was a big Alabama Fan. I thought I wanted to be an engineer, so I went to Auburn. And once I was at Auburn. I realized that I wasn’t cut out to be an engineer and changed majors to business. I wound up in marketing. And I call it divine intervention to get me to Auburn. I had great teachers, and they made a big difference in my life. Dr. Laumer, Dr. Guffey, and Dr. Horton who was the dean at the time, they helped me realize I could be whatever I wanted to be if I was willing Ainsworth: If you were in marketing the holy grail was to get a job offer from Procter & Gamble. Some of my teachers went to bat for me and I got an offer. But I also had offers from Texas Instruments, Central Bank, and a company called Luria Brothers, who was a large national scrap brokerage company. Procter & Gamble’s job was making $12,000 a year and Luria offered me $13,000 So, I accepted the one with more money and went to work in the scrap brokerage business in Atlanta. HM: Tell us a little about the scrap business? Ainsworth: I used to go to my high school reunions and try to explain the scrap business. And finally, I would say it’s like that show on TV, Sanford and Son. That’s what we do. Electric arc steel mills, melt scrap to make new steel. Automobiles get scraped. Buildings are torn down, to work hard and stay focused. HM: And after graduation?
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