WASHINGTON -- The chief executive of BlueOak, an electronics recycling company opening its first plant in Arkansas this month, got to show off the new company Tuesday at a White House event focused on small business.
The Burlingame, Calif.-based company's Osceola processing plant will remove gold, silver, copper and other metal from cellphones and other electronic devices, Chief Executive Officer Privahini Bradoo said in an interview broadcast by the White House. Americans toss old electronics, and the precious metals they contain, into landfills, she said. Instead of reusing those metals, companies dig new materials out of the ground.
"We've got 50 million tons of electronic waste that are produced every year. What a lot of people don't know is, if you wanted to mine 10 ounces of gold, you could either mine 100 tons of gold ore or 1 ton of electronic scrap," she said. "There's billions of dollars of precious metals in electronic scrap."
President Barack Obama visited a handful of the exhibits and spoke with business owners before speaking about supporting entrepreneurs from a variety of backgrounds. Other featured companies were working on a faster way to test for HIV, recycling military gear for a clothing line and refilling natural gas-powered vehicles at home or work. There were 90 entrepreneurs from 30 companies in attendance.
"We've seen again and again that companies with diverse leadership often outperform those that don't [have it]," Obama said in a televised speech. "We've got to make sure that everybody is getting a fair shot -- the next Steve Jobs might be named Stephanie or Esteban. They might never set foot in Silicon Valley. We've got to unleash the full potential of every American, not leave more than half the team on the bench."
Bradoo stood behind the president's left shoulder while he spoke and shook his hand afterward.
The Osceola facility is scheduled to open by the end of the month, BlueOak Chairman John Correnti said.
"It won't be running full speed in August, but it'll be starting up," he said by phone after the event.
BlueOak raised $35 million from the Arkansas Teachers' Retirement Fund and the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to build the Osceola facility.
Correnti, whose Big River Steel mill opened in Osceola in 2013, said putting BlueOak nearby was intentional.
"I could keep my eye on it sort of. We had good cooperation out of the city and county on the Big River Steel project so we decided to put it there," he said. "It should provide good steady jobs for about 35 people."
Douglas Hutchings, CEO of Picasolar in Fayetteville, also was invited to attend the event but did not get to talk about his business, according to the White House. Picasolar is working on a more efficient and affordable solar cell.
Business on 08/05/2015