Buddy

Co-Founder

Born Scrappy

Podcast for the metal recycling industry with a focus on scrap metal exporting and trading. 
https://tinyurl.com/BornScrappy

Podcast Host

YPO New Zealand Chapter Executive

YPO is the premier leadership organization of chief executives in the world. Today, YPO empowers more than 26,000 members in 130 countries to harness the knowledge, influence and trust of the world’s most influential and innovative business leaders to inspire business, personal, family and community impact. Altogether, YPO member-run companies employ more than 16 million people and generate USD6 trillion in annual revenues.

Strategic Alliances Officer

Communications Officer

YPO Member

CAPTA FX

Capta FX is a global financial services company specializing in foreign exchange and international payments. We help businesses manage currency risk, improve cash flow, and streamline cross-border transactions. With cutting-edge technology and a focus on exceptional customer service, we provide customized solutions that meet the unique needs of our clients.

Director

Endless 

I co-founded and grew Endless from $0 - $60m annual revenue, before exiting in January 2023.

Endless is a cutting-edge, disruptive metal recycling and waste management company that strives to be one of New Zealand's most beloved brands by creating shared value for all stakeholders. The company's vision to be the largest holistic recycler in NZ has guided it towards investing heavily in the development and integration of advanced systems, and building a formidable team capable of providing an unparalleled customer experience and real-time business intelligence. Endless’ unique success formula of value creation, vested interest, customer focus, brand eminence, and employee experience has brought to life a clear and focused business strategy that has propelled Endless to new heights, making it very quickly a formidable player in the waste and recycling industry in New Zealand.

Managing Director and Co-Founder

Sims  Limited

Manager

Relocated to NZ

Relocated my family from South Africa to Auckland, New Zealand

Relocation career gap

The Reclamation Group

I was accountable for the profitability of the multi billion dollar metal recycling business.

The Reclamation Group (Pty) Ltd. is a dynamic company managed by hands-on entrepreneurs using new technology and methods through its over 80 facilities, pioneering the way to a total recycling and waste management service. Reclam is the largest processor of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals in Sub-Saharan Africa. Reclam also processes plastic, paper, cardboard, rubber, glass and non-toxic waste, making it the leading supplier of secondary raw materials for beneficiation by downstream industry in Africa.

Executive Director 

National Operations Manager

General Manager of Trading 

Commodity Trader

Divisional Operations Manager

Key Account Manager

Branch Manager

Assistant Branch Manager

Laborer

Naledi Metals - TRG holdings

Naledi Metals is the largest cable granulating operation in Sub-Sharan Africa, extracting in excess of 5,000mt of copper from redundant electrical cable per year. Naledi Metals employs in excess of 100 staff and purchases approx. 15,000mt per year of waste cable throughout Southern Africa through its large network of feeder yards and mining and government contracts.

Managing Director

25 years in the metal recycling game and still learning and growing...

I learnt from the best and worked my way up from yard labourer to Executive Director of Trading and Operations for the largest metal recycler in sub-Saharan Africa. Responsible for 4,500 employees, 85 sites, and the overall profitability of a multi-billion dollar operation.

Brought my breadth and depth of knowledge to bear and co-founded the fastest growing, most-loved, and most awarded metal recycling company in New Zealand. No small feat in a country where people are outnumbered 4:1 by sheep (spoiler alert: sheep don’t produce much metal).

I thought it was time that tech worked for our industry, so I took all of my experience as an operator and trader and leveraged that to build THE killer scrap app, Buddy. Thats right - built for scrappies, by scrappies.

Father of two crazy-awesome boys. Husband to Lisa. Under 10 rugby coach. YPO member. Lifelong learner. Mentee. Mentor. Chief dog walker. Committed Stoic. Undefeated dance-off champion.

PS - if you are a scrap metal exporter looking to up your game, tune into my podcast Born Scrappy https://tinyurl.com/BornScrappy

PPS - if you’re looking to make better trades with less effort, check out the industry’s first and only relationship-led marketplace, Buddy www.tradebuddy.io

I attended my first BIR - Bureau of International Recycling  convention 17 years ago.

I arrived in jeans and a T-shirt. 🫣

No one told me everyone dresses like James Bond.

It was the first time I realised the size of the recycling industry.

And I never looked back. 

I knew this was for me.

I wanted to play a role.

To earn a place on the stage. 

Today I get to present in front of 2000 delegates from close to 60 countries.

Ill be talking on how technology is shaping global trade flows in the recycling industry.

If you’re in Bangkok, come and say HI 👋 

If you’re not, you’re missing out.

See you all soon. Let’s go!

This is going to be fun.

PS: thanks Susie Burrage OBE for making an appearance in my photo. 🤣


#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #RecyclingTech

Stuart Kagan

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My MBA didn’t come from a university.

It came from steel-toed boots and 12-hour days in the yard.

I did the first year of a business degree at night

While working in the yard during the day.

I lost interest real quick.

Why?

Because I learned more in a day at the yard

Than I did in months of lectures.

My MBA was made up of:

👉 Sales
👉 Logistics
👉 Operations
👉 Accounting
👉 Management
👉 Sustainability
👉 Stock control
👉 Administration
👉 Health & Safety
👉 Advanced maths
👉 Human Resources
👉 Commodity Trading
👉 Customer experience

And so much more.

Every. Single. Day.

The yard was my MBA.

Who else learnt it the scrappy way?

#BornScrappy #MetalRecycling #Entrepreneurship

We met online. 

Now building on that offline. 

Technology introduced us. 

Connection keeps us together. 

From DMs to recorded cooking shows. 

From comments to in person catch-ups. 

LinkedIn friends turned real-life mates. 

That’s the power of the technology. 

Relationships are the real ROI. 

Use the tech. 

Make the time. 

Meet the people.

Tag someone you met on LinkedIn that you now consider a real friend.

#RecyclingFriends #Technology #MetalRecycling

One Sunday I decided I couldn't go back to work. 

I was done!
 
I had been managing 85 yards and 4,200 people for 3 years. 

A vacation during that time was never actually a break. 

I had my finger on the pulse of every 1 of the yards. 

I set all their buying prices and sold all their stock. 

This was before all the dashboards and data.

I knew what they bought and they sold. 

I knew their average buy prices. 

And their gross margin. 

All questions came to me. 

I was totally burnt out! 

I couldn't continue. 

The next 10 days I rested.

No phone connection at all.

When I came back it was hell. 

I had made myself irreplaceable.  

Quickly I changed things up. 

I started asking managers to make decisions.

Letting the managers manage their yards. 

I focused my time on my bottom 5 yards. 

And on high level strategic decisions. 

I was happy to be at work again.

Have you ever felt like this?

#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #Management

Yesterday, one of our sellers made an extra $20,000 on a single load. 

That’s what Buddy is all about.

Turning easy-to-use tech into real opportunities.

Real money.
Real relationships.
Real happy scrappies.

And that’s just the beginning.

Here’s where we’re headed this quarter:

🚀 Raise awareness
💪 Grow to 300 sellers
🔥 Create more relationships
🤝 Keep strengthening the buy side
💰 EXTRA $1m in revenue for our suppliers

That's $1 million more in revenue.

Compared to how our scrap yards were selling.

It's the last quarter of the year.

What are your goals?

#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #BuddyGoals

Who holds the power in scrap metal trading today?

The one with the metal?

Or the one with the data?

For decades, our market ran on gut feel.

 ❌ No price transparency
 ❌ No sourcing visibility
 ❌ No data-driven leverage

Just: “Trust me.”

That era is ending.

This article from Recycling Product News busts 7 outdated myths still holding the industry back.

Here they are 👇

1️⃣ “The market is too opaque to be understood”
2️⃣ “You already have the best buyers”
3️⃣ “A few strong relationships are all you need”
4️⃣ “Tech erodes trust”
5️⃣ “It’s all about price”
6️⃣ “Gut feel beats data”
7️⃣ “Change is too hard”

If any of these still sound familiar, you may already be behind.

The modern market rewards both sides:

 ✅ Sellers who want pricing clarity, speed, and reach
 ✅ Buyers who want consistent supply and trust at scale

Because in 2025, power belongs to those willing to evolve.

Which myth is holding you back?


Thanks to Slone Fox for highlighting Buddy in the article.

#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #TechTrading

Copper is flying right now.
 
But the buyers aren’t.

Prices are up.

Demand? Not as much.

So what do you do as a scrap metal recycler?

Sell below the market?

Wait for buyers to catch up?

But wait too long…
 
And it could crash.

So how do you buy?

Against the indices?

Or actual buyer offers?

Because if you’re not selling today.

What are you really pricing against?

Real tough to trade in this market.

How are you approaching it? 

#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #Copper

International Trade Council at BIR - Bureau of International Recycling  

Is there a more important session right now?  

And what an incredible line up of speakers.

Adam Shaffer, Mark Sellier, Murat Bayram, Emmanuel KATRAKIS and George Adams.

Other than networking, this is what these conferences are all about.

Getting to hear from those in the know.

Because the more we know. 

The more we can grow!


#Tariffs #MetalRecycling #ScrapTariffs

Only half the audience put their hands up.

Maybe I didn’t ask the question right.

“Put your hand up if you think that in the next 10 years technology will play more of a role in our day to day trading?”

That was my question to the audience.

Surely it should be 100% hands up.

Maybe I’m too close to the topic.

But I see massive advantages.

Technology makes trading:

👉 Transparent 
👉 Lucrative
👉 Efficient
👉 Smart
👉 Fast

Who doesn’t want to make more money and save time, while building incredible relationships.

I see it as a no-brainer.

Am I crazy?

Simple yes or no is fine. 🤣

#RecyclingTech #MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal
BIR - Bureau of International Recycling

They didn’t really care that we recycled.
What they did care about?

➤ That we showed up on time.
➤ That they never had to call.
➤ That bins never overflowed.

We built a 7-message system.

Seven texts for every collection.

Many thought it was too much.

You know what happened?

Our clients loved us for it.

They stopped seeing us as “waste guys.”

We became their best service provider.

If you want customers for life.

Focus on customer service.

“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.” - Sam Walton, Walmart.

#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #CustomerService

You are the average of the people you hang around.

Ain’t that the truth! 

Last week I got to get away with YPO  Waterloo.

Everyone there is driven, motivated, grinding.

And every person is willing to help others.

If you haven’t yet found your people.

Get on it fast, it’s life changing.

Since joining years ago.

It been huge for me.

Getting thru it all.

Tough times.

Best times.


Community is vital.

Find your people.


#YPO #Community #YPOWaterloo

If I could go back in time.

What would I tell myself?

"Work hard!"

Seems super simple.

I only learnt this in my 20s.

At school I cruised by.

Never studied.

I was there for the vibes.

On the sports field I was lazy.

Didn't put in the work.

Pitched up, that's all.

Life forced my hand.

And that all changed.

I landed in a scrap yard.

Bottom of the ladder.

14-hour shifts.
Physical work.

This had a positive effect on my rugby.

I started running.
Getting fit.
Grinding.

Nothing comes easy.

You have to earn it.

Like The Rock says:
“Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.”

#MetalRecycling #ScrapMetal #HardWork

What impact is technology going to have on metal trading?

I’m excited to join the NF panel in Bangkok next week and discuss how it’s already changing.

If you’re attending the BIR - Bureau of International Recycling event in Bangkok.

And if you’re at all interested in how the yard of the future is going to trade.

Drop me a measage and let’s meet up.

See you soon Bangkok.

#MetalTrading #TechTrading #MetalRecycling

View company: BIR - Bureau of International Recycling

📢 Speaker Spotlight | Stuart Kagan, Co-founder & CEO, Buddy (NZL)
How is technology reshaping non-ferrous trading? At #BIRBangkok2025, Stuart Kagan will share his insights on how digital innovation is transforming global material flows and connecting recyclers worldwide.

With more than 30 years in materials trading, Stuart’s work at Buddy embodies the power of #technology to simplify #trade and build a stronger global recycling community.

📅 Monday, 27 October | 11:30–12:30

Full session & registration details 👉 https://lnkd.in/eEnMFPUx 

 #BIRBangkok2025 #NonFerrousMetals #Innovation #RecyclingTechnology #CircularEconomy Paul Coyte Sebastien Perron Shen Dong Anirudha Agrawal Alejandro Jaramillo Anas Aamir M. Sidney Lazarus Stella Ying Wang Rick Dobkin Jurgen Van Gorp Natallia Zholud Murat Bayram Leopoldo Clemente Elinor Feuer José-Martin Neumann Gareth Hyams Dhawal Shah Susie Burrage OBE Yoshida Yoko Rami Shahrour Ibrahim Aboura

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